As we passed Vander and Falcon, I heard her say, “Should we give them a break?”
“No.” He made sure to look at me when he said it. Last night he’d gotten a baggie of ice from somewhere so I could hold it to my face. He made me a calming tea and gave me a shot of whisky. I was singing his praises in my dreams, but now I wanted to spit curses.
Chapter 14
With damp hair and my stomach growling for food, I opened the door to head to the courtyard and found a small wooden box waiting outside with my name on top. Vander had left me to bathe alone and was already down with the others to eat supper. After the trunk full of my standard assassin clothes, I hadn’t received anything else new. I opened the box on my bed and discovered that it contained some of my belongings from home. I picked up the pink blanket I’d had since I was a little girl. My mother had sewn it for me. It was soft and some of the edges were frayed from use, but I hugged it against my chest. It smelled like home and brought me comfort.
Beneath the blanket waited the pair of bone-carved bangle bracelets my father had given me for my thirteenth birthday. I ran my fingers over the decorative engravings with a smile. One of them had my name on it. I sighed, missing my family all the more, and slid the bangles onto my left wrist. I lifted out a couple of my cotton tunics and a pair of tan pants. A piece of paper fell onto my bed. It must have been tucked inside the clothes.
As soon as I saw “Sira” at the top of the page, I knew it was a note from Kace.
Sira,
I miss you. We haven’t gone more than a few days without seeing each other in so long, I’m lost without you. I never realized how boring Neverglade is until now. Even the vampires have been scarce during night watch. And your brother spends all his time with Erika, and Stigr and Kohlr are both getting married in a few weeks. So I’m stuck at the longhouse with the bitter old men telling the same tired stories.
It’s not fair they took you from us. My father and I are still working on some things to get you home. It’s just harder than I thought it would be. But don’t give up.
I hope they are treating you well, but I know what they think of us in Lothleton, and I’ve been so worried. Surprisingly, your father is the most positive, but I think he has to be to stop himself from spiraling. Your mother is resting in bed every time I stop by, but she’s still smiling and says she can’t wait for the baby.
Anyway, if you’re reading this, that means they didn’t find it. Be safe.
I send my love until we meet again,
Kace
A creak made me jump. I quickly tucked the note back in my clothes and whipped around, but there was no one in here but me. With a sigh of relief, I ran my hand through my hair, finding my heart ached. I felt guilty I hadn’t thought about Kace much and wished I could send him a letter back. But it was against the rules, and the punishment could have Vander removed asmy trainer and loss of pay for the both of us for a month, and besides, I had no idea how I would get it to him. If all his friends were getting married, I wondered if he’d move on before my apprenticeship was over. I wasn’t the only woman in our village that wanted to marry him. If he was stuck listening to the old men and their stories, it was by choice. He had his pick in Neverglade and the surrounding villages too. A bit of jealousy sprung up in me, imagining him with someone else.
Part of me wished he would wait, and that there was a chance we could be together later, and another part of me hoped he would move on so he could be happy. A life with Kace seemed so far away I couldn’t even see it. I was sworn to secrecy and danger and at least twenty-five years without children, while he would be the next chieftain of Neverglade. I knew he would want babies sooner rather than later.
My stomach growled, interrupting my thoughts. After running all day, I needed to eat.
Now Kace was going to be on my mind for the rest of the evening.
I left my pink blanket folded at the end of my bed, placed the bangles in the drawer of my nightstand, and tucked the rest of my belongings back in the box and pushed it under my bed.
I made my way down to the courtyard. The smell of baked goods and roasted meat made my mouth water. My gaze drifted to Vander sitting at the trainer table. He lifted his chin and gave me a half-smile. I spent nearlyallmy time with him, and yet I still wished I could sit next to him during meals. Even if we didn’t talk, I just liked being near him. He was easy to be around, comfortable, even in silence. Similar to my ease with Kace, although they were so different it was hard to compare them.
The cool evening air was welcome after running in the blazing sun all day. I found Taewyn at our usual spot. Celine was making her way over. She plopped down next to me withan exaggerated groan. “Ugh, thank the lovely kitchen maids for making us fresh bread and venison.”
The bread was still warm too. I’d already eaten half my slice, covered in butter and raspberry jam. “It’ssogood,” I said, mouth half full.
“Yeah? Sounds like it.” She giggled.
“I swear they’re never going to let this go.” Taewyn lifted his chin toward the other table. They were currently making fun of Foxglove’s eye and how she’d squealed our location after they’d jerked her arm so hard behind her back it could have broken. She was at the table next to ours, and although her eye wasn’t swollen shut anymore, it was as black as soot. We weren’t sitting with anyone who’d been on the other team. In fact, we’d all separated ourselves. Some friends who usually sat together didn’t. Pyro was at a table with Morrow and his usuals, along with a couple other girls. I couldn’t believe she’d taken up with him and his lot.
“We’re going to get them back eventually,” I said. “The next game, we’ll be ready. It’s months from now.”
“So they havemonthsto gloat.” Celine chomped into her bread.
“Who cares?” I shrugged. “Ignore them.”
Taewyn cleared his throat. “Morrow—excuse me—Beastis glaring at us.Reallyglaring.”
“Isn’t he always glaring at us?” But it wasn’t his usual haughty looks to get a rise out of us. He was furious.
“I think he got into trouble for hitting you, Bonecarver.”
“I hope so. He should.”
