Page 54 of Beds and Blades

Then, below us, the crypt stairwell was visible at the base of the keep’s eastern wall, its entrance capped beneath the heavy stones.

Something was in there.

Something was in there right now, in the dark below us.

I looked down at the ring on his left hand, still waiting.

Two things waiting. In different ways, for different reasons, with different qualities of patience.

Chapter ten

Practical Concerns

Skip dressed like a man with a great deal to do. He had begun doing most of it in his mind before he fastened the last buckle.

There was a fortress to prepare and a vampire below us.

When he reached the door, he turned back.

“Be in your quarters before nightfall,” he said. His voice was even. “Preferably well before.”

“I will.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. His gaze stayed on mine, steady and assessing, the line of his jaw going hard in a way that suggested he was deciding whether my promise would survive contact with reality.

“I will,” I said again.

His gaze held mine a moment longer. Then he crossed back to me, kissed me once, and left.

I stood alone in his quarters after the door closed, the morning light warm across the stone floor.

I had a decision to make. To make this decision, I needed information. I needed Caen.

***

I went back to my quarters first.

The nightgown had served its purpose, but it was too translucent for walking through a courtyard.

The clothes Skip’s soldiers had delivered earlier were still waiting. I chose the least practical option, which was not to say it lacked purpose.

Deep brown leather corset. Cream linen chemise. Split leather skirt. Bracers. A wide belt meant to sit low at my hips.

The corset cinched my waist. The chemise made an emphatic argument above it. The skirt opened when I moved, revealing my leg.

I went to find Caen.

***

I knocked on Caen’s door. She invited me in.

“Look at you,” she said.

Her eyes moved over the corset, the skirt, the bracers, then returned to my face. Her expression warmed with unmistakable approval.

“Sit,” she said.

I sat. She poured some deeproot.