Page 25 of Ashborne Forged

Gil gave him a look, but Voski smiled. “You’re a good man, Gil. A man who can be trusted.”

“Trusted to pay the price for your dunce schemes? Yeah, probably.” Before Voski could answer, he looked at me. “Are you sure you want this idiot? I know it’s probably too late, but the truth is, even though he thinks he can take me, it’s only because I never fight him. I don’t want to shatter his ego. If you need me to wring his neck so you can—”

“No!” I said hurriedly, “Please don’t—”

“Relax, Grace. He’s teasing.” Voski sighed, then pulled me up to his side.

“He thinks I am. But I’m not. If you need me to beat him to free you, I can. And I would do that for you, Lady Grace, because I’m a gentleman.”

His expression was so falsely noble, I couldn’t help but giggle. “Thank you. I know where to go if I need help.”

Gil laughed and slapped Voski on the arm. Voski, jaw clenched, shook his head, frowning. But Gil just smiled at him, then winked at me.

8. In Fear

~ VOSKI ~

A couple of hours later, Gil dropped two duffel bags with harness straps attached, on the roots of the treehouse tree. “Five nights,” he said without preamble. “Ronen thinks you’ve been given orders and expect to return after five nights. Do not leave me here, answering questions. He’s juggling fifteen different kinds of shit, and worrying that you and Grace have been killed is not something he needs on top of that.”

“What did you tell him about her?”

“That she’s only along for a messenger flight and meetings, because Koa can’t leave Kham yet. And that you’re committed to continue her training while you’re gone.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

He shrugged. “You would have done the same for me.”

It was true. I trusted Gil almost as much as I trusted Kham. He’d proven that he had my back and would keep his mouth shut.

I stared at the bags, ruminating on this, when Gil cleared his throat. I looked up, surprised when I found my friend uneasy?

“What’s going on?”

“Are you doing anything to stop her getting pregnant?”

It was like being doused with water from a winter stream. The blood flowed downward, fast, and shockingly cold.

Pregnancy?

Shit. Shit.

“I didn’t think so,” Gil muttered, then reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pair of little leather sacks, each tied tightly with laces, pressing both into my hand. “I talked to Terra, she said—”

“You told Terra?!”

He gave me a flat look. “She thinks I made a friend who is not attached to the Keep,” he said through his teeth.

“Ah. Thank you.”

“She wasn’t impressed by the way. She was quite insistent that the woman should talk to her. I explained that wasn’t going to be possible in the short term, so she agreed to help. But she was clear: It’s important that any woman taking these has someone watching over them.”

“Right. I understand.”

Gil rolled his eyes, but continued without chastising me. “She said if it’s been more than fourteen days since she started her last bleed, use the herbs in the dark bag. If she’s in the first fourteen days, use the light colored bag. And she said the days are really important. Grace needs to count from the first day she had any bleeding. Terra said not every girl knows that.”

“I’ll… I’ll ask her,” I stared at the little sacks in my hand, stunned. Gil had gone quiet, so I offered my free hand. “Thank you for thinking of that. I hadn’t.”

“I’m aware,” he said flatly. “You’ve been missing a lot, bro. You’re not yourself.”