The Beauty of Darkness - Mary E. Pearson Page 0,53
say yes, but I repeated what I had told her before. I didn’t know. He was badly wounded. He was weak. I’d heard some mumblings that didn’t sound hopeful for his recovery, and after that first day until we left I hadn’t heard his voice again.
Her hand relaxed in mine. It was clear she didn’t think any of those who remained in the Sanctum could manage the monumental task of leading such an army. She was probably right.
A shadow crossed the door of the barracks, and I looked up to see Tavish watching us, most particularly focused on Lia’s hand resting in mine. I let him look long and hard before I alerted Lia to his presence: “We have company.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
RAFE
I found Lia tucked up in the corner of the soldiers’ mess hall, her back to me. I uncurled my fingers, forcing them to relax. I promised myself I wouldn’t go in with accusations. I would forget it.
But no matter how I tried to block it, my encounter with Kaden in the surgeon’s bungalow pounded in my head. It was me she held on to when she needed comfort. My shoulder she wept on. Don’t be so certain of the position you now hold. It was me she slept beside every night, and trust me, she enjoyed every second of it when she kissed me. You’re only her means to an end. It was only a taunt, I told myself, that was all, and I didn’t let on that I gave it any merit. It deserved none.
The dining hall was mostly empty between meals, except for the five soldiers who sat at a table with her. I walked across the room slowly, the floor creaking beneath my boots. It immediately caught everyone’s attention. Except for Lia’s. One by one, the soldiers looked at me and laid their cards down.
Lia didn’t turn, not even when I stopped behind her stool and her hair brushed against my belt. The soldiers made to stand up, but I waved them back down.
“So, what’s your stake this time?” I asked. “Something I should be worried about?”
She lifted up a bottle of red-eye, still not turning to look at me. “Every time I lose a hand, the bottle gets passed. I’ve only had to pass it twice.” She sighed dramatically. “Colonel Bodeen really should be more careful about locking his liquor cabinet.” Her head tilted as if she was weighing a thought. “Or maybe it was locked.”
I took the bottle from her and set it in the middle of the table, then shoved the pile she had accumulated into the middle as well. “Gentlemen, enjoy your game.”
“It’s been a pleasure,” she said to her new comrades, and put her hand out for me to escort her.
Neither of us said a word until we were outside.
I turned to face her, rested my hands on her waist, and then gently kissed her. “It’s not like you to give in so easily.”
“They were nice young men but lousy players. It was only something to pass the time.”
“And taking Colonel Bodeen’s red-eye was a challenge?”
“It was a more genteel stake than the one I offered last time. I was only thinking of you.”
“Well, thank you for that. I think. What spawned this diversion?”
She eyed me with frustration. “It seemed everywhere I went to today, I needed King Jaxon’s permission to pass. First the merchant wagons outside, then trying to access the outpost wall, and finally Tavish all but threw me out of the surgeon’s bungalow—”
“What were you doing in there?”
My tone came out sharper than I meant it to, and she stepped free from the circle of my hands. “What difference does it make?”
“We need to talk.”
Her expression sobered. “About what?”
“In my tent.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
He nearly dragged me across the courtyard, and my thoughts tumbled trying to figure out what had disturbed him so. Colonel Bodeen’s red-eye? Playing an innocent game of cards? Or had something happened in his meetings today?
As soon as we were in his tent, he spun. Every muscle in his face was tight with restraint. A vein twitched at his temple.
“What is it, Rafe? Are you all right?”
He walked over to a bedside table and poured a goblet of water, swilling it back in one swallow. He offered me none. He looked at the goblet in his hand, and I feared it might shatter in his grip. He set it down carefully on the table as if it held poison.