glare over his shoulder. “He was unsure how long it would take for the effects to hold. It might still work.”
“I dare you to try it again!” Crow said.
“You know what was best about those puppet shows?” Soko added.
“That one puppet usually got to knife the other?” Crow deadpanned.
Tancho shot him another steely glare.
“No,” Soko replied with a laugh. “The best part was that the entire puppet show only lasted a short while and not a full seven-day ride.”
Karasu chuckled and Tancho gave her a pointed glare. “Something funny?” he asked her.
“Not at all, my king.” She smirked. “Not at all.”
They reached Yura just on dark, and Tancho was glad to be off his horse. Not that he’d ever admit that in front of Crow—he was loath to show any weakness—but there was a hot bath with his name on it.
The innkeeper came to the door, his eyes widening when he saw Tancho. “My king!”
“How many rooms have you this night?” Tancho asked.
“Four, your excellency.” He bowed his head. “You may take my house for the night if that pleases you. It is not much but it is yours, if you wish.”
Tancho bowed his head. “Your generosity is kindly noted but not required, good man. The four rooms will suffice.”
“Yes, yes,” he replied. “Your horses are this way.”
He led them to the stables first, then showed them to their rooms. Unagi and Iruka took charge of the horses and Kohaku carried Maghdlm from the carriage. The innkeeper was alarmed at the sight but knew well enough not to ask questions. Though his eyes almost left his head when he finally noticed Crow and Soko wearing Northland cloaks.
He gave Tancho a bewildered look. “Is that . . . ? I trust all is well, my king?”
Tancho smiled. “All is well, good man.”
He kept a wary distance from Crow and Soko, taking in their hard-soled boots and broadswords, and made nervous eye contact with Tancho. “Is there anything I can do for you, my king?”
The poor man clearly thought his king was under duress by the two tall men in black cloaks. “A hot meal and baths,” Tancho replied. “Our guests from the Northlands appreciate your hospitality.”
He bowed his head again. “Of course. I will see the horses fed as well, my king.”
He scurried off and Crow sighed. “Are we that intimidating?”
Tancho refused to admit that their height and build, their weapons and clothes meant for colder weather was intimidating. “More of a curiosity, the way a child might look at a pentatomidae for the first time.”
Karasu snorted and Kohaku laughed, and Crow glared at them all. He very obviously had no clue what a pentatomidae was, but he knew it was an insult. His hand went to the hilt of his sword, but Soko rolled his eyes and sighed. “Did you mention hot food and baths?”
The inn rooms were adjoining in a line, and it was agreed that Karasu and Maghdlm would take one room, Kohaku and Tancho in one, Crow and Soko in the next room, and Hikari and Unagi in the end room, closest to the stables.
“Can you stand to be one room apart?” Soko asked Crow, teasing in his voice.
The truth was, there was only one way to tell. So with Crow in his room, Tancho walked to the door of his room. The pull on his wrist was harsh, the burn noticeable. But as he entered his room and went to the bed along the adjoining wall, the pain was gone.
Thank the sun and stars above.
Tancho didn’t fancy sharing a room with Crow. But of course, Soko found something funny because he laughed. “Sleeping with a wall between you is fine. Using the baths should prove interesting though, don’t you think?”
Crow glared pure rage at Soko, and Tancho inhaled deeply in an attempt to calm the sea of anger and frustration welling inside of him.
He hadn’t thought of that.
“I can wait outside, if he wishes to go first,” Tancho said as politely as possible, as if that offer made him a better man.
“Or I could wait while he goes first,” Crow replied.
Soko let his head fall back and he groaned at the ceiling. “May the blue skies save me.”
Karasu rubbed her temple. “I have to tend to Maghdlm. I will leave the children to bicker.”
Tancho glared after her as she walked away, but Crow took that as a victory. Kohaku, like Soko, seemed to find something funny. “Soko and I will supervise.” He grinned at Soko. “Should