her a little nervous, even if it was only for a short time. On the other hand, getting off the mican for more than a night was a dream of hers. She hoped that Laed and Kynar weren’t too long in following them. An extended stay would be hard on more than her nerves. She didn’t know how long she’d be able to resist the temptation to get close to Colm and Linc. The pull to them hadn’t lessened even a little.
Once they reached the inn, Cami retreated to her room for privacy before she had to join the others for a meal. She took a bath, but had to keep it short. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself by arriving too late. She dressed in a black skirt and a clean, cream shirt because she needed a change from travel clothes even if it was only for a short time before she went to bed.
With her hair hanging free down her back, she almost felt normal. At least, she did until she walked into the inn’s dining room and caught the expression of a woman at a table near the door. The woman’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. Cami almost turned on her heel and headed for her room, but she straightened her shoulders and concentrated on getting to the table where Avan, the chatar and the healer sat.
Forcing herself to focus on the room and not who might be looking at her, she kept moving. Decorative lamps hung from beams across the ceiling over the tables, creating pools of light and shadow. She made her way through the tables and chose one of the empty seats. Sitting down, she nodded to the healer and the chatar before smiling at Avan.
Cami took a deep breath as she settled into the seat. Their food was delivered almost immediately. She began eating without really noticing what was on her plate. Her focus remained on what had happened and her reaction.
She wasn’t going to let someone staring send her into hiding. The staring made her angry, but she didn’t want to run. Well, not too much. There was still the desire to pull in on herself, to take shelter, but she didn’t think she’d have stayed only days ago.
Something had changed, though. She’d grown comfortable around these men. That was true and might be part of the new confidence. It wasn’t all of it. Some part of her had faded after the beating and especially when she discovered the damage to her leg. She hadn’t felt as though she was the same person since Kynar and Laed had attacked her. Maybe she was getting a little of her spirit back.
Her mind circled on the discovery that she might not be such a wimp after all. She hadn’t cared what people thought of her looks before, but when she’d realized how much damage Laed and Kynar had done, she’d been knocked off balance. Coupled with the reactions of the first few people to see her wounds after she’d begun walking around Scali Thent again and those damn dreams of Colm and Linc, she’d been unsure of herself for a long time.
Not that she was all of a sudden ready to walk around with her hair up and show off all of her scars. She wasn’t even comfortable with anyone other than the healer seeing her thigh. The few marks on her back bothered her, but that was more because of those dreams and what they said in them.
She didn’t know if she’d ever be that relaxed, but the stares of strangers, while uncomfortable, wasn’t going to make her walk the other way. She could sit here and eat without feeling overly self-conscious. It wasn’t the ease and acceptance of her scars that she hoped to have one day, but it was encouraging. She felt happier and a little lighter now.
She finished eating and looked around to find herself sitting only with Avan. She hadn’t realized that the healer and the chatar had left the table. She realized that she’d been lost in thought, but hadn’t believed that she’d been that absorbed.
“Yes, he’s gone. The healer ate and then went to talk with a healer he knows here. The chatar didn’t say where he was going. You were so involved with whatever you were thinking that you didn’t respond to any questions, much less notice that they’d left.” Avan laughed softly. “By the small smile and the look in your