Lacuna - N.R. Walker Page 0,64
you something? Tell me, what do you need? Do you need to lie down? Eat something, perhaps?”
Tancho put his hand to Crow’s chest for a fleeting moment, yet long enough to make Crow stop. “I’m fine. Just a little dizzy because you were about to kiss me and I can’t remember breathing the entire time.”
“Oh.” Crow laughed. “Right.”
“But I could eat something. And that bath would be lovely.”
“Yes, of course.” Crow was flustered now. The moment to kiss him was gone. “Why don’t you get in the bath while I fix you something to eat.” He left Tancho by the fire and went to the table, purposely keeping his back to him. He needed to put as much distance between them as their birthmarks allowed.
His birthmark . . .
He checked his wrist again and the birthmark was still as it was before. A raven mid-flight, a mark he’d had all his life, only now it was in a different position. Its wings were higher than he was so used to seeing, frozen again on his skin.
A quiet splash of water made Crow turn around, just in time to see Tancho sink into the water. His long red hair covered his pale back, his skin flickering orange by the firelight.
Crow had never seen a more stunning sight.
“I must say,” Tancho said. “A bathtub by the fire is rather genius.”
“After hunting or training in the snow is when I most appreciate it,” Crow admitted, turning back to face the table should Tancho glance his way.
“I’ve never been in the snow,” Tancho said gently.
“Never?” Crow couldn’t hide the incredulity from his voice. “What about the mountains that line the northern border of Westlands? Have you never been to them?”
“From a distance. Not all Westlanders’ fare too well in the cold.” He was quiet a moment. “Have you ever swum in the ocean?”
Crow shook his head. “No. The northern shores are bitterly cold. We have a few fishing villages along the northern shores, but the water is cold enough to stop your heart.”
“Do you visit the northern shores often?”
“Twice a year. The trek there is arduous.”
“I would imagine so.” Tancho hummed. “Do you think it would be possible to build another doorway there? That way you could access it whenever you needed.”
“It would certainly make sense,” Crow replied. “I don’t recall seeing any kind of tiled compass in any of the buildings there.”
“We have a lot to learn about them,” Tancho said. “And about these birthmarks. I wonder if Maghdlm knows.”
Crow took a deep breath. “I think we should keep it between us for now,” he whispered. “About the birthmarks moving. Or at least have Asagi search your libraries, secretly. And I can ask Erelis to do the same here. But I feel the less who know about it, the better. For now at least. Until we know more.”
Tancho stood up in the bath and Crow quickly turned back to the table to give him privacy. He was sure he could hear a smile in Tancho’s voice. “Do you think some will think us as evil?”
“I think rumours and wild-guessing will lead to fear in our people. The unknown breeds fear, and should rumours start that we are not of sound minds or able to control ourselves, they may think we cannot govern.”
“But Maghdlm?” Tancho asked. There was the rustle of fabric and Crow assumed Tancho was redressing, though he still dared not turn around. Lest he see that pale skin in the firelight . . .
“If anyone should know, it is her,” Tancho furthered. “She knew what it was when she first saw it. Remember, at the initiation ceremony?”
“I remember,” Crow murmured. “I would simply prefer to find our own answers. All we know so far is only what we’ve been told.”
“So?” Tancho now stood beside Crow at the table, fully dressed. His hair was wet and he smelled clean and wonderful.
By the blue skies above, he was such a distraction.
“So,” Crow said, annoyed with himself. “What if all we know is all they want us to know?”
Tancho frowned. “Who is they?”
Crow shrugged. “Maghdlm. Adelais, the entire Elders’ Consul, all of Aequi Kentron? I don’t know. That game of chess we were never supposed to win is made all the more difficult when we don’t know who we’re playing.”
Tancho considered this for a moment. “Okay. So we keep the moving birthmark between us for now.”
“And we learn from Maghdlm what it takes to open the doorways. Having her be the only one who