Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
By the time we stop for the night, I’m sore, exhausted, frustrated, and starting to lose hope.
No one spoke to me on the second half of the journey and I didn’t mind, really.
I wasn’t much in the mood to chat. I still can’t quite make sense of everything Blackheart said.
There’s a war going on, at least the beginnings of one.
How is that possible? And why? What are Lyanna and its allies planning?
I’d forced myself to think about the conversation with Tesni over and over and over as we rode, and more details finally crystallized.
She’d said that six of the nine kingdoms had allied and planned to attack Duskthorne and take their Gifteds.
She said take them—not free them. And she’d said something else before Hastings had cut her off.
Something about adding the Gifteds to Barony’s…
His what? Does he have more than just Tesni now?
Does he have the beginnings of his own collection, like Dorian?
If so, why doesn’t anyone know about them?
Why would the other kingdoms ally with him simply to get their own Gifteds?
Couldn’t they just offer to buy one from Dorian?
Surely he’d be willing to part with a few for the right price.
“Ughhh,” I groan, my head pounding. I have a thousand questions and no answers.
“If you’d like to bathe, now is your chance,” a voice says from the entrance to my tent.
I raise my eyes to find Odessa standing there, looking annoyed.
I don’t have the energy to be rude or haughty, so I merely nod and grab the silk pouch, a nightgown, and fur-lined robe to put on afterwards from the trunk.
She eyes the bundles of fabric in my arms but doesn’t comment.
She probably thinks they’re as ridiculous as I do and I want so badly to tell her just that, to have a real conversation with someone and maybe not feel so alone in all of this.
I’m suddenly so keenly aware of how badly I miss Cece and Math that my chest feels like it’s collapsing in on itself. Makers, please keep them safe.
I follow Odessa away from the lines of tents to a bend in the river guarded by a thick line of trees. On the other side, an inlet juts out from the river and forms a small pool surrounded by rocks. Odessa holds out a thick towel. Surprised, I take it and nod.
“There’s a hot spring not far that feeds into this inlet, so the water will be warmer. This is probably the last bit of non-freezing water you’ll find before we reach Tithmoore. Better make the best of it.”
I shudder at the thought. Just because I love the cold doesn’t mean that I don’t also love a good hot bath. I walk to the edge of the water and set all of my belongings on one of the flat rocks. I start unlacing my boots and then a thought occurs to me.
“Um, will…will anyone else be joining us?” I scrunch my nose. That’s not exactly how I meant for it to come out. “No, not joining, like it’s a bathing party. Not that bathing parties exist.” I blow out a long breath and pinch the bridge of my nose. “I mean—”
“Instructions were given for you to have privacy,” Odessa, blessedly interrupts me and looks for half a heartbeat like she wants to laugh. “I’ll be standing watch over by the bend in the river.”
“Thank you,” I say, not even caring if it’s not what Tesni would do.
She eyes me, but doesn’t comment, and turns to go back to the bend, as she said.
I strip down and wade out into the water, moaning quietly in delight.
The water is somewhere between warm and hot, and it feels so good to really wash away all of the grime from the last few days finally.
I pull out the contents of the silk pouch and try not to be grateful for Tesni for putting it in the trunk.
It was full of delicious smelling soaps, oils, shampoos, and lotions.
I choose a soap that smells like honeyrose now and scrub my skin until it’s nearly raw, and wash my hair twice for good measure.
Though Odessa told me to make the most of this opportunity, I know that I can’t stay here all night and I highly doubt the soldier would have any qualms about pulling my naked ass right out if I take too long.
So, with a sigh, I leave the warm pool and dry off.
I pull the satin nightgown over my head—the only thing I’ve found of Tesni’s so far that I do actually enjoy—and throw the robe on, wrapping it tightly around myself before I walk back through the camp. The thought of Turner seeing me in just the nightgown makes my stomach twist.
“Done,” I say to Odessa as I approach the spot where she’s standing sentry, cleaning her nails casually with the tip of a dagger.
“Well, you sure as hells smell better, that’s for sure,” she says, twirling her blade before sliding it into one of the many slits in her vest. I huff out a laugh at that and she blinks in surprise. “Come on, dinner should be ready.”
I nod and fall into step beside her back towards the camp.
“Is there really a war starting?” I ask, not sure if she’ll answer me or not, but deciding it’s worth a try.
She snorts. “The fact that you don’t know the answer shows how truly sheltered you’ve been up in your tower, princess.” I roll my eyes. I’m already tired of the princess comments, but I know they’re mostly deserved.
“Yes, I am. But I’d still like to know the answer.”
She eyes me sidelong, but finally sighs.
“Yes, a war is coming. It’s already here, really, but things will get much bigger before it’s all said and done.”
“And it’s Lyanna and its allies against…Duskthorne?”
“Pretty much.”
I purse my lips, trying to think through what that might mean.
Why now? After all these years, why did Barony suddenly decide he wanted to unite the kingdoms against Duskthorne and take their Gifteds?
Not just take them, but fight a full out war for them, kill for them.
And why in the hells would the other kingdoms be so easily swayed to this cause?
Tesni said that six of the nine had joined Barony.
“And why are all of the other kingdoms so eager to join this Alliance?”
Her jaw clenches. “Amon Luterian is very…persuasive.”
My stomach roils at that. Even I’ve heard of Amon Luterian, the leader of Nocadian’s army and the personal Guardian of the Queen.
Folks around the tavern call him The Abyss because his chest is as hollow and dark as one.
No heart within, no feelings to speak of, only cold death and ruin.
He’s the only reason that no one has challenged Queen Viola’s seat on the throne—she’s barely more than a child, an easy target, her throne a beacon for the greedy.
Amon eliminates all potential threats, and, if rumors are to be believed, decorates the palace with the bones of all those he kills.
Why he doesn’t just kill the child and take the throne himself is beyond me, but there must be some tiny shred of decency in his chest to keep him loyal to her.
I’m about to ask another of the questions burning on my tongue when we pass Turner and the same small group he always seems to be around.
Perhaps the soldiers are assigned to specific groups that they must stay with—or maybe they’re all just friends, you idiot, I say to myself. That makes more sense.
“Could use someone to warm my bed. What better than a Gifted fire bitch to do the job?” he calls.
The men around him all laugh, though some seem to do so uncomfortably.
I pull my robe tighter around me and Odessa narrows her eyes on Turner, a hand shifting subtly to one of the knives at her hip.
I don’t think Turner even sees the movement.
“Fucking prick,” I mutter quietly after we’ve moved past them.
“Agreed,” Odessa says to my surprise. She stops in front of my tent, gesturing for me to go inside.
I glance towards Blackheart’s tent, just beside mine once more and again I wonder how far his Gift extends, at what distance would I be able to unleash my ice again?
I can see him within, his large shadow pacing the length of his larger space. I suppose we have that habit in common.
“I’ll have someone fetch your dinner…oh, looks like she beat me to it,” Odessa says with a smile, her entire demeanor softening as Mia approaches. She clearly has a soft spot for the girl and curiosity burns in my chest. Math calls me nosey, but Cece lovingly calls it inquisitiveness instead.
“I brought dinner for…” Mia trails off, glancing up at me nervously. “For, the, um…” It seems like she can’t decide what she’s supposed to call me. Gifted. Prisoner. Future slave. Bitch. Dead girl walking. Any number of things apply, really.
“Th—” I stop myself and bite the inside of my cheek.
No, I’m not Thea, not here. I’m…her. My chest constricts, like my heart is trying to pull away from what I’m about to do, declaring out loud that I’m Tesni.
I know the name I need to say…but I don’t fucking want to be Tesni.
She’s a terrible person, a monster, and even taking on her name feels as if it’s tainting my soul somehow.
So, no. I won’t do it. I’m playing the part, but I decide that I don’t have be her completely.
“Tess,” I say instead. “You can call me Tess.” Tess was the sister I loved. Tess was the sister who loved me back and had goodness inside of her before the darkness took hold. If I can’t be myself, I can settle for being Tess.
Mia seems to consider this, glancing quickly to Odessa as if for permission. The woman gives her a nod and then Mia straightens her shoulders and holds out a metal bowl with a handle on the side, and a piece of bread towards me.
“I brought dinner for Tess.”