Chapter Twenty-Eight #3
“I suppose I should arrange rooms for four of you here in the castle, then,” says Karis.
“No,” I say too quickly. “Sorry. There’s just too many memories here.
” And too many chances of alienating our former enemies and ending up dead.
“There are some cottages in the woods. They used to be empty in winter when the game had moved on. If you aren’t using them for anything now, we could stay there, maybe? ”
There are two of them, or at least there were five years ago.
One larger with several bedrooms, and a smaller building with just one.
They aren’t anything fancy, but it was nice to relax by the fire there after a day out in the woods on those hunting trips I took with Larus, the ones where we didn’t catch anything.
Ronan’s eyes turn misty as he looks at me, realizing what I’m suggesting from my feelings.
A place of our own. A little corner we can carve out in the world that belongs to just us.
And—oh, gods—Seth and Taran will be sharing a house as well.
“Wait, I didn’t think this through—”
“Of course you may stay there, if that’s what you prefer. It will keep you closer to the fields where we train anyway.”
The others return after not long at all, Quinn riding Bitey into the great hall through the large double doors to the surprise and fear of the Orsa inside.
“Kira’s out in the courtyard with Typhon. Take care of him for me, will you?” Quinn asks me, looking at Ronan. “Keep him warm through the winter.”
“Quinn.”
“Taran will do the same for your brother if you aren’t careful. Damn, maybe I should stay after all. I really wouldn’t mind getting in that sandwich.”
“Quinn!”
“Tave agrees. Tave, get over here and tell this prude you agree with me about Seth and Taran.”
“What about us?” asks Seth.
I leave them to it; I’d really rather not know how that conversation goes.
I make my way to Larus and Typhon to wish them safe travels. Ronan goes through a list of potential allies and what he can offer them, which Typhon jots down into a notebook. Seeing him writing reminds me of something.
“Do you know if any of our belongings are still here?” I ask Karis.
“That is, House Verran’s belongings. I’m looking for some books that belonged to my mother.
Just sentimental things, nothing of value.
” Possibly some light sacrilege, maybe some clues about an ancient prophecy and our destiny.
You know. The usual sort of thing people leave behind when they move.
“Most of the books in the library were either sold or destroyed unless we had a use for them. You’re free to look around. There’s a cellar near the kitchens that has become a sort of dumping ground for unwanted things. Be careful in there, though. There may be mice.”
“I know it.” I remember that cellar well. “It’s rats in there, not mice.”
Karis shudders.
Ronan finishes giving his instructions, and I pull Larus aside to thank him before he leaves.
“I know this isn’t somewhere you ever thought you would be again.”
Larus takes a long, slow look at the dining hall. “I can almost hear their voices still. And your father’s laughter. Gods, that laugh of his could shake the rafters.”
I grin, remembering. “Like a barking dog. And his sneezes too!” My mother insisted on keeping a wind-born around to dampen the sound.
“I know this isn’t what they would have wanted for you, but they lived in a different time. Under a different king.”
I look up at him through my lashes, suddenly shy. “Has he grown on you then? Ronan?”
He looks at Ronan, measuring him with his eyes.
“He’s an easy man to know. He has a lot of big ideas, and they seem like good ones, but there’s a difference between saying something and getting it done.
Still, you can tell his heart is in the right place.
And I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as enamored with another person as he is with you.
” His features soften. “I may have never wanted it for myself, but it’s everything I could have wanted for you.
I wish the circumstances were different, but I know you have what it takes to get through this. ”
“Thank you, Larus,” I say softly. “It means a lot to me to hear you say that.” Especially knowing what my parents would have thought. To have the approval of Larus, the closest thing I have left to a parent, is everything.
“But be careful while I’m gone. Adria has a vested interest in finding you and stopping you before you can take the city back. She’d be foolish not to send spies and assassins anywhere Ronan could have fled. Be careful who you trust.”
“I will,” I say. “And you be careful too out there. I’m jealous though, really. I’d love to see you out on the open seas.”
Larus shakes his head. “I gave all that up long ago. I’ll be lucky if Octavia doesn’t throw me overboard for getting in her way.”
I give him one last hug, and then they’re on their way, trailing after a barely chastened Xu Fushi, who marches them back towards the docks with all the confidence of someone who owns the place.