Chapter Thirty #2
She pursed her lips. So, he’d noticed. But she hadn’t been upset, she’d been confused and untethered, not knowing what to think when he displayed skills and talents she hadn’t expected him to have.
After all, he wasn’t noble, he didn’t come from a world of wealth.
He rode a horse like he’d learned since he was a child, he composed poetry like he’d been taught the classics and had spent time among writers, and she didn’t even want to think again about lattice weaving and playing the piano.
He made no sense.
But she’d just said to herself that Briar and the soldier made no sense.
Who and what made sense, in the end?
Her feelings for him. Yes. She could cling to those. Her heart had never steered her wrong, and it wouldn’t now. The mind could be tricked, but the heart always divined the truth.
“I’ve been feeling unmoored,” she said by way of apology.
“We were so good at the White Horse, and then we had to leave. For a few days, I’d forgotten what we were after, that we’d left Ingolstadt to find those men and seek revenge.
It had felt so wonderful to just be. To sleep in a warm bed, eat delicious food, go for walks, and simply sit together, drink beer and talk.
I forgot about the world outside, and even if travelers came with news about the war, we didn’t pay them any mind, did we?
We didn’t let the pain and suffering of the war reach us.
It was selfish, I know, but I wish we could do it again.
I wish we could find a place away from it all, somewhere no one can find us, where we can be together and be ourselves, where we don’t have to cover our faces all the time and worry about what people might think when they see that I am blind, and you are. ..”
She didn’t know what word to choose, so she let the sentence hang. Rune didn’t suggest a word either. She sighed and rubbed her thumb over a spot on his cheek that was smooth.
“Then we reached Langenbach and I realized how silly I’d been. Had we left the inn sooner, we might’ve saved more people.”
“Don’t think like that.”
“It’s a truth that can’t be denied. Just like the truth that this is the world we live in, these are the times, and we cannot escape them.”
“What...” He swallowed heavily. “What do you want us to do?”
She straightened her back and let her hand fall away from his cheek. No more indulging in the dismals. They were here with a purpose, and it might’ve been in vain, but she’d only allow herself to reach that conclusion after they’d searched the rest of the mansion.
“There is a bone somewhere in here, I can feel it. My intuition says we keep looking.” She stood up and offered Rune her hand. “Are you with me?”
“I am. Always.” She could hear a smile in his voice.
“I am with you too.”
They walked out of the music room, and Rune led them toward the main staircase.
“And... Rune?”
“Hm?”
“I loved the song. I thought it was pretty. A little depressing, but pretty.”
He laughed, which meant her assessment hadn’t offended him. Together, they ascended to the second floor, where they searched the bedrooms in order. On the fourth one, when they still hadn’t found anything, Seraphina walked to a window and pressed her hands to the cold glass.
“What’s lying beyond the house, can you tell me?”
Rune joined her. “The forest, in the distance. It’s hard to see in the dark, but there seem to be wooden crosses jutting out of the ground, in rows, just before the forest begins.”
“Crosses, you say...” Seraphina thought for a few seconds. “Peter told us the people in Langenbach buried the bodies after the town was taken back from the High Harvester’s army. They must’ve buried the Von Rothenfelds on their estate because it was easier.”
Rune nodded, but he didn’t seem to be tracking her train of thought.
Seraphina smacked her forehead.
“We’re looking for an apex relic. What did I tell you about people who have them and want to be absolutely sure they aren’t found?”
She turned to him and pointed at her right eye socket.
“They implant them,” Rune said, his voice betraying astonishment.
“I bet what we’re looking for, if it really exists, is in the graveyard.” She started toward the door, then another thought came to her, and she stopped and sighed in defeat. “The earth is frozen, though. We won’t be able to dig.”
“Wait! When you say what we’re looking for might be in the graveyard, you mean... You want to dig up the graves?”
“Yes, but it’s impossible, damn it.”
“You want to desecrate graves...”
Seraphina wrinkled her nose, displeased. “It sounds bad, but we’d just be taking a peek. Never mind, we can’t do it.”
She heard Rune sigh as if he were giving up.
“I can do it,” he murmured. “If we find a pickaxe made of forged iron or steel, so it wouldn’t break. A crowbar would be good, too. I’m strong enough to do it, it’s just a matter of the tools not breaking.”
“Really?” Hope returned to Seraphina’s voice.
He shrugged. “If you want to dig up bodies, then I’ll dig up bodies for you.”
She laughed. “You make it sound unholy.”
He laughed with her. “Isn’t it?”
“And you’ll do it for me...”
He took her hand in his and pulled her into the corridor and back toward the stairs.
“I’ll do anything for you,” he said.
Seraphina blushed and pushed into his side.
He surprised her by wrapping an arm around her and holding her to him.
It was a slow process, but he was becoming more accustomed to gestures of affection, to being close to her and touching her outside of the bedroom.
Earlier, he’d let her rest her hand on his cheek, and now they were walking embraced, which made them fumble and nearly trip on the stairs.
They laughed together, and she wondered if he might feel comfortable doing more soon.