Chapter 15
It had been too much to believe that Rise could ever care about more than his vengeance, but Liv had hoped the moment would elevate him to something higher. Of course, Liv herself had selfish reasons for wanting to remove her father from the throne, mostly so that she could actually…well…live.
If her father had his way, she would have been dead long ago. She just hoped by freeing Esvie, they were able to convince Atta to help them find the curse breaker that gave them what they needed to make Grawl vulnerable.
After making their way throughout the maze of tents that made up the city, they finally came to a halt at the last tent, turning back toward Decelia. She hobble up behind them, but no one exited the last tent.
With a grin stretched across her face, Decelia swept her outstretched hand toward the entrance of the tent just as wagons turned the corner filled with supplies.
“You’ll stay here tonight. Look through the wagons and pack what you need for the journey.”
Liv stared in awe as more and more wagons slipped into the wide alley created by the tents erected across from each other.
“Surely, not all of this was offered to us? We couldn’t possibly take even one-tenth of these items with us.” Rise’s deep, gravelly voice sounded confused.
“Of course not! The rest is for when you return.”
With that, she reached out a soft hand to pat first Liv and then Rise on the arms before turning and making her way back toward the long stretch of tents.
Liv marveled at the faith the entire village showed by their offerings.
Not only did they sacrifice their belongings so that Rise and she would be able to survive through the journey outside of this pocket dimension, but they obviously believed they would be successful enough to need to return to a tent with all the comforts of home.
The idea left Liv baffled. No one, except Val, had ever been so generous with such necessary resources, especially in Umbraland where a majority of the land that had once been lush was now desert.
As several, winged men unloaded the items and placed them inside the tent, Rise moved to do the same. After a few awkward moments, the men struck up some quiet conversation, and Liv watched as Rise gave a few small chuckles at something they said.
After some time, the wagons were emptied, and the men waved as they left the same way they’d come.
With a deep sigh, Liv threw the tent flap back and she and Rise stepped inside together.
Having been moving in and out earlier, he seemed to know where to go as he stepped deeper into darkened recess that went back farther than Liv had expected.
It seemed to be made up of four, individual compartments, and in each, furniture had been placed.
In the main room at the front of the tent, a long bench with a cushioned back stretched along one of the outside walls.
Another room was open to this one, but inside that room, there were devices meant for food storage and preparation.
As Liv moved through the other two rooms, she thought they were more spaces of convenience.
One seemed like a place to take care of washing and relieving oneself.
The other was a sleeping area with a raised platform covered in furs and other pillowy materials.
With the exhaustion that had taken over Liv at the sight of that comfortable-looking place, that was likely where she would spend most of the evening.
Yet, before that, she really wanted to wash up.
It seemed like forever ago that she’d bathed in the lake, and, of course, met Spot, Atta, and enjoyed the feel of Rise’s callused hands on her body.
As the memory of how he’d touched her in the cave filled her mind, her body heated and her heart began to beat erratically. She glanced over to catch Rise watching her as if he knew her thoughts. Had she projected the scene into his head? She really needed to get a handle on this new ability.
She cleared her throat and said, “I think I’ll wash up and then we can eat a little something.”
He nodded slowly but his gaze never left her as she walked out of the room.
When she lowered the flap over the washroom to gain some privacy, she tried to slow her breathing.
If she didn’t know any better, she might believe she’d just extended a tremendous amount of energy with how charged her entire body suddenly felt.
She placed her hands on the side of the large, round tub that the men had carried inside.
It was a cool metal and gave her a moment to ground herself.
She had to remember that as much as she and Rise had come to an understanding that they should work together for now, she couldn’t let down her guard completely.
Just days ago, Rise had wanted to use her to get his revenge on Grawl.
And though he’d come along on the side quest with Atta and her, she knew better than to believe he’d forgotten the goal he’d worked his entire adult life to accomplish.
As she heard him move back toward the front room, she felt comfortable enough to peel the worn pieces of fabric from her body.
They certainly couldn’t be called clothes any longer, but as she looked to her right, she noticed some buttery soft slick pants and a white shirt with short sleeves, along with a thick vest made of the same material as the pants.
And on a stool to the side of those was a light, almost-sheer shift she knew was meant to be slept in.
She rarely let herself enjoy such frills any longer, but perhaps tonight she could let her guard down enough to sleep comfortably.
As she undressed, she admired the steam lifting from the number of buckets that the people had been generous enough to share with Liv and Rise.
Some mechanism in the bucket seemed to keep the water from cooling too quickly.
With care, she poured half of the buckets into the metal tub.
She moaned as she slipped into the heated water.
It had been so very long since she’d experienced such luxury. She never wanted it to end.
After a few moments, she reached for the sweet-smelling soap on the side of the tub. It was another indulgence she never allowed herself, but as she inhaled the warm, earthy fragrance, she sighed softly. She lathered and spread the soap over her body, loving the feel of such opulence.
Once she was rinsed and had used a bit of liquid to wash her hair and another bit of liquid to soften it, she was amazed at what a little pampering did to lift her spirits.
It had been rarer than Rise believed, but when Liv had been younger, she had loved the palace luxuries.
She’d watched the servants use their cracked, dry hands to create the soaps, perfumes, and dyed clothing that she’d enjoyed.
She’d even tried to help once, but she’d learned never to do that again when her father had forced her to sleep in the deep hole that served as a prison for servants who’d dared to steal anything of his.
She hadn’t quite understood why she’d been punished, but he’d never really needed reasons. The cruelty was the point. The hole had smelled of dirt and death. Unlike Liv, the servants never left the hole. They died there.
“You’ve been in there a long time. Do you need help?” Rise’s gruff voice startled her out of her dark musings.
She laughed. “No, Rise. I’m fully capable of bathing myself.”
He stayed quiet so long, Liv thought he might have left. But then, with his voice deeper than she’d ever heard it, he said, “I could help you with other things, too.”