The Deathsinger: Book 1

Ch. 26: First Looks

After training and dinner, I stumbled into the tent I shared with Tievel and collapsed fully clothed on the pallet he'd made. Unlike the first night we spent together, there were two separate sleeping spaces. If I hadn't been so exhausted, I might have felt more than a passing appreciation for Tievel's thoughtfulness.

It was very unlike him to not take advantage of a situation like this. It went against his very nature to not hold me closer to him after what happened last night, but he would not risk my battered mind associating his touch with those monsters.

Sleep claimed me quickly, and I woke only once in the night and only for a moment. I had a vague awareness of someone moving me, then draping a blanket over my body before drifting back into dreamless slumber. When dawn broke, cold and hazy, I woke up in a cozy nest of furs and found my boots set next to the door.

Dragging them over my feet, I laced them up and rubbed my rapidly chilling hands over my thighs. My very exposed thighs and calves and hips. Without the fresh flush of the fight heating my blood, I was once again shy about wearing the trousers. It took only the memory of how much easier it had been to move and defend myself against Yoko to spur me out of the tent.

"Why didn't anyone wake me?" I demanded, accepting a tin plate with a steaming biscuit, bacon, and a hunk of cheese from Astreia as Yoko and Tievel set about breaking down the tent.

Astreia smiled gently as I ate. "Because you needed the rest after yesterday. Physically and mentally."

Breadcrumbs sprayed from my lips as I spoke around a large bite. "We're about to be on a ship for several days. I will get plenty of rest then. We don't have time to waste."

The warm weight of Tievel's hand settled on my shoulder, and he pressed a kiss to my temple. "We are not in so much of a hurry that we will risk your well-being."

Yoko tightened the saddlebags on her horse as she closed them. Mounting her horse, she rolled her shoulders as if to calm herself before adding, "A journey at sea is rarely restful, and we don't know if you will do well on the ship. It is something many outside of the Sea Court struggle with."

"What do you mean?" I accepted Tievel's help to get on my mount. The lingering touch on my thigh as he made sure I was seated properly sent a rush of heat to my center.

"Sea sickness is unpleasant," Astreia chimed in with a grimace. "The first time I was on a ship, I spent three days throwing up everything I ate."

Yoko's black hair swished across her cheeks as she shook her head. "I will tend to you, princess. You do not have to worry."

Astreia laughed. "Thankfully, I found my sea legs on my third voyage, but I'll be happy to pretend to be very ill if you want to play healer."

Yoko lit up with interest, and the lovers moved their horses closer together so they could whisper. Snippets of what they said reached me, and I blushed, grateful they were too absorbed in one another to see the red in my face. The teasing would be endless.

"Do not be worried about the seasickness," Tievel said, reigning his horse in to match my slower pace. A shaky truce had been struck between me and the beast, but I did not yet fully trust him. "Healing others is not my strongest gift, but I should be able to keep the worst at bay."

I waited for a teasing jab. Some innuendo. Gods knew he always had one at the ready, especially where I was concerned, but none followed. His expression remained one of tender concern, and I recalled the tears he shed after rescuing me. Had the incident changed how he would treat me? Would he forever hesitate over every word and touch, afraid I would shatter if he was himself around me?