Sten sat back and patted his belly. “Nothing like hot stew and bread when you’ve been traveling all day.”
“I agree,” Cohen said, breaking off another piece of the brown bread.
Karl just nodded, his mouth full.
Taegis quietly sipped on the ale next to Damien. Every few seconds, Damien glanced up at the first door along the balcony and wondered what was taking Selene so long.
“How do you think she’s doing?” Taegis asked as he placed his tankard down.
“Doing?” Damien said, bringing his mind back to Taegis’s question.
“Lady Selene. Her whole life has changed in the last few days, yet she seems to be holding up rather well. Or at least that’s how she appears.”
Damien studied his empty bowl and tapped the wooden spoon against the side. “I’m not sure. Compared to most women I know, she is strong. I haven’t seen her cry once since we left.” But he could tell she was exhausted. Was it from the long days of travel or was there something more?
Taegis leaned in closer and spoke quietly. “I saw how you reacted when you bonded with Lady Selene. I take it you found out more than you bargained for.”
“You have no idea.” He tapped his bowl again. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to Selene about it, and even though he was privileged to the knowledge of her gift via their bond, his men were not. So even if he were to try to broach the subject, her house secrets would probably prevent him from saying anything to others, as it had prevented Selene’s father, Caiaphas. When they arrived at Northwind Castle, he would speak to her.
Damien paused his tapping and looked up at the balcony again. “Something’s wrong,” he muttered. He stood and turned to go to the counter to get Mildred to check on Selene, then realized how odd that would appear since she was his wife and there was no reason why he couldn’t do it.
He rubbed the back of his neck and looked one more time at the balcony, then dropped his hand and started for the stairs. Taegis was already on his feet, following.
“You think something is wrong with Lady Selene?” Taegis asked as pairs of eyes turned in their direction.
“I’m not sure, but it’s been a while. She should have been out by now. And I feel—” He stopped at the foot of the stairs, on the other side of the wall and away from the looks around the inn. Was it danger? No. “I feel responsibility.”
Taegis nodded.
The two men headed up the stairs. At the top, Damien turned toward the first door and knocked. There was no answer. He knocked again, his heart beating faster. Nothing.
“Selene,” he said, using her first name as he knocked for a third time. No answer.
He reached for the lever and pressed down on the metal handle. “Wait here,” he told Taegis, then entered.
It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim candlelit interior. Then he spotted her, in the middle of the room in a round wooden tub, her head lying unnaturally to the side.
“Selene!” He ran toward the tub. Had she passed out? Was she hurt?
Her head shot up and water splashed over the sides of the tub.
He skidded to a stop just behind the tub as her head twisted around and up toward his.
Her eyes went wide. She wrapped her arms around her legs and hunched forward. “What are you doing in here?” Her long black hair hung in dark strands along her back, blocking any view of her skin.
“You’ve been in here for over twenty minutes. I knocked three times and called out, but you didn’t answer. I thought . . .” He ran a hand through his hair and turned around.
“I-I fell asleep,” she said sheepishly.
“Oh.” He couldn’t get the image of her black hair hanging down her back out of his mind or comprehend the fact that she had nothing on behind him. His heart felt like it was going to explode from his chest, and heat spread across his entire body.
“I’ll get out now. I’m sorry for taking so much time.” Her voice came out muffled.
“It’s all right. I’ll leave.” He wanted to run for the door but made himself walk instead.
Taegis met him outside. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes,” Damien said too quickly.
Taegis quirked an eyebrow at him.
“She fell asleep. In the, uh, bathtub.”
“I see.”
Mildred stepped off the stairs with clothing hanging over one arm. She glanced at Damien, then at Taegis. “Is her ladyship done?”
“Yes.” His heart was slowly returning to its normal rhythm.
“I brought some clothes for her.”
Damien stepped to the side. Mildred glanced one more time at him before heading in.
Taegis tugged on the hair below his chin. “I’m going to see if there is a well in town. I’m sure the water has cooled by now, and it’s getting late. The other guards and I can use the well to wash up.”
Damien stared at the door. “I’ll join you. That way Lady Selene has all the time she needs.”
After receiving another bar of soap from Hobbes, the men headed out into the brisk night to the well.
“I can’t wait to get home,” Cohen said through chattering teeth as he splashed water from one of the buckets and washed his upper body as fast as he could.
“Indeed,” Karl replied. The stables stood on the other side of the road and a horse neighed, as if to tell the men to keep quiet.
“Wish I could wash my clothes.” Sten held up his tunic and wrinkled his nose. “I guess this will have to do.” He dumped the shirt in the bucket and took the bar of soap after it. “I’ll just hang it to dry in our room tonight.”
Karl watched him for a moment. “Good idea.”
Damien finished washing up. “I’m heading back. The rest of you take your time. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He knew Taegis was with him without having to look back. Until he reached Northwind Castle, Taegis would be his shadow, whether he wanted it or not. They walked quietly for a few blocks until the inn came into view.
“I’m assuming you will share a room with Lady Selene,” Taegis said.
“I should. Mildred said there were only two rooms and the one with the tub had four beds. Most likely the other room is the same. That leaves everyone with a bed if I room with her. But . . .” He let out a breath. “It’s not something I’m used to.”
“That will take time.” There was merriment in Taegis’s voice.
Damien glanced over at his guardian. There was a small smile on his face, visible by the light shining from the inn’s windows.
Damien decided to play back. “And what would you know of it?”
“Nothing, having never been married myself. But I can imagine.” His expression sobered a little. “You have a very kind heart, my lord. I have a feeling her ladyship could use that kindness. Permission to speak?”
“You usually give advice anyway. Go on.”
Taegis stopped in the middle of the street, a couple of feet from the door. “You were in a tight spot there by the Hyr River. At first, I thought your decision was foolhardy, even though I did not want to see you pained again by hurting someone with your gift. I wished at the time that we had left Lady Selene behind. But now . . .”
“But now?” Damien echoed.
“I think there is something more going on. I’m not quite the follower that your father was of the Old Ways. But there seems to be a touch of destiny on Lady Selene. Perhaps she was meant to come with us . . . which means perhaps the incident at the river was supposed to happen. Perhaps this union happened for a reason. If nothing else, then for her ladyship.”
Damien glanced at the inn as Caiaphas’s words came back to him. “Protect my daughter, no matter what.” Was it possible that Taegis was right? Was there more going on? Did the union happen so Damien would know her gift?
Could Selene be the one to unite the seven Great Houses?
A shiver ran down his spine, wholly unrelated to his damp clothing.
The room was dark when Damien opened the door to the second guest room. It was set up like the first, with four small beds lined up along the right wall, shutters across the windows on the other side of the room, and a table along the left wall. The candlelight from downstairs was the only way he could see inside the room. He thought about searching for another candle, then changed his mind.
“Sten will be guarding your room tonight,” Taegis said quietly from the hallway.
Damien nodded, indicating that he had heard.
“Is there anything else you need?”
Damien turned around. “No. Get some rest, Taegis. We still have a long way to go before we reach Nor Esen and Northwind Castle.”
“I will, my liege. Good night.”
“Good night, Taegis. And leave the door cracked for a moment so I can see.”
Taegis bowed, then walked down the corridor.
Damien turned back. A lone figure lay in the third bed from the door. He walked toward the middle of the room. Selene was curled up on her side, her back to the door, her hair unbound and spread out behind her. She appeared to be asleep, evidenced by the even rise and fall of her body.
She looked different tonight. Was it because he had grown used to seeing her dressed in black, with her hair in a long braid? Or because of their encounter earlier?
He shoved the images out of his mind and pulled off his damp tunic, carefully laying it across the first bed so it could dry. Then he made note of how far the second bed was from the door and how narrow the gap was between the beds, then shut the door.
Using his right hand to feel along, Damien made his way to the second bed, pulled back the covers, and sat down. After removing his boots, he lay down on his side, with his back to Selene, and let out a long breath.
In some ways, he was glad Selene was already asleep. The moments they were alone together were awkward at best. He knew her, and yet he didn’t. The marriage bond had opened his eyes to her gift, yet he didn’t know what she thought of it or how Ravenwood had hidden it all these years or why. Would Selene even want to talk about it?
He didn’t even know what her favorite color was, or what her childhood was like, or what she thought of her family, things he knew about Lady Adalyn and Lady Bryren.
Damien closed his eyes. He would protect Selene. He had sworn to, both to her father and through his vows. But could he learn to love the stranger in the bed next to his?