Page 84 of A Rose Among Snakes

Walking over to where the fire had been the night before, Velian said, “Corman, come with me to collect firewood. Paolef and Denzen, stay here and keep an eye on him.” He inclined his head toward Enverro.

“Yes, sir,” Paolef and Denzen said in unison. Velian and Corman marched into the darkening forest, and Paolef guided Enverro to the fire pit, releasing him with a shove.

“My apologies,” Enverro began, “but I missed the part where I was your prisoner.”

Paolef grunted and returned to his horse to remove the saddle. I joined Enverro at the fire pit, watching as he took a seat and picked up a leaf, tearing it to shreds. He proceeded to mutilate several more before I asked,

“Were you kind to her?”

Enverro’s eyes flicked to mine. “I think so.” He went back to picking at the leaf and smirked. “She might disagree. And I’m sure if she was here, she would let me know all about it.”

I bit back the smile tugging at my mouth.

“Tell me more about her time with you,” I said, lowering myself to the ground across from him.

“Well, she threw a rock at my head the first day, then refused to eat for the next two. She pestered me with intrusive questions and shared more personal details than I’ve ever known a person to volunteer. She proceeded to lull me into a false sense of trust so I would let her outside, then hit me with a log and tried to escape. I’ve never met such a stubborn, formidable woman before.” He chuckled, then grew serious, throwing the remaining stem into the cold ashes. “She protected me from the king, too. He wanted to kill me and she stopped him, speaking to him so boldly… not a trace of fear for herself, only for me.”

His cheeks flushed and hearing the wistfulness in his tone, it dawned on me. “You like her.”

“No,” he paused, “I think I love her.”

I could no longer fight the smile. “She has that effect on men.” Something deep in my chest tightened as I thought about her wildness, missing her companionship. I feared the worst for her, so I prompted him, “Tell me what happened with the king.”

Enverro leaned back on his hands and spoke of the time they spent out in the garden, her fainting, and how she hit him with a log and ran off. He spoke of the way his frustration disintegrated the moment he saw the king approaching and his fear guided him to take her back to the cell and pretend nothing happened.

“The king had only come to check on a prisoner once before. I should have told her to run the other way and stayed back to lead him in the opposite direction. I should have let him kill me ratherthan take her back. She risked her life to save mine, and I couldn’t do the same.” He buried his face in his hands.

Listening to his story, I was flooded with emotions ranging from heartbreak to fury, to fear, and ending with disappointment. I bit my tongue, holding back the words that would not be productive or encouraging. Berating him for what he already knew was not beneficial for anyone. Besides, he reminded me of someone. I just couldn’t place who that someone was.

“You might get a chance to redeem yourself soon,” I offered, trying to sound uplifting and not patronizing.

Leaves crunched under Denzen’s feet as he approached. “Is he bothering you?” I shook my head, but he reached down to grab me, saying, “Come over here, Mihrra.”

I was fine where I was, but before I could protest, Enverro said,

“It appears you are the one bothering her, my friend.”

Denzen let go of me and marched over to Enverro, picking him up by his collar.

“What did you say to me?”

“You’re bothering her. She doesn’t want to go with you.”

“How would you know?”

“You must be blind. She’s clearly spoken for already.”

Denzen scoffed. “Oh really, by you?”

Enverro snorted in return. “No, you fool, not by me.”

My stomach knotted itself as Denzen wound up to strike Enverro.

I jumped to my feet. “Denzen-”

“What’s going on here?” Velian barked, striding up with his arms full of firewood, Corman just behind.

“Nothing, Boss,” Denzen said, releasing Enverro and wiping his hands on his pants.

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