Page 94 of Thorns & Fire
‘No promises,’ Torj growled, not taking his eyes off the door, which had opened a crack.
‘What do you want?’came Wren’s sharp voice from within.The flinty note in her demand made Torj’s heart leap.
‘Bear Slayer?’Cal snapped.‘No violence tonight.’
Torj released a shuddering breath.‘Not tonight,’ he vowed.
That seemed to be enough for the younger Warsword, who wasted no time scooping his charge up in his arms and hurrying down the corridor.
Torj turned back just in time to hear the rest of the exchange between Wren and the noble-blooded prick.
‘I only require a few moments of your time,’ Devereux was saying.
‘At this hour?’Wren asked.
‘For you?Any hour.’
Light spilled from the room as she opened the door wider and Devereux slipped inside.Torj’s chest seized.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, shoving down the devastation that threatened to burst from him, he took up his station.
He was her guard, nothing more.
The chant in his mind started anew.
Not enough.Not enough.Not enough.
CHAPTER 37
Wren
‘Come winter the petals fall, but the thorns remain’
– From Root to Petal: Understanding Plants and Their Properties
‘WHAT HAPPENED TOyou?’Zavier demanded, staring at Wren’s puffy eyes as they reviewed their work in the warfare dungeon the next day.
‘I know I look like shit, but do you really need to draw attention to it?’Wren hissed, rubbing her aching temples.
‘Depends,’ Zavier replied.‘How bad is it?’
Despite the fact that Torj was currently stationed outside their lesson, she hadn’t spoken to him since last night.She’d done nothing except stare at that damn book and wonder where the fuck they’d gone wrong.
Now, she surveyed Zavier in return.Her friend’s skin was sallow, his hairline damp with sweat, his lips dry and cracked.‘Are you alright?’she asked, noting that he appeared to have lost weight as well.
‘Why wouldn’t I be?’he said defensively.
‘You...you just don’t look like yourself today.’
‘I know I look like shit, but do you really need to draw attention to it?’he parroted.
Wren gave a tired laugh.‘Fair enough.I don’t think any of us look like ourselves lately.’She looked around the workstations.‘Where’s Dessa?She should be here by now.’
Zavier shrugged.‘I think she and Kipp ended things between them last night.Perhaps she’s taken the morning to...deal with that.’
‘She would have told me!’Wren exclaimed.
Another shrug.‘First time for everything, Poisoner.’
