Page 37 of Straw and Gold
Good. That’s it. A little more, Moh Dhóches.
When I was finished eating and he was finished hand feeding me, he rose, stalking across the room to open the washing room door. “A bath has been drawn and everything you need for the day is here. Take your time.”
I scooted to the edge of the bed, following him into the washing room to see a steaming bath, a fresh towel, and a new gown, simple and dark red.
I picked it up, clutching the soft linen to my body. “Are we going somewhere?”
“Yes,” he replied with an irritating simplicity.
I rolled my eyes while turning to hide my smile. “Enlighten me,” I returned, repeating his own favorite phrase.
He opened the door, ready to leave. “We’re going into the town of Cenmar with Captain Fedir. Tocleadha.”
Cleadha, cleadha, cleadha….
My mind raced, trying to pick up what the word meant.
He stared across the steam, waiting for me to catch up.
“To… to practice?” I finally suggested.
His face relaxed and he nodded. “Tocleadha,Moh Dhóches.”
CHAPTER 20
Killian
We tooka simple carriage across the green fields to the largest town in the Citrine Cliffs. Cenmar was the hub of trade to the other kingdoms in Revelry, which made it full of humans and faekind alike, along with different languages. Céaduah was common, especially in the sections of town where the locals purchased their goods and lived if they worked in the castle.
Hoods up and cloaks drawn, Fedir and I guided Morella through the streets, desiring to be unrecognized during our short trip. Of course, no one would know Morella. Her wings were hidden well and she had not been queen long enough to have her likeness painted or her breathtaking smile known and her laughter heard among my people.
We walked the rows of tents in the market and she listened carefully, picking up on the haggling of prices and banter between merchants and patrons of their wares.
I brought her to a stall of silks, naming each color and having her repeat after me. Fedir lingered behind us, watching the crowd and winking at a variety of beautiful faces.
Morella’s fingers trailed over all the fabrics and she rubbed a few between her fingers, commenting in broken Céaduah on their texture.
Her gift for picking up the language was staggering. It had taken me years to really grasp it enough to regularly speak it, and not for the first time, I guessed that being part Changelingfae meant she had an affinity for it.
We spent the day wandering, speaking, practicing the language I needed her to know. I needed her to understand its intricacies. I needed her to know it on a level where she dreamed in Céaduah. We snacked on roasted nuts and fresh cheeses melted over toasted bread. As the sun began to lower and her feet shuffled heavily across the cobblestones, we moved on to a small tavern at the end of the market street. We ordered dinner and settled into a booth at the back, away from the crowd.
“What else would you like to see in Cenmar?” I asked as she tore into her mutton pie.
She took a long swallow of ale before answering in Céaduah. “Creags? I overheard the word a few times and assumed it’s a place.”
Fedir smirked, folding his arms and settling himself back into his side of the booth, waiting for my answer.
I cleared my throat and wiped my mouth. “I already tried to show you the cliffs and you fell out of the sky.”
“Creags is cliffs?” she asked.
“The Citrine Cliffs,” Fedir answered. “The same cliffs you need to stand on and say his true name.”
She gasped and leaned forward, whispering harshly across the table. “You know about our bargain? Do you know his name? And why do I have to stand there?”
Fedir joined her in a conspiratorial murmur. “I do, no, and because that’s part of his bargain with Céad.”
She inhaled loudly again, turning to me sitting beside her with an enormously charming open-mouthed grin. “You made a bargain with Céad? You didn’t tell me that part!” She grabbed my forearm and jostled it.
