Page 110 of Soul of Thorns
My breaths become more labored as he carries me into the building and up the steps. Then, he lays me on the softest bed I’ve ever felt in my whole life.
I gasp as his arms release me, taking his warmth with him. But then, all at once, he’s back, his chest and legs against me. His arm curls around my waist, and all I can think is,this is perfect, just before I fall asleep.
Rev
Ijerk when the doorslams open.
Rusty dagger in hand, I blink rapidly. My mother stands in the doorway, her hand over her mouth.
“You’re home,” she breathes. Her eyes flicker to Caelynn lying peacefully beside me.
“Yes,” I whisper.
She frowns as Caelynn stirs, then groans, her expression crumpled in confusion and discomfort. My muscles are stiff and aching, my limbs weak. I can only imagine what she’s feeling now.
“Rev?”
“Shh,” I tell her and brush the hair from her face.
Her eyes crack open, then her sight flashes to my mother in the doorway and she jerks up, holding the covers over her chest like she’s hiding something intimate. She’s fully dressed in the ragged clothing she entered the Schorchedlands in. Or perhaps she’s hiding the tiny prick where I’d almost stabbed her.
Caelynn sits, panting, expression covered in confusion.
“Mother,” I say. “Will you call in a maid? Caelynn could use a bath.”
“She...” My mother’s mouth gapes open. I have to remember that Caelynn is not an ally or friend or anything else to my mother. She’s an enemy.
She’s the assassin that murdered my brother in the room across the hall.
Heaving in a long breath, I pull myself out of bed. “Wait here,” I tell Caelynn. “I’ll send someone to draw you a bath in a moment.”
Caelynn frowns and doesn’t respond. I suppose it is a lot for her to take in.
“I don’t understand,” she mutters.
I lean over her. “I promised I wouldn’t leave you there.”
