Page 89 of Given to the Fae
Too quickly.
She’s lying now. There is something, but the fear in her eyes has me changing tack. I won’t get anything else out of her now. She doesn’t trust me enough to tell me more.
And rightly so.
‘Are you tired?’ I ask. ‘From last night.’
She looks at me as if I’m trying to make her admit something, trick her into telling me what she doesn’t want me to know.
‘Because I am,’ I admit. ‘Shall we rest awhile? We can leave the others to explore and stay here for a bit. We can talk more later if you like.’
She nods a bit reluctantly, and I gesture to the large bed that can easily fit two.
‘Do you mind if we share?’
She looks away.
‘Doesn’t seem to matter much now, does it?’ she mutters, her cheeks turning pink.
‘Well, I’m going to sleep,’ I say as I unbuckle my belt and part my tunic.
I sit on the bed and toe off my boots before lying back with my arms under my head andmostlyclose my eyes.
I watch her as she deliberates for a bit before stifling a yawn, then she does the same as me. I feel her settle next to me and turn onto her side away from me, curling her legs closer to her body. She always sleeps like that, I’ve noticed, as if trying to take up as little room as possible.
Having seen etchings of slaves in what amounts to their communal chambers at night, I know that they tend to sleep closely together for warmth and comfort.
‘Are you used to sleeping with others?’ I ask, without really meaning to.
She looks over her shoulder at me and nods cautiously.
‘At The Barrack?’
She nods again.
‘Do you miss it?’
She shrugs. ‘Usually they made me stay on the outside.’
She turns away and I wonder why.
‘They didn’t like you?’
‘Suppose not.’
I’d like her to trust me more than she does now and I know the only way for that to happen is to prove to her that I’m not like the masters she’s known.
‘It was on the floor,’ she murmurs. ‘It’s hard to get comfortable on these soft mattresses, but it’s warmer up here.’
‘If you...’ I take a deep breath. ‘If you want to move closer to me, you can. If it’ll help you sleep.’
She gives me a suspicious look and I put my hands up in front of me.
‘Only to sleep,’ I reiterate.
She turns away again without a word and I think she isn’t going to take me up on the offer, but then she shuffles closer, her back pressed to me.
It’s not long before her breathing evens out and I know she’s asleep.
