Thana sighed and rubbed her temples. What a mess. One she wasn’tgoing to figure out tonight.
With a tired groan, she stood and went back into the stable.Sylph still sat against the wall, and her eyes opened as Thana entered. In thefaint light, her light green eyes seemed almost colorless. A tiny smile seemedto ghost across her lips, but that could have been the way the candlelightflickered across her face. She lay down on the pallet, shifting so there wasroom for two.
Thana blew out the candle and lay beside her, putting hercaptured pyramids close to hand. Memories of the kiss danced across herthoughts as they lay shoulder to shoulder. She began to drift, smiling wryly atthe idea that they were sharing a bed after all, but it was nothing like she’dimagined.
* * *
Sylph’s eyes drifted open, and confusion reigned.
The ceiling above her was bare wood, and she smelled straw andhorses. The air felt heavy, each muted gust carrying the scent of smoke andchar.
And someone was lying beside her.
Of all the times she’d slept outdoors with her father’s retinue,no one had ever slept beside her in her enormous tent. But then, she’d neverslept on a bed of straw, either.
If one had to sleep on chaff, she supposed it was nice to havecompany.
As she recognized Thana, her recent memories rushed back. It hadbeen a night of firsts, including a first kiss that still made the forbiddenstir inside her, made her imagine what would have happened if the manor hadn’tbeen attacked.
If she hadn’t killed someone.
Another first.
Also initiated by Thana.
Sylph slipped out from underneath the thin blanket. Thana’s eyesstayed shut, her black lashes standing out starkly against her pale cheeks. Shelooked so peaceful as her chest rose and fell rhythmically. Her lips were avery pale pink, and Sylph thought again about what it had been like to kissher. For a moment, she wanted to repeat the experience, but the death seemed tostand between them.
When Sylph stepped from the small room into the stable proper,soft light greeted her, and the horses whickered. She set about feeding them, atask she’d often undertaken at home. She wondered where the pasture was, if thegrooms just let them mill about the yard under watch or if they grazed nearby.The manor no doubt had fields, probably a village, but she didn’t know where itwould be, so she left all of them in their stalls.
Even with all her musing and with all the busy work for herhands, the deaths kept a steady drumbeat in her mind. It had felt so good tolet go. And that seemed different than self-defense, different from a desire toprotect Thana or the countess and her family. It felt like…murder.
Thana’s idea.
With a snarl, Sylph turned from the horses and stomped outside.The air was still smoky, and no one in the manor stirred, though she noticedthat her things had been piled just outside the door. That was for the best.
What would Countess Carisse do with the blasted and burned trees?Pull them down? Even if she replanted, she wouldn’t erase last night for manyyears to come. And new plant life couldn’t replace human ones.
She told herself she was being maudlin, not fair to herself orThana. She would have lost control eventually. She could still recall the feelof that siren pyramid; it had felt like trying not to touch a thing thatalready lived inside her. If its wielder had come any closer, she would haveslipped anyway, would have killed Thana and herself and maybe destroyed themanor and those within. Even with her guilt, she couldn’t believe that outcomewould have been better than this.
Would Thana feel guilty, too? Or would her conscience be clear whenthis destruction could lie at Sylph’s feet? Thana had shown many kindnesses,but doubt still lingered. Sylph didn’t know people, had always had a hard timereading them ever since her maid had betrayed her when she was little. Waseveryone capable of that kind of turnaround? Even Thana had a hidden self,keeping passion behind anger.
Oh, that kiss.
Sylph turned her face up, trying to find cleaner air, andbreathed deeply. That kiss seemed almost worth the guilt that followed.
A soft sound made her turn. Thana stood in the stable doorway,blinking wearily. When their eyes met, Thana smiled, but Sylph saw an edgethere, some twist that spoke of an emotion she couldn’t read. Anger?Embarrassment? Disgust? Doubt? Nothing positive could cause a smile to slip.
Sylph turned away, anger burning her chest. She had not asked tobe so far out of her depth, nor for any of this. Thana began speaking,planning, clearing her throat a lot and talking as if nothing had happened, buther voice had a strained quality that set Sylph’s nerves on end. Thanachattered as she rummaged through the luggage. She nattered as she put thingsin the stable, and she moaned about the countess’s hospitality until Sylphwanted to put her hands over her ears. It all sounded so false. How in thespirit’s names were they supposed to keep going like this?
“I mean, they haven’t even left anything to eat,” Thana saidbefore looking in another bag. “Oh, here’s some bread. I guess they did leavesomething, but how are we supposed to get the horses ready?”
“Why don’t you stop talking and figure it out?” Sylph snapped. Itfelt as if her father spoke through her, and the surprise on Thana’s faceshamed her, but her father got things done. No matter what, he kept movingforward, even if on the wrong course, and that was what Sylph needed right now.She needed to get out of this place of death, and she needed Thana to come withher.
So…
Sylph grabbed a bridle from the wall and stopped in front of herhorse. “Pay attention.”
The words or the tone seemed to spark something in Thana, and sheobeyed. Sylph took her brusquely through the process, then had her repeat it onthe other mount, correcting her quietly but firmly when she erred.
“Get the bags,” Sylph said when they finished with the saddles.
Thana’s mouth dropped open. “Why don’t you get them?”
Sylph mimicked one of her father’s epic sighs. “If you requirehelp, all you need
