Another thought occurs to me—what happens when we find the Hedonism Aron? I eye Yulenna as she warms her hands by the fire. I hate that my thoughts went there. I hate that I keep seeing Aron flipping her skirt up and the noises she made as he pounded into her. It doesn’t matter that it wasn’t my Aron, because it’s my Aron now, and I might murder him in his sleep if he touches her.

Or…just cry a lot. One or the other.

Eventually, the soldiers come back from burying their comrades, their expressions sober. They keep their distance from me, silent as they wash up and head to their tents to sleep. Aron points me to the big tent, where old Aron slept, and I can’t fight my yawns back any longer. I head inside, and I feel a stab of relief when Aron follows me in. He’s still going to sleep with me.

Yulenna follows us, too. Her expression is timid when she sees my surprise. “I slept at my Lord of Storms’s feet while he relaxed, in case he should need me through the long night. Should I not?”

I look at Aron.

“This is not Faith’s tent now,” he declares. “She does not make the rules here.” And he puts a big hand on my shoulder.

I bite my lip, wondering how much to push, and then decide that fuck it, I’m pushing. “Aron won’t need your services anymore. You can sleep in the wizard’s tent.”

With an uncertain look, Yulenna nods and sees herself out.

The tent's definitely better living than Aron and I have experienced so far…well, except for maybe Tadekha's Citadel. Lush tapestries hang on the walls, and thick blankets are tossed atop a plush pad of a mattress. There's a freaking mattress out here in the woods, and I practically squeal at the sight of it. It's atop a woven reed mat to keep the dirt off it, but there's no mistaking the thickness of it, and I kneel beside it to touch, just because I'm so shocked. A real mattress. With pillows, even. They're pretty, decorative pillows for the most part, but still pillows. Nearby, coals rest in a hammered brazier in the center of the room and there's a scent like incense. Off to one side is a flat-topped trunk with a cushioned seat for a lid. "Holy crap, he's living in style in here," I breathe, scarcely able to believe it. I pick up one pillow and am surprised to feel that the embroidered unicorns on the front are as soft as velvet.

Aron just grunts, and he sounds irritated. "All of this is necessary for travel."

"I don't care if it's necessary or not, it's awesome." I run a hand over my face and arms, feeling for any last flakes of mud, and then touch the bed again. "Can we use it? Even if it belongs to the bad guys?"

"It is not yours now," Aron tells me. " If we plan on making good time to the Spidae's tower, we are not leaving all of this behind."

His emphasis tells me the truth of the matter, and I sigh. All this bedding was too good to be true after all. I know he's right. But tonight, these luxury accommodations are mine. "Is it safe to sleep, do you think?" I ask him, lowering my voice to a bare whisper. "Or should we stay on alert?"

"What is there to guard against?" he whispers back, a mocking edge in his tone. "Do they not serve Aron of the Cleaver? Am I not the only one here?"

"Point taken," I agree, and give him a little pinch just because he's back to being his normal ass self. "If it's safe, then I'm undressing and sleeping now."

"You should not," he agrees, putting a big hand on my shoulder. "We will not be rising early in the morning. You do not need your sleep."

I pull off one boot with a nodded yawn, then the other. All the adrenaline is leaving my body and I feel like a sleepy mess. I haul my dirty tunic off my head before I realize I'm almost naked in front of Aron. Oh well, it's not like I don't have goods he hasn't seen before. I smack my lips and adjust the leather band I'm wearing around my tits so they don't bounce, and then crawl into bed in nothing but leggings and a bra-band. "Tonight, I get to sleep in luxury at least. Come here, my pretty," I tell a pillow, and tuck it under my face. Oh man, this is heaven. "I'm going to be sad to leave you all behind tomorrow. Shhh, don't cry." I stroke a pillow. "I will remember you in my dreams."

Aron snorts.

"Oh, what's that?" I tell the pillow, still pretending to have a conversation. "Aron's a dick? I know, right? I'm not sure why he's so against you either, considering this is his tent. Well, not his tent, but Bad Aron's tent. It's okay, though." I pet the pillow one more time and fight a yawn. "If you love something, set it free and all that. You'll be free in the morning, pillow. Just right after I'm done with you."

I tuck the blankets under my chin and a moment later, Aron stabs me in the side with a finger.

"Ow. What?" I roll over and look at him. He's squatting next to the bed, one arm resting casually on his knee.

Aron just smirks at me. "You think this is my tent? Why would I have a bed? I do not sleep, remember?"

My tired brain processes that for a moment, and then I remember that he doesn't lie when he's asking questions. Then, I sit upright, shocked. Shit. He's right. I look around the tent and notice the feminine touches I didn't see before. A shawl draped over the seat. Fringe on the pillows. Freaking embroidery. Dudes don't care about that shit. I bet if I open the pretty trunk, the clothes in there will be dresses just like the filmy one Yulenna's wearing. "This is her tent, isn't it?"

"You think I would cuddle with the wizard?" Aron asks mockingly.

I give him a wry look. "Good point. I didn't realize this was hers, though." I touch the unicorn pillow thoughtfully. "Should we bring her back in here?"

"Yes," Aron says flatly.

"Okay, okay, don't get touchy. I'm trying to be polite."

"Why should you be polite to the conquered?" he asks, and reaches out to brush a stray lock of hair off my shoulder. I get goosebumps at that small touch, and not just because of the shockwaves.

"Right," I say, distracted. I'm trying to think about Yulenna, but Aron's nearness is kind of pulling me in a million directions. Not that he's all that near, of course. I'm sitting up in bed and he's next to me but not standing. We're still close enough for…well, a lot of things. My brain reminds me of Aron flipping up Yulenna's skirt, and then I'm back to reality, though. I know the nice thing to do would be to invite her back in here, but…I'm still seeing the vision of his dick pushing into her whenever I close my eyes.

She can sleep in the wizard's tent tonight.

I lie down again, gazing up at Aron. "What do we do with her? I suggested freeing her and you'd think I was talking about execution."

He grunts. "Give her to the soldiers?"

I blanch. "Aron, no. She's a person. She just makes poor choices. Or maybe she didn't have choices. Either way, she doesn't have to service anyone if she doesn't want to. Let her figure out that she doesn't have to earn a living on her back and maybe she'll choose a different way."

Aron just arches an eyebrow at me, clearly disagreeing.

Sheesh. I reach out to swat at him. "Be nice. I didn't want to be a slave handed off to men. Why would I wish that on someone else?" Even if she thinks she should be servicing Aron right about now?

"And the soldiers? Any plans for them?" Aron murmurs, his voice taking on a more intimate tone. "Assuming they will not prove themselves, that is."

Ugh. I'm not sure I like the idea of riding around with a posse. It's very different from how Aron and I have been traveling so far, and it feels very…conspicuous. It might be safer, but I just don't know. I feel like everything's going to change. Then again, everything already has. Aron can't speak without spouting lies, and when I close my eyes, I can't stop seeing Bad Aron bent over Yulenna. Bad Aron grabbing Yulenna’s hips. Yulenna squealing as he drives into her. "We'll see," I tell him. "We're stuck with them for now, I guess. If we can't get along, we can always dump them at the closest city if they slow us down."