"Of course, of course." Lord Secuban looks nervous, and if he had a hat, he'd wring it like a cartoon sycophant. "Forgive me for not anticipating your needs. This is the first time Novoro has been honored by the gods. Everything you need, it shall be provided. We will give you a place to rest and time to yourself, and tonight, a great feast will be shared. We hope that you will stay for a few days and bless us."

I relax a little. Everyone just wants a blessing from the gods. I get that. Maybe this place isn't as creepy as I thought it was. They're just the Aos version of backwoods hicks. They don't get out much, they don't see new people, and they don't know how to act. I pat Yulenna's hand.

Nothing at all to worry about.

OceanofPDF.com

48

Aron leaves us behind immediately.

“I wish to speak with their priests and scribes, to see if they’ve received any prophecies,” he tells Yulenna as I stand next to her. “I will not be far. Send one of the men if you need anything.” He flicks a glance at me and then is gone.

Well, he must feel safe, I think sourly. Never mind that he’s arrogance and could be putting all of us in danger. I’ll keep those thoughts to myself for now, though, especially since Yulenna is posing as me. With Markos, Vitar and Kerren surrounding us, we’re shown to quarters by a serving girl who bows and scrapes and giggles with excitement. The men are shown a room down a great hall, the quarters of Novoro’s greatest knight. When they’re told they will be staying there for as long as needed, they nod, and then continue to follow Yulenna and me. We’re led forward down the same hall, to double doors that are carved with gorgeous symbols of the mountains, and when the doors are flung open, the chamber itself is pure opulence. Heavy drapes hang from the stone walls, and a window is open, showing thick, wavy glass to keep out the cold and revealing a gorgeous view of the mountains. A woman sits near them and gets to her feet when we arrive.

“My ladies,” she says, sinking to the floor in a deep bow and Aron’s gesture. “I am told you are Aron’s property. This will be your home while you honor Novoro with your presence.”

I glance behind us as the doors close, leaving Yulenna and me alone with the woman and the servant girl. Markos and the others are stationed just outside, but I can’t shake my unease. Maybe it’s because I’m so far away from Aron that I feel a faint tingle humming through my body. This is the first time in a while that he’s left my side and I’m not a fan of it. Not one bit.

“Thank you,” Yulenna says in her most arch, haughty voice. “This is Faith, Aron’s concubine.” She gestures at me and then sweeps her cloak off. “We will be staying in this room together, so my lord Aron will not be inconvenienced.”

“Of course, the woman says, bowing her head again. “I am Lady Garline, Lord Secuban’s wife and mistress of Novoro. What we have is yours. We will be honored to share with the gods and hope they will share with us in return.”

“I’m sure that is for Aron to decide,” Yulenna says sweetly.

“You must be tired,” Lady Garline says. “And dirty. Let me have my women draw hot baths for you both and get you fresh clothes.”

“Oh,” I blurt out. “Our clothes are with the woales—”

“No, honored guest,” Lady Garline continues, putting up her hands. “In Novoro, we share everything with our guests and hope they will honor us in the same fashion. You will wear my finest gowns this night. I imagine they are much warmer than anything you have.” And she beams at us, as if the thought of two strangers in her clothes is all she’s ever wanted. “You will want to be fresh and pretty for my lord Aron and the feast, will you not? To show him honor?”

Boy, they sure like tossing around the “honor” word. Maybe these people have a cleanliness thing. Yulenna just nods and then Lady Garline sweeps away, her clothes dusting the cold stone floors. “I will return shortly with my ladies.”

“We’ll be here,” I joke. It could be worse.

The moment they leave, Yulenna turns to me and clutches my hands tightly. "Faith, please don't make me go to the feast."

I'm surprised at her question, but I didn't miss the way the men leered at us as we came in. There's real fear on her pretty face, and coming from someone who's a concubine, I can't imagine that she would get skittish over nothing. "Of course not," I tell her. "You're the anchor of the Lord of Storms as far as they know. You can do what you want."

She shakes her head, her grip on my hands tightening. "They will want me at his side. Or he might give up the lie and tell everyone I am a useless concubine." Her eyes brim with tears. "I am afraid. I do not have the protection of the god's claim on my body like I did before. Please, Faith."

My old friend guilt returns, and I give her hand a reassuring squeeze. "As far as they know, I'm the concubine. If they want Aron to have company, I'll go volunteer to sit at his side and look pretty." I don't point out that I'm secretly glad, because I don't like the thought of Yulenna having to fawn all over Aron at dinner while I sit somewhere nearby. I don't want her to touch him, and I'm startled at my own possessiveness. "Besides, if you hide out up here, they'll probably just think that Aron's protecting his anchor from any that would hurt her."

Her expression brightens, and one perfect tear slips down her perfect cheek. "Do you truly think so?"

"I do. Don't stress, okay? Let's just enjoy a bath and try not to worry too much."

Unfortunately for me, I think about Tadekha's citadel, and how that turned out. I had a bath there after I arrived and then shit went to hell.

I think of how I fondled Aron.

And I think about my dream of Aron earlier today.

Man, that fortune teller was straight up wrong when she said the King of Pentacles was gonna be my lover. I keep offering and he keeps on not taking.

It's so fucking nice to get clean I almost forget to be worried. Like in Katharn, there's an old system of pipes running through the Novoro keep, and while the bathroom quarters are shared and not what I'm used to, they're a hell of a lot better than washing in two inches of tepid water in a tub like I did in Katharn. The “bath” is a pool room with hot water and waiting serving girls who wash us with sponges and floral soaps. Yulenna lets them wash her, and since she's the one “in charge” I don't bitch about it, even though I'm creeped out by strangers running wet sponges over my skin.

The hot water helps, though, as does the cleansing wash they put in my hair. When they comb it out for me, it feels clean for the first time in weeks, and I don't even mind that they smooth scented lotion into my skin and rub a gentle, textured stone over my legs that makes the hair disappear as if sanded away. The bath at Novoro gets an A plus as far as I'm concerned.

It gets a little weird when Lady Gerline returns with clothes for us, though.

"Yours are being washed and tended to," she explains with bow after scraping bow. "It is custom for honored guests of Novoro to share, however, and I have brought two of my favorite feast gowns. It would bring great honor to our hall if you would wear them."

Her smile is guileless and sweet, and she looks as if she'd love nothing more than for us to wear her clothes. Weird people. I let her and her servants help me dress, and they help Yulenna at the same time. When I'm “clothed” though, I have concerns. It's a soft, lovely gown, sure. It's the same dark navy shade that is favored by the Novoro people and is thick and warm, with a pretty white fur trim on the hem.