Page 14 of Tarnished Crown
He chuckled under his breath before walking away to speak with the innkeeper, leaving me with Kirill. When he returned after only a moment, he handed a key to the guard and instructed him to take me to room twelve.
This time, there was only one bed, rickety and taking up most of the cramped space. Was I getting a room to myself tonight?
That made me almost as nervous as sharing a room with Evander, probably because this inn was far less reputable than the last one we had stayed at. I wasn’t even certain the door had latched all the way shut.
I didn’t have much time to dwell on that before a servant came to help me undress, this one tackling my hair with less fear than a dogged determination I had to admire. She left as quickly as she had come, and I didn’t get a chance to ask her about dinner.
My stomach growled, and I was about to head out to ask whatever guard they had posted outside about food when the door swung open. I turned, expecting the maid again, but of course, it was Evander who walked in.
CHAPTER12
Evander was carrying two bowls this time, and handed one nonchalantly out to me. He had changed into dry clothes, but his hair still hung in damp, tousled locks on his forehead.
My confusion must have shown on my face because he sighed.
“Once again, we are short on rooms, and even if we weren’t, surely you didn’t think I trusted you, or the rest of the tavern, enough to let you have a room to yourself?” He glanced significantly at the window.
“Where would I even go?” I sighed, more tired than upset at this point.
“With the common sense you’ve displayed thus far, the possibilities are limitless. Would you walk directly into a bear cub den, or simply hand yourself over to the nearest Unclanned?”
I barely suppressed an eye roll, taking the proffered bowl. “I suppose I won’t bother to argue if you’re that committed to sleeping on this floor.”
There were more than a few spindly shapes crawling in between the uneven, dirt-covered planks.
Evander followed my gaze with distaste. “Youare more than welcome to the floor, if you so desire it. Perhaps I could even get you a little cushion to curl up on like the estate cat has. Never let it be said that I am unkind to my pets.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but he cut me off. “Need I remind you that it was you who insisted on stopping early for the night? The inn we planned on stopping at was another soldier’s inn, plenty of rooms with two beds. Butyouwanted to stop here.”
“Need I remindyouthat we would likely be dead or...at least, seriously injured by now if I hadn’t?” I lifted my chin.
He shrugged. “I’m surprised that bothers you, what with your lack of self-preservation skills.”
“Well, as fun as it would have been to watch you get caught in that storm, I wasn’t about to risk Kirill.” I smiled savagely, and something flashed in his eyes too quickly for me to read. “Speaking of whom, if you’ll point me in the direction of his room, I’m happy to stay there. Or in the stables, for that matter.”
“How quickly you go from concerns about your propriety to wanting to jump into bed with one of my soldiers,” he muttered darkly. “In any case, I doubt Kirill’s wife would appreciate that.”
My cheeks colored. I hadn’t meant it that way, only that I didn’t want to be in Evander’s room. “I—”
“Unfortunately for you,” he broke in. “I won’t force my men to suffer through your company, and the stables are off limits for obvious reasons. So again, your options.” He gestured gallantly from the bed to the floor.
At that exact moment, a small, fat rat emerged from a gnawed hole in the paneling of the wall. I suppressed a shudder. My older sister might have been a friend to all creatures, but I never could quite reconcile myself to rodents.
My gaze slid to the bed, which was looking more spacious by the minute.
As nervous as I had been to share his room before, he was one of the few men who had not been lecherous during the dances at the Summit, and even when he went to put me on the saddle had kept his hands firmly where they belonged.
“Fine,” I snapped. “Just...keep your hands to yourself.”
Evander arched a single sardonic eyebrow.
“Well, it would help if you had worn something less provocative.” He looked pointedly at the misshapen outline of my ruffled nightgown. “But somehow, I’ll manage.”
I made a noise in the back of my throat that was definitely not a stifled laugh because I would rather have died than laugh with LordAalio.
With an irritable sigh, I went to eat what appeared to be very watery stew with a fully intact slimy fish floating on top, one watery eyeball looking straight into my soul. I swallowed back a wave of nausea, reminding myself that there were food shortages here and people in this village who would be happy to have this meal.
Tipping the bowl up, I took a tiny sip. It was lukewarm and even worse than borscht. Immediately, a gag assaulted me. I clamped my hand over my mouth to keep the stew from coming back up, meeting Evander’s eyes inadvertently.