Page 28 of Hollow Court
Gwyn and Gal joined us shortly after. As cold as it had been during the day, the temperature fell even more with each passing hour. The twins passed out quickly, huddled together for warmth. I pulled the furs more tightly around my shoulders, leaning closer to Gal to share some of that heat, and thought back irritably to a time when it had been that easy for me to sleep.
Though, I wasn’t sure that would ever have been true when it was this cold.
Galina had to be freezing.
The stilted, uneven breaths coming from my right attested to that. At the very least, she wasn’t sleeping, either.
With a sigh, I forced myself to reach out.
“You can move your bedroll closer, you know,” I said, my whisper echoing off the cavern walls.
“I’m fine right here,” she insisted.
“It’s freezing,” I pointed out superfluously.
“For you, perhaps. I’m Socairan. We’re used to the cold.” Her teeth clacked together on that last word, but she held steady in her resolve.
I let out an irritable breath. She was so stars-damned stubborn when she wanted to be, which only seemed to be where I was concerned.
It wasn’t like I wanted her any closer than she wanted me. I had drowned in plenty of memories today as it was.
“Right,” I muttered. “I must have forgotten all those nights you spent sleeping on the ground outside.”
She sucked in a breath to respond, but another voice cut her off.
“For the love of all that is sacred, Dav, she said she’s fine,” Gwyn hissed. “So either shiver yourself to sleep or budge over closer to Gal, but if you don’t stop talking, I will smother you with your own pillow.”
Galina let out a huff of air that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Reluctantly, I shuffled nearer to Gallagher, leaving Galina to her obstinance.
Only a handful of minutes went by before Gwyn’s snores echoed off the cavern walls.
It was going to be a long night.
ELEVEN
Galina
This ruse was already worsethan I could have imagined.
Not worse than pretending to like Alexei, but unexpectedly jarring, playing out pieces of the life I had let myself want when I was still naïve enough to believe Davin wanted it, too.
It was safe to say he never had, especially after he essentially told his cousins that a life with me was the worst thing he could imagine.
It shouldn’t have stung. It wasn’t new information, by any means.
Regardless, there was no fear here—at least, not toward Davin. No slow degradation of pride. So I could manage.
I reminded myself of that every time he brushed against my arm in a display of intimacy or placed his arm protectively around me when the men stared. Though most of the soldiers had sated their curiosity about me in the first day or so on the road, a few still eyed me far too often for comfort.
We ate in the wagons to preserve time, then stopped to use the ever-dignified makeshift latrines. It was the first time I was jealous of Gwyn’s lighter skirts, as mine were much more difficult to maneuver in such a precarious position.
After that, we finally stopped for another frigid, sleepless night.
Davin stayed next to me while I took over the job of refilling the men’s canteens. They didn’t all appreciate the gesture, but it was important to me to contribute in some small way.
“Come on, Love, I’ll show you to our cavern.” Davin stressed the nickname just enough that I noticed, gently guiding me with the pressure of his fingertips on my lower back.
His comment and accompanying gesture served their purpose, and the two men who were staring quickly glanced away.