On Death's Honor

Chapter 15: A Simple Confrontation

Leina barely said a word after helping me get in and out of the tub, which was not at all what I'd expected. Even without the years' old scars that littered my body, the bruising around my ribs was certainly something to be concerned about.

Yet she didn't seem to care. After scrubbing myself raw and getting as much gunk out of my hair as I could, all Leina did was wait outside until she heard my movements in the water stop before stepping back in, help me out, and then left me to get dressed.

I wondered if that was because she suspected I wasn't some mere woman that was attacked in the woods, or if she simply sensed that I wasn't overly eager of small, enclosed spaces. Maybe it was both. Either way, there was something both relieving and disturbing in the way she didn't seem to want to ask any questions.

Especially since I was confident that she'd gotten a good view of my back, where a series of scar-tissue was scattered from a single point in the middle of of my spine, like what happens when a bolt of lightning strikes the ground. That was no normal injury.

It was a conversation I'd no doubt have later with her and her father, quite possibly also with her brother as well.

Bells, I thought, leaning against the door. Thankfully, Leina had found a simple tunic and trousers to lend me, accompanied by a brown leather vest that was slightly too big around my chest. So, no more dresses.

I needed to go. There was a nyphtan out there that was ready to wreak havoc, and know one else knew. She wasn't going to be at all pleased when her ward doesn't return. I had maybe five more days before she found Igna's body. That was barely enough time to head up to the hills Igna had claimed her base to be at and confront her.

But . . . Hell, I was so, so tired.

Dinner wasn't exactly tense, but nor was it pleasant. I didn't realize just how hungry I was until the stew Leina had prepped hit my mouth, and all I could think was that I really needed to find a way to pay this family because I ate a lot more than I should in a silence as thick as it was.

Even Amly sat promptly next to me, watching me with wide, astonished eyes.

"Sorry," I managed through a brief cough, feeling much more attentive to my body's complaints now that it had the energy to remind me. I was grateful, though. Never underestimate the power of a fresh, hot meal.

"Were you caught in a slave trade?" Drael, sitting across from me with Leina on her right and Lanie on her left, asked. No sooner had the words left her mouth did Leina give her a solid kick to the shin, because the young girl nearly jumped out of her seat. "Aye!" she yelped, shooting her sister a hurt look. "I was just askin'!"

"Ya little vermin, learn to read a room, won't ya?" Leina snapped back.

Orik, who sat next to his son (which was weird, as he wasn't sitting at the head of the table, and also left four people on one side and two on the other), cleared his throat.

"Y'all were thinking it!" The girl continued to object, bending over to rub her leg. "Don't see why we can't ask."

"You're as bad as Amly," retorted Lanie. The youngest of the family let out an audible protest. I felt a pang of familiarity with her just then, myself.

"That's not fair, I'm being quiet-"

"You're gapin' at her as if ya never seen a woman-"

"Enough."

Admittedly, I had to bite my tongue to keep from smiling. Orik barely spoke louder than a whisper, but that was all he needed for his kids to stop mid-sentence. Even I felt like I'd just done something wrong. I nearly caught myself looking at him with his children, waiting to see what he'd say. I'm thirty-five years old, way past the age of feeling like a scolded kid, yet somehow that's exactly how I felt.