Lannahi regarded him carefully. She understood the reason for his hesitation. He admitted that he could influence her guards. This wasn’t the kind of news a ruler demanding absolute loyalty wished to hear.
“Is it Ledaii, Roshanak, and Berikk?” she asked.
A muscle on his face twitched, but Ashared held her gaze. “You have good eyes, Lannahi.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Since the man had dropped the formalities practically overnight, she hadn’t yet had time to get used to the sound of her name spoken in his deep baritone. Hearing it now when they were sitting so close to one another, after she’d woken up naked in his arms, she suddenly felt abashed.
Ashared tore his gaze away from her face and looked at the end of the cave as if something had drawn his attention and Lannahi vaguely followed his gaze. A moment later, she heard footsteps, and Erril emerged from behind a protrusion in the wall.
“She just woke up,” Ashared informed him calmly when the enchanter stopped abruptly taking in their close proximity.
“Are you feeling well, Lannahi?” Erril asked, scrutinizing her face.
A note of tension in his voice told her that the question wasn’t only about her condition. One word from her and the guard would put a knife into the throat of the man sitting next to her.
“I think the worst has passed,” Lannahi said.
Hearing her hoarse voice, Erril twitched slightly and glanced at Ashared, but the latter stared at the campfire, acting as if the whole situation was perfectly normal.
“We wanted to take you to the palace,” the enchanter said. “But it was too dark to fly, and we weren’t sure if it was a good idea to show up at the city gates when you were barely conscious.”
“Ashared explained the situation to me. If you feel you can endure until morning, I think it would be better to return in a more discreet manner.”
Erril relaxed enough to send a wary smile in her direction. “Souhi thought you would say so.” When she smiled too, he added, “Akammu and I made a camp ourselves just outside the cave’s entrance. Would you like something to eat?”
Lannahi shook her head. “Perhaps some hot water.”
Erril glanced at Ashared again and moved toward the exit. “I’ll bring it to you in a moment.”
After the guard left, silence fell in the cave. Lannahi felt awkward but didn’t know what to say so like Ashared, she remained silent with her eyes fixed on the flames. However, Erril didn’t keep them waiting long, and after a while, he was handing her a steaming mug of clean water. Ashared seemed surprised when the enchanter wordlessly offered him the second one, and the two men regarded each other for a moment. Eventually, Ashared accepted the mug, nodding in acknowledgment.
“The water isn’t boiling, so you can drink right away.” He waited for her to take a few sips then asked, “What happened, Lannahi?”
This question must have been bothering the two men for hours, and Lannahi had been expecting it, but under their watchful gazes, she felt embarrassed by her pathetic state. The realization that she’d brought it on herself burned as much as the blush on her cheeks.
“I was attacked by Ashkii.” Hearing the name of the shapeshifter, Ashared tightened his fingers around his mug, but at Erril’s confused face, she explained, “The white she-wolf who accompanied Amaruk during our last encounter. His lover.”
“Ah.” The wrinkle on Erril’s forehead disappeared, but soon the distance between his eyebrows narrowed again. “But how did you fall into the water?”
Although she recounted the entire incident as briefly as she could, the scratchiness in her throat intensified and by the end, she coughed so hard that several minutes had passed before Erril could ask her any more questions.
“Lannahi…” he began. Because of Ashared, he tried to control his expression, but the concern in his eyes was evident even in the wobbly light of the flames. “Why did you leave the palace without a word?”
“I…” She cleared her throat. It was the most embarrassing part of her explanation, but she owed the truth to both men. “It was an impulse. I needed… I needed a moment of solitude.” She noticed Erril’s surprise and, fearing he would misunderstand, she added hastily, “I’m sorry.”
The enchanter twitched but collected himself quickly. “I see.” He smiled. “I heard that the oath-taking took longer than expected. If I had to watch the landshapers’ sour faces for two hours, I would have probably rushed off to the forest myself.”
Her lips formed a smile, but a moment later, Lannahi had to cover them as a violent cough shook her. When she caught her breath, she drank the rest of the water.
Erril reached for her mug and stood up. “Do you want more?” he asked. When Lannahi shook her head, he said, “There are still a few hours until morning, but I’m sure Blann will manage to prepare some disgusting healing concoction for you. Try to rest until then.”
His gaze rested on Ashared. The man extended his hand with an empty mug, and Erril raised an eyebrow as if to ask why he couldn’t take it out himself. Ashared answered him with a calm look and they regarded each other again for a moment. Neither of them said a word, but Erril finally took the mug from him.
“I will check in from time to time.” Lannahi had the impression that his words weren’t directed only at her. “Tell me if you need anything.”
Lannahi responded with a nod and a smile, but in her chest flowed a river of lava. For some reason, Ashared hadn’t resumed his wolf form to stand guard outside with the others and for some reason, Erril didn’t force him to leave.
For some reason, she didn’t mind.
