I debate whether to call out to the visitor. It’s not as if I can answer the door even if I wanted to. Best to pretend no one is here. I clamber out of the bed and tiptoe across the wooden floorboards, nearly tripping over a pile of rocks on my way. I stick my hand in between the cushions of the couch, fingertips closing in around the hilt of the knife.
The doorknob twists and I dart back, holding the knife straight out in front of me as the door slowly creaks open. In steps Vera. “Hello,” she calls. “Oh!” She jolts in surprise when she sees me, knife still outstretched in front of me.
“Vera,” I gasp. I slowly lower the knife, clutching at my chest as I catch my breath. “You scared me.”
“I’m so sorry. I know you can’t answer the door, so I just…came in. I should’ve yelled something to you first.”
“It’s okay. I wasn’t expecting anyone to come up here.”
“Is it okay if I come in?”
“Yeah, of course.” I shove the knife back into the couch and comb my hands through my messy bed hair.
She shuts the door and peers around the chambers as she steps inside. “It looks different in here.”
“I’ve been cleaning. Bored,” I say with a shrug.
She eyes me, still dressed only in my robe. “I’m sorry. I didn’t wake you up, did I?”
“Oh, no, just haven’t bothered to get out of bed yet.” I shrug again. “Not much of a point. What are you doing? Did you forget something up here?”
“No, I was just thinking you’re up here all by yourself. And I’m down in the kitchens all by myself. And—“ She wrings her hands. “I thought you might like to come hang out in the kitchens with me.”
“Oh!”
“Unless, of course, you don’t want to!”
“No, I—I would love to.”
“You don’t think Sitri would mind, do you?”
“I—um,” I stammer, dithering. I’m pretty sure Sitri would definitely mind if he knew I was leaving these chambers at all. We share a look that makes it evident we both know this. “Well, he did give you access to get in?”
“He did,” she agrees.
“He could’ve changed that if he didn’t want you in here anymore. Right?”
She nods. “Yeah, he could’ve changed it. Easily.”
“Right. And, he said, three days. He probably won’t even be back until tomorrow. So…”
“So, maybe it’s best if he doesn’t know?”
I flash her a wide grin. “Let me—“ I gesture toward the bedroom. “Change my clothes, right quick.”
I scramble to the mirror and it dresses me and twines my hair into two braids. I practically skip out of the bathroom I’m so excited. Vera’s still lingering by the door.
“We better hurry and make sure Kobold hasn’t burned the kitchens down. Come on,” she says, ushering me out the door. Once we’re in the hallway, she makes a series of symbols to place the lock back over the door. “We’ll take the stewards’ hall, less likely to run into anyone this way.” She pulls me through hallways I’ve never seen before. The white tile floors are scuffed, and the paint on the walls is in desperate need of a touch-up.
She sets a brisk pace, nervously checking each corner before we enter. We’re at the kitchens in no time, through a door on the opposite side where we’re not forced to walk through the crowded dining hall. She heaves a small sigh of relief as we enter and then tugs out my stool and gestures for me to sit.
My excitement has riled the daemon and I grit my teeth, hoping it doesn’t intervene on one of the few chances I have to be social. Vera fiddles with a few boiling pots on the stove before leaning against the counter across from me.
She grins. “So, well, how do you like it here?”
I grimace, and her face falls. “I’m sorry, that was a stupid question. I’m sure you hate it. Of course, you do after everything that’s happened.”
“It’s not so bad,” I say unconvincingly. “I mean, besides all of the bad things.”
