I think of him as a boy watching his mother being executed for something she probably didn’t do, and I think of him trying to defend his grandfather.
I close my eyes, willing away the compassion, the sympathy. It refuses to fade.
A sigh escapes me as I glance at his back again.
I’m supposed to hate him, but the more time that passes, the harder it is to hate.
ChapterThirty
Everything that happened the day before weighs heavily as I work on my garden, pulling weeds and checking on the growth of the seedlings. Soon, they’ll be thriving plants.
Maybe I can use them to offer healing services. Maybe people will open up more to me and share the information that I need.
When I move to the last row, Kassandra approaches. I glance up, taking in her pale face and the trembling fingers she clutches against her soiled surcoat. Rotten tomatoes and cabbage mar the fabric and stain her bruised cheeks.
Worry pounds against my chest as I sweep my gaze over her. “What happened?”
She stops in front of me and rubs a shaky hand against her ruined clothes. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.” I step closer to her and take in her misty eyes. “Did someone throw spoiled food at you?”
Her bottom lip trembles as she nods. My attention whips to the sandstone streets beyond my cottage. If I were in Kyanite land, I wouldn’t hesitate to confront the people who did this.
I grab her hand. “Come with me.”
She allows me to guide her inside my cottage and to the washing stand. I add herbs to the water and wet a cloth. She remains silent as I clean her face, neck, and arms.
“Nobody should have done this to you,” I say, my voice raw and filled with the disgust I cannot hide.
“I’m all right, Sol.” Assurance immerses Kassandra’s tone, assurance for me when she is the injured one.
I find her a clean surcoat in my room and hand it to her. She says words of gratitude and steps behind a screen to change.
My heart thrums in my ears as I grab the basin and dump the dirty water. How dare people do that to her? Criminals deserve food thrown at them. Not innocent women. Not someone as kind and caring as Kassandra.
I ball my fingers into tight fists and try to calm my breathing. Right now, she needs a friend. Not someone angry and vengeful.
She steps back into the main room and runs her fingers down the front of her borrowed surcoat. It fits her almost as perfectly as it fits me.
“Thank you, Sol.”
She smiles, and a corner of my heart lightens at her bravery, her ability to rise above what just happened to her. Many women would be frantic and sobbing.
“Of course.” I walk to the fire, where I prepared venison stew earlier. “Would you like something to eat?”
Her brown hair brushes against her shoulders as she shakes her head. “I need to get back. Mother will be worried. And Evie.”
Kassandra’s conversation with Everly hums in my ears as I shift back to face Kassandra. It would be pointless to bring their conversation up now. Pointless to mention the repercussion of marrying someone who isn’t an outsider.
Instead of voicing my concerns, I offer to walk her home. She accepts, and I accompany her to her tiny cottage tucked away from most of the city. Nobody bothers us on the way there, or on my journey back, yet the weight of what happened to her doesn’t leave me.
I think about it so much that when I lie beside Gabriel that night, I cannot keep silent. “Did you know someone threw rotten food at Kassandra today?”
“What?” he asks, his voice rising above my pulse hammering in my ears.
“She came to me today after someone threw food at her. Did you know? Does Luc know?”
Gabriel rotates to his back. “I didn’t.”
