Don’t think about it.
Or you’ll drive yourself mad with want.
I study the flames in front of me, trying to not think about him, but he keeps returning over and over again. So, instead, I stare at the stars shining in the night sky.
How beautiful they are. How serene.
Maybe the gods placed them there for us to see and appreciate.
As the night wears on, the men and Tersah drift off to their tents until only Everly and I remain by the fire.
“Tell me about Cenric,” I say, wanting to get to know her and the man she loves better.
“When I was younger, I hated him,” she begins, her voice low. “I thought he was arrogant. Well…” she smiles, “…he is arrogant. But anyway, I hated him. Every time I saw him, I would hide because it was easier than facing him. Then, when I turned nineteen, I was determined to join the rebellion, and it steered me directly into Cenric’s path.”
“You joined a rebellion?” I ask, awed that she had been so bold.
She picks up a stick and draws shapes into the dirt. “Yes. I was so bitter, and I wanted to end the hatred toward outsiders, so I joined a rebellion aimed at overthrowing the Bloodstone.”
“I had no idea.”
“Nobody did. I never even told Kassandra what I had done.”
“What happened while you were part of the rebellion?”
“Well…” Firelight skims her features as she keeps digging that stick into the earth. “The man they sent me to spy on was Cenric… So, as you can imagine, I didn’t get very far.”
“Oh.” I let out a mirthless laugh. “Fate is so cruel sometimes, isn’t she?”
Everly nods. “He saw through me.”
“Then, you married him,” I say as I think of the barbarian with long black hair and intense blue eyes.
“Eventually.” She smiles. “I was so attracted to him, but I kept trying to ignore it.”
“Until you couldn’t.” I know what that’s like. Hector stirred me in ways he shouldn’t have, considering he was Bloodstone, and I hated his people when we first met.
Wood scrapes against rock and clay as she keeps digging her stick into the ground. “Now, I cannot stop thinking about Cenric.”
“They have a way of doing that to us. Make us think about them.”
Her brow wrinkles. “Do you think they want us as desperately as we want them?”
“Definitely.” Humor laces my tone as I wave my hands around. “Look at us. Who wouldn’t want us?”
She lifts her surcoat, showing off her torn hem. “It’s our fancy clothes. It makes them crave us.”
I turn my arm over so she can see the gaping hole in my sleeve. “Especially the rips. Hector really likes those.”
Everly leans closer and examines my ruined garment. “I could fix it if I were at home. But…” Mirth skips in her eyes, “…I will leave it for Hector’s viewing pleasure.”
She wiggles her brows at me and speaks in a low voice, as if trying to sound like Hector. “I like it when your clothes are torn and dirty, Sol. Now, do as I say and take them off.”
Laughter spills from me as I grip my sides. “He is rather bossy.”
“Painfully so.” Everly smiles. “So is Cenric. I have to defy him at least once a day, just to keep him in check.”
“It must be the Bloodstone in them. It breeds tall, broad-shouldered, bossy men.”
