Pain grips my chest, knowing I have hurt Asha so much.
“Can I ask you a question and you answer honestly?” Emerin asks, her voice soft and tentative.
I nod. “Of course.”
“Am I safe here if I stay until tomorrow morning?”
“Yes, of course, you’re safe.” I lower the goblet of water to the table and straighten. “Must you leave tomorrow, Em?” The thought of her going so soon makes my chest ache anew.
She nods. “I will not allow Asha to find me missing. It would break her heart.” Her voice catches on the last words.
I lean back against the headboard and stare at the window, knowing I should go back with Emerin. Maybe if I did, Asha would call off her need for vengeance, but my love for Jasce cannot allow me to just walk away.
Besides, I made a vow, and I do not run away from my vows.
“I’m so scared,” Emerin admits. “For our family. Mother…” Her jaw twitches as she stares down at her hands, “…she worsens by the day. She’s so mean to everyone. So hateful.”
Embers of anger rise in my chest at the thought of what our mother is saying to Emerin.
“Try to stay away from her.”
“I do.” Emerin lets out a shaky exhale. “But sometimes I purposely put myself in front of Tahira to protect her from our mother’s barbed words.”
I should be the one there placing myself between them, being the wall that deflects everything from my sisters.
“How is Tahira?”
Emerin’s features soften as she speaks about our youngest sister. “She’s well, and she misses you a lot.”
“I miss her.”So much.
A thought strikes me as I swing my legs over the side of the bed and stand. “Would you like to go to the bathhouse? We could bathe and talk more.”
Her eyes widen in surprise. “There is a bathhouse here?”
“Yes, it’s spectacular. You’ll love it,” I assure her, already picturing the steaming pools and the soothing scent of oils and herbs.
A smile stretches across her face. “Then, let’s go.”
* * *
As we enter the bathhouse,I breathe in the heady scents of jasmine and rose oil. Emerin lets out a happy sigh as she takes in the shimmering pools ringed with white marble.
We undress and slip into the warm water. The tension seeps from my muscles as I lean back against the smooth lip of the pool. I trail my fingers through the water as Emerin shifts to stand beside me.
“This bath is far nicer than Jasce’s brother’s manners,” she says with a frown.
I glance at her. “What do you mean?”
“That man is an arrogant bastard.” She shakes her head in disgust, sending ripples cascading across the surface of the pool.
“Reeve?”
Her eyes flash with annoyance as she nods.
“I don’t really know him.”
“I think you should stay away from him,” she advises. “He has less manners than a pig. Did you know he had the audacity to climb through my window and demand I go with him?”
