“Not the safehouse,” I blurted.
“I imagined. It’s not much better than a jail cell.”
I thought for a moment, tapping my chin. I stretched into a more leisurely posture on the bench. Garro had managed to soothe my tension running amok. He had a knack for doing that even at the most anxious of times.
“The Chained Sisters,” I said. “I’d like to see Iron Sister Keffa, Jinneth, and the rest. Get somehumanityback in my bones.”
Chapter 45
Garroway and I were both exhausted by the time we reached the tucked-away abode of the Chained Sisters in the Military Ward.
The same young dhampir from before, Tecca, greeted us at the door. She bowed and stepped aside then hurried outside as we went in, so she could take our carriage and hide it off the road.
It was deep in the night, the sky beginning to turn pale gray. It wouldn’t be long before dawn broke. In a house half-filled with vampiric women, it was busy as ever. Voices filtered in from the rooms on the first floor as we stumbled through the hall leading to the large main room at the back. There, Iron Sister Keffa spoke with four girls around a table, in the middle of a lesson.
Garro and I glanced at each other and stood in the archway, not wanting to interrupt. Keffa eyed us and inclined her chin to greet us. We made ourselves small and took an empty table near the fat naked lady painting, sighing and stretching as we sat.
Keffa closed the book she worked on with the younglings and patted one of them on the head before joining us. With her hands clasped together in the cuffs of her robe, she looked strikingly like a vowager.
This woman was no mute, however. A slight expression of concern scrunched her brow as she took us in. “You two look traumatized.”
Garro leaned back in his chair, cupping his hands behind his head to try on a lax pose, flashing an unsteady smile. It wasn’t fooling anyone. “Is this not the place for wayward youths to come seeking advice, Iron Sister?”
Keffa rolled her eyes and took a seat. “You may look a babe, Garroway Kuffich, but we both know you’re anything but a youth.”
He chuckled and sat forward. “Fair enough. Sephania wanted to come here.”
“And you?” she asked, keeping her eyes on the dhampir.
Garroway glanced at a window and the pale light starting to show. “I was hoping to use a bed, honestly.”
Flapping a hand at him, she said, “There are a few vacant rooms upstairs. Take one. Don’t disturb anyone.”
Garro saluted and stood, then put a hand on my shoulder. “Make sure she stays safe and doesn’t do anything stupid?”
A small smile etched wrinkles on Keffa’s well-worn face. She tucked graying hair behind her ears. “The former, I can do. The latter? No guarantees.”
Garroway let out another laugh.
“I’ll be fine, Garro. I reckon I’m not the most rambunctious youth in the dwelling.”
My eyes met Keffa’s and she nodded, her smile widening. “Surely not.”
Garroway accepted that and nodded, meandering off toward the staircase. “Wake me if anything happens. If nothing happens . . . wake me when night falls, little honey badger.”
The stairs creaked as he made his way up. A few minutes later, two of the four girls at the other table also retired for the evening. The remaining two fell into gossiping whispers—the tone of chatty girls on the cusp of womanhood.
I was a bit unnerved by Keffa Caerynd’s scrupulous gaze. She seemed honest and genuine but her eyes betrayed a hint of mischief and knowledge that made me imagine she’d been a daredevil in her younger years.
“If you were hoping to see Sister Jinneth, Lady Lock, she’s already asleep.” Her voice was calm.
“I’d just as soon talk to you, if it’s all the same.” When her eyes slightly narrowed and she stayed quiet, sitting back in her chair, I continued. “I’d like to learn more about myself.”
“Wouldn’t we all, sister.”
Snorting, I rubbed my forehead. “My Loreblood.”
“I know.”
