I wasn’t there when he woke up. I suppose it’s possible he resented me for not being there for him at his weakest moment—reasonably or not. Feelings aren’t rational.
“Can you send me an article or two about head trauma? Something accessible to a layperson?”
Studying always helps me understand things better. I’m still academic-minded, even if there’s no chance I’ll ever get to pursue my intellectual bent now.
“Sure. But I hope you’re not thinking about forgiving him.”
“Why, Raina? What happened?”
“Ask him first.” A long pause. “If he tells you the truth, I’ll consider forgiving him.Consider.”
“It was bad?”
“Really bad. Not to change topics on you—I know this is important, and I want to talk you out of doing anything stupid—but we could really use you and Lorcan in Oceanside for a bit, once you’re ready.”
“Why?”
“Saskaya has new weapons for us to test out on pirate ships.”
I grinned at the cackle of excitement in Raina’s voice, though the mention of Saskaya and weapons sent a shiver up my spine. Her track record is…not great. It isn’t her fault, but I’m surprised she was willing to work on weapons development again.
“Not that it’s so difficult to sink the shitty boats they use, but they’re fast, and we have a chronic ammunition supply problem. This could solve it, if it works,” Raina continued. “I also need someone reliable to get medical supplies down to them. Tovian will meet up with you.”
“We can leave right after Lorcan’s birthday next week.”
“Great. Take a couple of weeks to rest, and then get ready to work your butt off.”
Raina didn’t need to ask which day it is; they’ve known one another forever. I wonder if I’ll ever work up the courage to get the true story of what happened between two once-close friends.
I might prefer not knowing.
* * *
It rains during the night. My clothes weren’t dry the next morning, placing me in something of a predicament. Nor were Lorcan’s, but that was less of a pressing matter as he had plenty of alternative options to choose from.
Rather than confront this extremely minor setback when I first awoke, I rolled over and went back to sleep.
“I have something for you,” Lorcan said when I finally came down from the loft, still wearing his pants and a threadbare tunic that probably last fit him when he was training with Cata. On me, it hangs off one shoulder and my nipples are clearly visible—as are my lack of breasts. I was never well-endowed but I had more than mosquito bites. I folded my arms over my chest self-consciously and examined the package. It was wrapped in plain brown paper and tied with string.
“Go on. Open it.” He smiled lopsidedly. You’d think it was a Midwinter gift for him as a little boy. I worked the knot out of the string and untied it. When I saw the contents, I gasped.
“Lorcan, this is too much.” There were not one, butthreedresses inside, one green checked, one white with embroidery at the hem, and one solid blue. Beneath them was a soft brown sweater lined with linen, two elbow-length linen shifts, and a yellow petticoat. It’s an entire wardrobe. Twice as much clothing as I owned before. He must have cleaned out the shop.
“Do you like them?”
“They’re beautiful. I don’t know how to thank you.” Impulsively, I kissed his cheek. Embarrassment bloomed within my chest. Lorcan has been dropping affectionate little kisses on me here and there. This is the first time I’ve reciprocated.
I ducked my chin. When I look up at him again, a faint pink tinge is visible beneath his tanned skin. “So, you still do that.”
“What?”
“Blush.”
“I do not.” Lorcan’s indignation was adorable. “Assassins don’t blush. We’re incapable of it.”
“Ha. You always have.” I poked him in the chest. “Wait a minute. Does this mean you had these clothes around yesterday when we came back from swimming?”
“Maybe.” He squeezed my waist gently.
