The Thief King

14. Cat & Arrow

Sera woke slowly at first. The small bed felt smaller as her extremities regained consciousness with a long stretch. Spreading her toes and arching her back, she yawned but cut it short at the coldness nipping at her back.

Fully awake, she turned and discovered cold sheets. The light from the single window told her dawn had passed and she had overslept. Panic gripped her heart, Mrs Bailey did not take tardiness lightly. She threw the covers off her body, immediately assaulted by cold air.

"Hannah?" she yelled. Her coat was nearby; she yanked it on and stuffed her feet into her boots. The sweet smell of honeyed porridge met her at the door. A warm fire had been lit and a pot full of porridge set upon it. The balmy air welcomed her as two sets of blue eyes blinked at her in surprise. Kole and Hannah sat at the table, each with a bowl before them. Between them was Hannah's sketch book, and Kole held a piece of charcoal above it, paused mid-stroke.

"We were going to wake you in a moment," Hannah explained. She looked from Sera to the fire. "Breakfast?"

Sera tightened her coat around her middle. "I'd rather you'd woken me sooner. I have to prepare for work and Hannah, you have Porters–"

"I'll take care of it," Kole said brusquely.

"You're going to make your sister lunch?"

No answer, just a shrug and a grin from Hannah.

There was a part of Sera that did not want to interfere with whatever the two had been doing before she woke, but the other part, the more sensible part, told her life was not as sentimental.

"Hannah, you have not dressed yet."

"I will. I just want to–"

"Hannah."

The girl looked to her brother for reinforcement. Koltin sighed, leaning back in the wooden chair with a creak and a wince. The majority of his wounds were hidden under his shirt, leaving a few bruises on his head. His hair was wet from a recent clean, but Sera could see a patch of crusted blood he had missed.

"Dress quickly and we can finish before leaving," he said.

"Really? Why do you always take her side?" She stood without taking the trouble to lift her chair. The sound of wood scraping on stone made Sera raise a disapproving brow. Hannah mumbled an apology and shuffled out the room. Movement and body language alone, Sera recognized the signs of a rebuked but still temperamental Seaward.

Once the curtain closed and she could hear Hannah shuffling around. Sera took the seat next to Koltin. Her hands immediately went to his head.

"I've rinsed it already," he hissed under his breath.

"You missed a spot," she retorted. "Did she ask about the bruises? What did you say?"

"She asked and I told her I got into a fight."

"A fight?" She snorted and lifted his shirt, despite his attempts to shrug her off. In the morning light his bruises looked worse and she winced, thinking of the previous night. "Could you not have stuck with the wall bit?"

He chuckled but despite the laugh, his face remained humorless. Pursing her lips, she lowered the shirt and forced him to look at her by the chin.

"What is it? Something is wrong. I know it."

Like dark blue balls of ink, his eyes bore into hers. His quill was ready to write. She could tell. He wanted to tell her, but something was stopping him. His gaze dropped. "I'm not..."

She smoothed down the faint stubble forming along his jaw. "You'd let me know if it were important, right? If Hannah was in danger?"

He swallowed, his jaw tightened and released.