Silver Blood

Chapter 9

The clanging of the temple's bell startled her awake in the morning. She pressed the pillow over her head in an attempt to drown out the awful noise, but it was too loud to ignore. The bed felt as soft as a cloud the way her body sank into it, making her loathe to leave it. Two more clangs and the bell quieted at last. Outside birds trilled on her balcony, the sounds soothing enough to send her drifting again.

"Are you going to wake up or sleep the day away?"

She groaned. "How do you wake up so easily?" The pillow muffled her words.

Roan plucked the pillow off her head. "Unlike you I couldn't sleep through the morning bell. I forgot you always slept in when we were kids when you could get away with it."

"It's my favorite hobby," she said as she stretched, a yawn tearing itself free.

"I'm giving you fifteen minutes to get up and get dressed or I'm coming back in to tickle you out of bed."

She jerked into a sitting position. "I'm up, I'm up."

He grinned. "Nice to know that one still doesn't fail. We're supposed to be getting food delivered to our rooms soon. I thought we could take our meal on your balcony."

"My hero." That would give her more time to wake up before having to face anyone else. Her room felt safe, like a sanctuary where the shadow bearer couldn't reach her.

"Fifteen minutes," he reminded her as he shut the door behind him.

With a groan she flopped back down onto her bed. "Too cruel."

The lavishness of the temple extended to the food too. Each of them got a hot cake as big as their plate with fresh cream on top. A side of scrambled eggs cooked with fresh greens finished off the meal. They ate on her balcony while watching the temple come to life below. Despite the cold morning air, she didn't want to eat in the cramped room. Being outside felt too good after winter and the clear sky hinted at a warm day to come.

A squirrel ran across their railing. Startled, she jerked away as Roan struggled to laugh through his full mouth. The squirrel jumped onto the nearby tree branch and scurried to the other side of the tree.

"According to Kael's note our meeting with the priest is in an hour."

"I can't believe I thought being away from the shop would make my morning less busy." This had to be what married life would feel like with Roan. A quiet breakfast together as they watched the world wake up. Getting this every morning would be enough to keep her from sleeping in. Remembering Moira's words she set her cup down too hard and tea sloshed over the edge. Priests and priestesses were allowed to marry. She could do whatever she wanted as long as she got her duties done.

"There you go spacing out on me. Don't tell me you are having doubts." He squinted at her.

"Never." A strand of hair escaped her braid and she blew it away from her voice. An hour to make herself presentable would be enough. "I should wipe the mud from my shoes and redo my hair. I need to look more like a priestess." She released her braid and combed her fingers through her hair. The braided bun that appeared to be a favorite of the acolytes she'd seen would do fine.

"I have the perfect thing in mind to help." He plunked his father's pin onto the table, Orva's crest shining in the morning sunlight.

"Your pin? That means too much to you for me to take."

"You can borrow it for good luck and give it back to me once you are priestess of Solen."

She picked the pin up as gently as she could manage. "Are you sure?" He'd treated the pin like a precious treasure ever since his father gave it to him a few weeks before Roan left to join the army.