Trouble stopped asking questions for almost an hour after Dev told her about the necromancer. The silence soothed him after all of her hysterics earlier. Thankfully, the calming spell seemed to work on her.
"Are you hungry?" he asked when the shadows began to lengthen from the late afternoon sun.
Her nose moved from side to side against his back.
He cringed at the thought of what she might have wiped on his cloak. "I'm planning on stopping at an inn tonight. You could use a bath and some suitable travelling clothes."
"I smell bad?"
Far from it. Underneath the smoke, she still smelled of warm bread and baked apples. "You're covered in soot and dirt."
She sighed. "I suppose a bath would be nice, and a hot meal."
A hot meal would do her some good. Several meals, in fact. She was far too thin for his liking. The hollowed recesses under her cheeks and along her collarbones made him fear she would snap in his hands.
"Why did you want to return to that place when they treated you so horribly?"
She removed one hand from his waist. Although he couldn't see what she was doing, he suspected she was playing with the thin gold chain around her neck. "It's the only home I've ever known. My mother was from there."
"And where is she now?"
Her body went rigid. "She died ten winters ago."
"And your father?"
"Why are you interested in my past?"
The acid in her voice almost singed him. He had unwittingly stumbled on a touchy subject with her. But at least now he knew why she worked for that bully of an innkeeper. "I was just curious about you. Perhaps if I knew more, I might understand why Loku chose you."
She flinched, followed by a hiss.
"What?"
"Loku said something very crude."
Despite her reaction, he couldn't suppress his amusement. "That sounds like him."
"Have you ever heard him?"
Her body began to relax against his again, and the sensation felt so good, it almost unnerved him. She was the first female Soulbearer, a fact he couldn't ignore. Dev cleared his mind and focused on her question instead of the pressure of her cheek between his shoulders. "I've had a few conversations with him over the years. Occasionally, he'll take over the Soulbearer's body and speak."
"Like last night?"
The image of her face when Robb grabbed her hand and Loku spoke to her flashed in his mind. He'd called her tasty. Odd choice of words for the thin girl riding behind him. Dev had drawn his sword and was about to rouse Robb from Loku's control with a whack on the shins when the assassin's blade lodged itself in the old man's back.
Guilt over his failure weighed down his limbs like heavy chains. This was the first time a Soulbearer had been murdered. He feared what the Mages' Council would say when they learned about it. They would probably strip him of his responsibility. Not that he minded. He'd been risking his life to protect Soulbearers for over a century now, and Loku had thwarted him at every opportunity.
"Why did you choose her over me, Loku?" he asked.
Trouble flinched again.
"What did he say?"
She hesitated. "He said you were too stiff."
"Were those his exact words?"
"Um, no, but I don't want to repeat what he said exactly."
Dev chuckled. He could only imagine what Loku said. "For a barmaid, you seem unusually prudish."
His comment earned him a smack on the back of his head. "Just because I worked in an inn doesn't mean I saw to my customer's every comfort. And if you think you're going to get under my skirt, think again."
His cheeks burned for a second. It had been so long since he'd been with a woman, he'd almost forgotten what it felt like. She didn't need to remind him. His throat tightened, and he cleared it before replying, "You don't have to worry about that. As your protector, I'm never allowed to let my guard down. What I meant to say is that you should be used to such language from your customers."
"Most of them preferred not to speak to me. I think they feared I would set them on fire or something."
The loneliness in her voice almost made him glad he was taking her away from this backwards kingdom. He just wished it wasn't under these circumstances. "So you are a witch."
Her arm tightened around his waist, forcing the air from his lungs. "I never said that."
"There's no reason to hide it from me. I'm a mage, too."
"Then we'll burn together if we're caught."
"The key word there is 'if.' I plan on getting you out of Ranello as quickly as possible."
They emerged from the forest with the sun setting on their backs. An arid plain stretched out in front of them, baked golden in the early autumn sun. Farther up the road, smoke curled from the chimneys of a small settlement. Dev pulled the hood of his cloak lower to conceal his face and ears. The fewer questions asked about him, the better. "When we come to the inn, we're getting one room."
"I want my own room."
He clenched his jaw and counted to five. "No, we're going to share one room. I'm not letting you out of my sight after sunset."
"So much for your gallant promises to leave my virtue intact."
The leather reins nearly cut into his palms from squeezing them so tight. Trouble had a bit more of a sassy tongue than he'd expected. "I'll sleep on the floor in front of the door. Now, stop arguing with me before we draw too much attention to ourselves."
***
One room? What the hell was he thinking? That she would be so grateful to him for kidnapping her—sorry, saving her life—she would willingly throw herself at him? It didn't matter that he was probably the best-looking member of the male gender she'd ever seen. She still wasn't a two-lora whore.
"I bet you'd warm his bed for less than two loras."
Her cheeks burned. "Loku, will you please get your mind out of the gutter?"
"I wouldn't have said it if you hadn't been thinking it."
Arden buried her face in Dev's cloak and prayed to the Lady Moon no one would see her embarrassment as they rode into the town.
They stopped in front of a mud-brick building with a thatched roof that towered over its neighbors. The carved wooden sign above the door proclaimed it to be the Happy Hog Inn.
She slid off the horse, wincing. Her muscles ached from the long ride, and the skin between her thighs felt like it had been rubbed raw by pumice stones. Her skirt wasn't designed for riding.
The cool breeze penetrated her weary bones. She welcomed the blast of warmth flowing from the cheery interior. Various travelers crowded around the tables in the main room. A wisp of silence hung in the air as they entered.
A thin man with deep creases folded into his leathery face approached them. He wiped his hands on his apron a little too thoroughly, probably a way to excuse himself from shaking their hands. "Welcome to the Happy Hog. How can I help you, strangers?"
Her spine stiffened. Of course, they would draw attention without saying a word. A hooded man, a yellow-haired girl, and a wolf. Who would find anything normal about that? "We were hoping you had two rooms available for the evening," she replied, hoping her voice sounded calm.
"One room will be fine," Dev growled behind her.
She plastered a sweet smile on her face, ignoring him. "I prefer two."
"One." His green eyes glowed from shadows that concealed his face, and her blood ran cold.
"You've pissed him off now, my little Soulbearer."
"Tell me something I didn't know."
The man cleared his throat. "I only have one room available this evening. The trade routes are full with the harvest going on, and so is my inn."
"We'll take it." Dev discreetly dropped several gold coins in the man's hand. "My apprentice could use a bath and some more suitable clothing for travelling. Perhaps you could assist us with that, as well."
The innkeeper's eyes widened past his droopy eyelids at the sight of gold in his palm. "My boy has a few things he's outgrown that may fit the young lady. I'll tell my girls to start heating up some bathwater as well."
"No need to do that. My apprentice will be fine with a cold bath."
Arden gritted her teeth. So this was her punishment for disagreeing with him. She would have preferred a slap to the face rather than the cool intensity of his glare. At least she'd know he'd gotten his anger out of his system.
"Come this way, and I'll show you to your room."
Dev's hand pressed against the small of her back. She followed the innkeeper to a small corner room with a fireplace and a bed large enough to share. Her gaze fixated on it, and her pulse raced. Would he keep his word and sleep on the floor?
"I hope you'll find this to your liking. Let me light the fire—"
"I can do that." Dev moved in front of the fireplace, blocking the innkeeper. "Just please see to the bath."
He backed away, colliding with the young woman carrying the metal tub. "Of course. I'll be back in a few minutes with some water."
Dev closed the door behind them and crossed his arms. "Why did you disobey me?"
Arden mimicked his posture. She wasn't going to let him know how much she wanted to hide under the bed. "I'm the Soulbearer. You're my protector. If anyone should be giving orders around here, it's me."
"Wrong. Until you complete your training, you're just a little scrap of a girl with a half-crazed god of chaos trying to control your mind and a necromancer on your tail. You need me to keep you sane and alive, so until we get to Gravaria, I suggest you do as I say and not challenge me again."
She lifted her chin, refusing to look away from him. "Or you'll do what?"
His upper lip lifted in a snarl.
"Uh-oh, wrong answer. You're awfully good at pissing him off, my Soulbearer. I'm going to enjoy watching you two in the coming years."
Dev opened his mouth to say something, but the entrance of three people interrupted him. The innkeeper must have recruited every staff member and empty bucket he could find to bring up her bath water. They wasted no time filling the bath two-thirds full, leaving a bar of soap and a towel beside it and retreating back downstairs. It was almost as if they sensed Dev's anger and didn't want to witness the unavoidable explosion. At least they had the courtesy to close the door behind them so they could feign ignorance when it happened.
He snatched her wrist and pulled her close enough to him so his lips brushed against her ear when he spoke. "Now, listen to me, Trouble, and listen well. There are far worse things out there than what you're imagining me to be. The last thing I want to see is a knife sticking out of your back or your eyes glowing red after that necromancer animates your corpse. I will lay down my life before I let that happen, but I would appreciate your cooperation. Do you understand me?"
The intimacy of his touch warmed her, but his words tore at her defenses like an icy blade. She didn't know which of the two left her shaking.
He pulled away, pointing his free hand at the fireplace. Flames ignited the logs, rising high into the chimney.
She tried to smother her gasp by covering her mouth. Yes, he made his point very clear. If he wanted to harm her, he could. But he could also be a powerful ally. It all depended on her. His grip loosened, and she backed away with a nod.
"I suggest you take a bath while I inspect the clothes the innkeeper said he could find for you."
She dipped her fingers into the tub and yanked them out. "It's freezing!"
He chuckled. "Consider it a lesson in learning to harness your magic. You can either take a cold bath, or you can figure out a way to warm the water."
"He's testing you," Loku whispered in her mind, "but don't worry. I'll show you what to do."
"And why should I trust you?"
Loku's chuckle vibrated through her body. "Always so suspicious."
"I'll leave Cinder here to protect you while I'm downstairs," Dev said. "I doubt you want me in the room while you're bathing."
The heat from the fire crept along her back, but it didn't match the burn in her cheeks or the warmth coiling in her stomach. What was it about this man that made her react this way? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It's only because he's the first man who gave me a second look and treats me halfway decently.
"Keep telling yourself that if you want, but you and I both know the truth."
Dev left the room, and Cinder stretched out in front of the door, forming a barricade.
She waited a moment to see if he would return. When he didn't, she stared at the bathwater. How was she going to get it to a temperature that didn't make every nerve in her body scream from the pain?
"Dip your hand in the water and picture the fire flowing from your fingers into it."
She followed Loku's instructions, biting her bottom lip from the stinging-cold water as it slipped over her skin. Deep inside her mind, she found a small flame. She fed it with her thoughts until it spread along her arm and into her fingertips. The water hissed and bubbled around them, ripples racing to the edges of the metal tub. By the time she removed her hand, tendrils of steam rose from the surface.
She unlaced her bodice and yanked the simple dress over her head. It'd been ages since she'd enjoyed a hot bath. She slid into the tub. Even though the warm water stung the raw skin between her thighs, it eased her aching muscles. She sighed in contentment and leaned back against the metal rim. "Thank you, Loku."
"You're welcome. At last, I get to see the body I'll be inhabiting for the next few years. Yes, I think I'll enjoy having tits."
Arden bolted up in the tub and crossed her arms over her chest, causing Loku to laugh again. She hadn't anticipated the unseen voyeur. "Can you please look away?"
"Nope, and more importantly, I don't want to. I've always been curious what it feels like to be a woman. But I'll try and keep my comments to myself."
Her muscles unlocked, and she sank deeper into the water. If he kept his word, she'd hopefully forget his presence in a few minutes. No reason not to enjoy the bath while she could.