Chapter 46

Emerin.

My eyes fly open, and I find her sitting in a chair pulled up near my bed.

"Emerin." I smile and sit up quickly. Too quickly. The room spins for a second before righting itself.

Sunlight dances off her copper hair as she moves to sit next to me on the mattress. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm well. Especially now that you're here." My brow furrows. "But how are you here?"

"Your husband sent Reeve to get me."

Reeve?

Jasce's other brother is here?

I glance around, expecting to find him nearby, but he's not. "Where's Jasce?"

"I think he wanted to give me time with you."

How thoughtful of him.

I take a deep breath, trying to remember what happened to me. The last thing I remember clearly is going to the kitchens for an almond pastry. Everything after that is a blur of pain and nausea.

Emerin seems to read the unspoken question on my face. "You were poisoned."

A cold fist of fear squeezes my lungs at the thought of someone trying to kill me.

Is it because I'm from House of Silver? Does someone want me dead because I'm married to their chieftain?

I run my fingers across my eyes as I recall the servant girl handing me the almond milk. Was she the one who poisoned me? Surely, the cook wouldn't have tried to hurt me. She's always so kind.

"Rora," Emerin says, pulling my attention back to her. "Would you like some water?"

I nod, and Emerin hurries to retrieve water from a vase sitting on the nearby table. When she returns, she hands me the goblet. I grab it from her and take slow sips.

The bed creaks as she sits next to me and darts her gaze over my face, studying every detail, as if she cannot believe I'm truly sitting in front of her.

"I've missed you so much, Em," I whisper, my voice wavering with emotion.

"Oh, Rora." Tears well up in her eyes. "Nothing has been the same since you left. My heart aches every day that you're not there. And Ashes…" She sniffs and wipes away the tears. "She's so sad. So angry. It's like a part of her died when you left."

"I'm so sorry." Guilt twist in my gut like a knife as I continue. "I never meant to hurt either of you."

She curls her fingers around my free hand. "Do you love him?"

"Yes."

"Does he love you?" When I nod, Emerin's grip tightens. "Then, I am thrilled for you, and I want you to be happy. You deserve that and so much more."

My heart soars with relief, knowing that she doesn't condemn me or hate me for my choices.

"Thank you." I lift my hand to my seashell pendant and squeeze my fingers around it. "Where is Asha right now?"

Emerin shakes her head. "I do not know. She left with her army days ago."

Pain grips my chest, knowing I have hurt Asha so much.

"Can I ask you a question and you answer honestly?" Emerin asks, her voice soft and tentative.

I nod. "Of course."

"Am I safe here if I stay until tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, of course, you're safe." I lower the goblet of water to the table and straighten. "Must you leave tomorrow, Em?" The thought of her going so soon makes my chest ache anew.

She nods. "I will not allow Asha to find me missing. It would break her heart." Her voice catches on the last words.

I lean back against the headboard and stare at the window, knowing I should go back with Emerin. Maybe if I did, Asha would call off her need for vengeance, but my love for Jasce cannot allow me to just walk away.

Besides, I made a vow, and I do not run away from my vows.

"I'm so scared," Emerin admits. "For our family. Mother…" Her jaw twitches as she stares down at her hands, "…she worsens by the day. She's so mean to everyone. So hateful."

Embers of anger rise in my chest at the thought of what our mother is saying to Emerin.

"Try to stay away from her."

"I do." Emerin lets out a shaky exhale. "But sometimes I purposely put myself in front of Tahira to protect her from our mother's barbed words."

I should be the one there placing myself between them, being the wall that deflects everything from my sisters.

"How is Tahira?"

Emerin's features soften as she speaks about our youngest sister. "She's well, and she misses you a lot."

"I miss her." So much.

A thought strikes me as I swing my legs over the side of the bed and stand. "Would you like to go to the bathhouse? We could bathe and talk more."

Her eyes widen in surprise. "There is a bathhouse here?"

"Yes, it's spectacular. You'll love it," I assure her, already picturing the steaming pools and the soothing scent of oils and herbs.

A smile stretches across her face. "Then, let's go."

* * *

As we enter the bathhouse,I breathe in the heady scents of jasmine and rose oil. Emerin lets out a happy sigh as she takes in the shimmering pools ringed with white marble.

We undress and slip into the warm water. The tension seeps from my muscles as I lean back against the smooth lip of the pool. I trail my fingers through the water as Emerin shifts to stand beside me.

"This bath is far nicer than Jasce's brother's manners," she says with a frown.

I glance at her. "What do you mean?"

"That man is an arrogant bastard." She shakes her head in disgust, sending ripples cascading across the surface of the pool.

"Reeve?"

Her eyes flash with annoyance as she nods.

"I don't really know him."

"I think you should stay away from him," she advises. "He has less manners than a pig. Did you know he had the audacity to climb through my window and demand I go with him?"

"I didn't know. I'm sorry, Em." The thought of her facing such an intrusion makes my heart ache.

She waves her hand dismissively, as if trying to banish the unpleasant memory. "It doesn't matter now. I'm just happy I could help you."

"I'm so grateful you came, Em."

Emerin's expression softens as her earlier irritation fades. "You're my sister. I'll always be there when you need me."

Emerin reminds me of the way Asha used to be before the weight of her responsibilities sharpened her edges.

"Thank you," I say, even though I know no amount of thanks will ever be enough to truly repay Emerin for being here for me, for loving me unconditionally.

"Do you have any idea who might have poisoned you?" Emerin asks.

"I think…" It takes everything in me to say the words. "Someone who doesn't agree with me marrying Jasce."

Emerin's brow wrinkles. "I have a feeling your husband will find out who, and he will punish them accordingly."

A memory of Jasce confronting Tristan overwhelms my vision. The determined set of Jasce's jaw. The cold fury. The calm way he spoke as he counted to ten. Then, the slow, purposeful way he followed Tristan into the street. Jasce knew the entire time he would kill him. He just played games with him first.

"You know," Emerin says after a moment, "for a man with a fearsome reputation, Jasce is quite smitten with you."

I can't suppress the smile that finds its way to my lips. "Is it that obvious?"

"As obvious as the dawn. I see it in the way he looks at you. Like you're the only thing anchoring him to this world."

I grab a jar of rose oil, pour some onto a cloth, and use it to wash my body. "I love him."

"I know you do."

After I finish washing, I lower the cloth to the edge of the pool. "What about you? Are you still meeting with Corvin?"

The lines near her mouth deepen as she stares down at the water for several long breaths. "He married a woman his mother wanted for him."

"Oh, Em."

She sniffs and glances up. "It's all right. Asha would have never agreed to let me marry him."

"Still," I say as Emerin bathes with marjoram oil. "You liked him. I could tell."

"Maybe…" She places the cloth she was washing with on the side of the pool, "…there is a better man out there for me. Someone who challenges me. Someone like your Jasce." She frowns and quickly adds, "But he will have to be from House of Silver."

"That would please Asha."

Emerin nods.

Water drips down my body as I climb out of the pool and reach for a drying cloth. "I believe you will find someone someday, Em, but they will never be good enough for you. Nobody will be. You deserve the world, and then some."

She smiles, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she shakes her head at me. "I'm not so perfect, Rora."

I wrap the drying cloth around my body. "You are to me."

"Did you know, I once poured an entire jar of toads in Asha's bed because she wouldn't let me get a new cotehardie?"

A smile pulls at my mouth as I imagine Asha's horrified reaction. She absolutely detests toads, especially the large, slimy ones that lurk near the fortress moat. I can picture her shrieking in revulsion as she pulls back the bedcovers and finds a dozen warty amphibians hopping around her bed.

Emerin climbs out of the water, and I hand her a cloth to dry herself with.

"And one time," Emerin continues, her eyes sparkling with mischief, "I picked all the flowers Tahira had just planted because she stole my favorite pair of shoes and wore them through mud puddles."

"That sounds like something Tahira would do."

Emerin nods as she finishes drying herself off. "See. I'm not so perfect after all."

I smile as I find clean surcoats and pants for us on the nearby shelf. I made sure to leave some the last time I bathed here.

The moment we're both dressed, I grab Emerin's hand and pull her toward the door, knowing I want to spend every possible second I can with her before she returns to Bakva.