CHAPTER 93 Say It for Me

CHAPTER 93

Say It for Me

Rufus

My heart was racing as we walked back to the inn, hand in hand. Bronwynn waved away my concern as she sniffed. She was holding back as much as she could.

The second the door to her room closed behind us, she fell into my arms and started crying.

I held her, gently patting her back as she let it all out. After a moment’s hesitation, I scooped her up into my arms and carried her to the bed. I sat, Bronwynn in my lap. The half giantess leaned down into my shoulder, sniffling again, and got out, “I talked to Donna.”

Ah. I hugged her tighter. “I’m sorry …”

“You didn’t do anything.” She pulled a kerchief from her storage ring and blew into it loudly. Then she stilled and cast a look full of suspicion. “Did you?”

“I found out. And told her if she didn’t tell you … I would,” I explained. There wasn’t anything I could regret. It needed to be done.

I was reminded of the fact that Bronwynn’s emotions were hidden from my senses and my notification sheet, if not my sight. Her family heritage and upbringing were a testament to that, and I appreciated it even as I worried. If I was going to love this woman, I wanted her to have her own private thoughts and emotions. Even if it left me on the edge of my seat for a day worrying.

Bronwynn blew her nose a second time and nodded. “Donna already told me you knew.”

“I imagine she had a lot to say.” My hand swept her hair out of her face and tucked a curly lock behind her ear. She was so beautiful, splotchy crying face and all.

“Our relationship is full of secrets,” she stated. “My life is full of secrets.”

“True.” I nodded .

“And even my bonded companion had secrets!”

I continued nodding.

“And I have secrets.”

I tensed, suddenly worried. Although, when was I not worried? “You do?”

Bronwynn sighed, looking sheepish. “It’s one of the reasons I’ve completely separated myself from my family business.”

There wasn’t much I could do except wait for her to tell me. It took some time to gather her courage, but she finally whispered, “Rufus … when I was seven, I had a bit of an adventure with a grimalcat.”

Everything stopped as I stared at my bard with a mix of horror and understanding. Still, I didn’t interrupt her.

“I’ve never told my family all of the details because it happened when my cousin accidentally shipped me off to Drendil,” she started, slipping into storyteller mode as easily as she did breathing. Her emotions slipped away, and only the art of recounting the events remained, giving her voice strength.

“My aunt Persia on my mother’s side found me in the hold, but it was too late to go back.” She smiled. “My grandparents were only too happy to have me stay with them for a summer while Persia finished her trip east up the coast to North Sumbria.

“But Drendil isn’t exactly safe for nonhumans, and I got cornered by a gang of children trying to ‘show the giant that she ain’t welcome.’ There was an accident, and as I was running away, I reached a dead end. That’s when I met Momo. I’d been terrified, but the second he showed up, I thought that everything might be alright. He asked me what my dream was, and I told him. I told him I wanted to be a bard and travel the world, and how much music meant to me.”

She glanced at her lyre harp and then down at her hand, clenching it. I had to remind myself that the king and queen of Drendil—the ones responsible for creating a culture of hate—were already undead.

Bronwynn continued. “He asked what was stopping me. I told him I was supposed to grow up and help my family business. I was so much in shock from my wound that I added, ‘If I survive,’ and the grimalcat snorted.

“Then he sniffed my hand and said that if I was willing to follow my dream and abandon my family business, he would help me … and I agreed. Momo pulled out the knife in my side, and the wound healed with magic, and I was fine. But I’d made a promise.”

The song jumped right into my mind, and I spoke the ending to my bard.

Never betray you a grimalcat’s trust,

And never a lie pass your tongue.

The creature will hunt you until the blue moon,

And the damage returned or undone .

“Exactly!” Bronwynn put her head in her hands. “What if Momo thinks that my bonded companion completing my family’s quests is the same as me breaking my word?”

“You could ask Slake?” I offered; my free hand rose to play with the ends of her hair. “He would know.”

Her body shifted delicately on my lap, making me exceedingly aware of her. At least I didn’t have my tail to give me away as well.

She stopped, blushing at me, but not immediately running away.

“I could ask Slake,” she agreed, her voice soft. She leaned closer, her breath tickling my neck. The sensation was heightened without my fur, and I shivered. Bronwynn pulled back, searching my face. “ Later .”

The red tint in her dark eyes was like a fire. Her arms came up, one wrapping gently around my neck while the other was toying with the ends of my hair by my shoulder. I turned my face and kissed the hand. My arms were still holding her on my lap.

Looking up at her, I nodded. “Later.”

She leaned down to kiss me, but I spoke just before our lips touched. “Bronwynn?”

“Yes?” she asked, pausing.

“I love you.”

She smiled, pressing her lips to mine in a gentle exploring exchange. When she pulled back for air, she whispered, “Good. I would hate to be the only one.”

Chuckling at her teasing, I rolled her underneath me on the bed and kissed her nose. “Say it for me.”

“I love you too.” Then she laughed and added, “And this time, neither one of us has been drinking, so there are no problems with consent, right?”

I lifted her hand to my face and kissed the inside of her palm. “That’s right. But I’ll be checking things as we go, just to make sure.”