Bard: Chapter 5

“It’s not a bad plan,” Laura said, keeping her voice low.

“I’m surprised you’re on board with it,” Liam said. “You don’t exactly trust her.”

“Well, yesterday changes things.”

They sat across from each other in the hallway outside their room. It was just barely dawn, and the inn was still quiet aside from the occasional creak or snore. Liam moved with each sound, reaching for the swords he no longer had. Laura had never realized just how often he had a hand on his weapons, and she wondered now if it was because he’d been hunted.

“You never told me about any of that, with Vultan,” she said quietly. “You just said you’d done mercenary work.”

“That’s basically what it was,” Liam muttered, not meeting her eyes. “I didn’t want you to worry about it.”

“Anything else I shouldn’t be worrying about?”

“Not anymore.”

“Good.”

“I’m sorry it happened to you,” he said heavily, looking at the floor. Laura uncrossed her legs so she could kick his foot.

“What’s the plan if she says no?” she asked, changing the subject. “I’d like to put some distance between us and here, regardless.”

“We could go back to Ilgrad,” Liam suggested, and Laura made a face. Neither of them had had much luck finding stable employment in Ilgrad, or else they wouldn’t have had to approach an anxious rich girl looking for an escort. “Or go down into Everly anyway, and see what we can find.”

“Have you been there before?”

“Once or twice. It’s a nice place, big city, we could probably find something.” Liam rested his head against the wall. “She might be more likely to say yes if we’re already going that direction.”

“Maybe.” There was noise downstairs, the scraping of wood as chairs were pulled down from tables. Liam pushed himself up.

“I’ll go get us breakfast.”

Laura slipped back into the room quietly, but Trista was already awake. She sat on the edge of the bed, combing her long black hair with her fingers and looking anxious. The blanket was folded neatly at the foot of the bed.

“Good morning,” Laura said, closing the door behind her.

“Good morning,” Trista replied. Laura sat down next to her and reached for the tin of salve. “I put more on already.”

“How did it look?”

“Better than yesterday, I think,” Trista replied, sorting her hair into strands and beginning to braid it. “The salve helps.”

“What are you running from?” Laura asked. She knew it was sudden, but if they were going to ask to travel with her it was better to know now.

Trista paused in her braiding, holding very still and looking at the floor.

“I told you, I’m not being chased to my knowledge,” she replied carefully. “Except perhaps by the governor of Ilgrad.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

Trista met her eyes for a moment, then looked away. She finished her braid and pushed it back over her shoulder, resting her hands on her knees.

“I couldn’t stay there anymore,” she said quietly. “I think…I finally realized how horrible it was—that everything we were doing was horrible—and I couldn’t bear to be there another minute. So, I ran.”

“What were you doing that was so terrible?”

“I’d rather not talk about it,” Trista said.

“Right.”

“What are you running from?” Trista asked. “I know Liam was running from Vultan. What about you?”

“I’m not running,” Laura said, leaning back and crossing one ankle over the other. “I was released, and I left town as soon as I could.”

“You were sold too?” Trista asked. Laura nodded. “Were the two of you kidnapped?”

“No. Our father sold us,” Laura replied blandly.

“What? Why?”

“He needed money.”

Trista looked aghast and Laura snorted. The girl looked like she wanted to say more, but Liam returned, carrying a plate of burned pancakes and a bowl of preserves.

“Breakfast,” he said, setting everything out on the floor again. Laura slid down to join him and Trista did the same. Once again, she didn’t reach for food, so Laura took the top pancake off the stack, smeared it with preserves and handed it to her.

“Eat,” she directed, and Trista took a careful bite.

“How’s the brand?” Liam asked gruffly.

“Better,” Trista said. “Thank you for your help, both of you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Laura said. Liam kept his eyes on his food. She wondered if he would bring it up or if he was waiting for her. She decided not to wait. “We wanted to talk to you about something,” she began.

“Oh?” Trista raised her eyebrows, going still again.

“Do you want company, in Everly?” Laura asked. “The three of us could stick together.”

“You want to come with me?” Trista asked quietly. “Just to the city, or once we’re there too?”

“There too,” Liam confirmed. “If you’d like.”

“Why?”

Laura considered that. It was hard to explain exactly what had led her and Liam to make the offer in the first place. They did fine on their own, but only fine, and only just. Everly would be a fresh start, for all of them, and it never hurt to have friends around.

“We like you,” she replied, shrugging, “and there’s safety in numbers.”

Trista took a bite of her pancake, keeping her eyes on the floor. She swallowed, and looked between the two of them.

“You don’t mind that I’m…” she gestured to her face, “this?”

“I shared a bunkhouse with the men who grabbed us yesterday,” Liam said dryly, dipping another pancake directly into the bowl of preserves. “You’re a delight.”

Trista took another bite, nodding her head.

“I would like it—your company,” she said softly. “I would like that very much.”

“That’s settled then,” Laura said, raising her pancake as if making a toast. “We’re off to Everly, together.”