“So you need to go back to the college and find some of your teachers?”
Will nodded.
“They’re most likely asleep,” said the big man.
“Then I’ll rouse them.”
His friend scrutinized him carefully. “You’re tired. Get some sleep. Rest for tonight. You can get up early and brace them when they’re also rested and ready to face the day. Everyone will be smarter and better able to think.”
As usual, Tiny’s words made a lot of sense. With a nod, he went to the door. “We’re going to get some sleep. Why don’t you come sleep in the bedroom with Laina?”
“I’ll keep watch,” insisted the former assassin.
“We can bar the door. You need rest, and it won’t matter if the king’s men eavesdrop on us sleeping.”
She thought about it, then relented. “Perhaps you are right.”
Darla made a show of sleeping on the floor in the bedroom, though Will wondered how long that would last once the door was closed. Then again, I really have no idea how their relationship works, he reminded himself. The Arkeshi was a strange person, and it was entirely possible she insisted on such privations except for well-circumscribed moments of intimacy. It wasn’t his place to pry or interfere.
Will and Tiny bedded down in the front room, borrowing pillows and cushions from the furniture. Will had a few blankets stored in the limnthal, so he summoned two of them and handed one to his friend. It was almost like their days in the army together, except they’d never had such neat and level ground to lie on back then. The palace rugs weren’t quite enough to soften the hard stone floors, but they went a long way in that regard.
Neither of them had trouble falling asleep.
When he awoke after some unknown time, the sky was still dark in the window, but his back felt uncommonly warm. Tiny was sprawled out across the room in front of him, and he was lying on his side a few feet from one wall, so that didn’t make much sense. Turning his head carefully, Will saw the back of Laina’s head. She had snuck in at some point and worked her way in between him and the wall, putting her back against his and pulling her knees up to her chest.
She had to be cold and uncomfortable, with no pillow or cover. Reaching out, he snatched a small cushion from a nearby chair before carefully turning over so he could ease it under her head. If the movement woke her, she gave no sign of it. Resuming his former position, back-to-back, he shifted his blanket and tossed half over Laina, then he went back to sleep.
Sometime later Tiny shook him awake. “It’s almost dawn.”
Groggy, Will looked around. Laina was gone. “Where are the others?”
“Darla’s outside the door again. I don’t think Miss Nerrow is awake yet.”
Will was willing to bet that she was awake, since she’d started sleeping before the rest of them, but he wasn’t about to say that. It was obvious that Laina hadn’t wanted anyone to know she had switched sleeping spots during the night. She was probably having nightmares, not that I can blame her.
He knocked on the door to the bedroom. “Are you dressed?”
Laina pulled it open immediately. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“It’s just a common courtesy to ask,” he replied, noting the grease on her cheek. “You have some duck stuck to your face.”
She wiped it on her sleeve without the slightest bit of self-consciousness. “Are we about to leave?”
He nodded.
Laina waved at Tiny, then tugged on Will’s shirt. “Can we talk for a moment first?”
“Sure.” He followed her into the room and waited while she shut the door.
“It’s about last night, er, this night—is it dawn yet?” she asked irritably.
“The sun is just coming up.”
Laina walked over and took a seat on the edge of the bed, then stood again, too nervous to remain in one place. “I kept waking up, hoping it had been a nightmare.”
“I’m sorry for putting you to sleep—” he began.
“Honestly, it was a relief. I couldn’t believe what was happening. Those men…”
Will blanched, then looked away.
“I understand what you were trying to do, but it was still almost as bad. I’m glad I didn’t have to do it, but now I feel guilty, because you took the burden on in my place. Again.” She paused and stared at him steadily for several seconds. “You didn’t even hesitate.”
He felt the accusation in her eyes. He was a killer. He’d started with Darrowans in his home village, moved on to killing sentries, then Dennis in a duel—he wasn’t even sure anymore how many occasions he had been forced to kill, though the worst was his memory of sacrificing Arlen Arenata. Looking down, he stared at his feet. It was only natural she would find him disturbing after what she had seen.
Laina’s arm went around his midsection as she hugged him tightly, her cheek against his chest. “Thank you, but don’t do it again. You’ve got enough bad stuff to remember. Don’t add any more because of me again.” She pushed him away and stepped back.
“I can’t promise that.”
“Do it again and I’ll put a knot on your head,” she warned, showing him her fist. Laina smiled for a moment, but then her features darkened again. “How did he do that to me?”
“It’s a long story, but the essence of it is that the graduation seal you received is actually a heart-stone enchantment, except you’re not on the controlling end of it, King Lognion is.” Her face went blank, and Will watched quietly while a variety of realizations passed through her mind. Then he added, “That’s where elementals come from. Someday, when you die, the enchantment will continue to bind your soul, and Lognion or whoever his successor is, will use it to transform you into a new elemental.”
She sat down suddenly, still numb. Rather than bombard her with more, Will stood silent, waiting for the inevitable questions. “That’s why you refused the elementals?”
He gave a single nod. “When I interrupted Selene’s wedding to Count Spry, something similar happened, and she learned the truth. Afterward, she released her elementals and went into hiding, partly so she could relearn magic, and partly to avoid letting her father control her again.”
“She knew he would use her against you.” Her eyes widened. “What did he say after I went to sleep? Did he make you swear to some awful bargain? Is he using me the same way now?”
“No, but I did make a bargain. He offered to free one of you. In exchange, I told him I’d get rid of the vampire problem.”