“No!” Kash tried to save them, but he kept pulling flaming pieces of paper out of the fire.
“It’s fine.” I placed my hand on his shoulder. “I’m not a skilled card player, anyway.”
Kash entertained himself by flicking the cards he had left into a bowl.
Earlier that day, I had found a few books and placed them near the fireplace for me to study. I pulled one from the stack and opened it.
“Where are you from?” he asked. “It’s obvious from your accent you’re not from around here. You have very little supplies, and you weren’t prepared for our frequent winter storms.”
“It’s that obvious?” I sighed, closing the book.
“A little.” Kash pinched his fingers together. He leaned forward and lifted the cover to reveal the title of the book I was reading. “And you’re reading a book on our history.”
He was very observant. “I’m from Nihill. I grew up there and only recently came to Kiln.”
“Why?” he asked. “No one travels to the northern Ragnar Mountains in the middle of winter, unless they’re crazy.”
“Maybe I am crazy.”
“Or maybe you’re after the gold,” he said, lowering his voice.
“Gold?” I asked, feigning ignorance.
Kash’s eyes glittered. “It’s well-known that these mountains have secrets. Many believe the stories of a hoard of gold buried here.” His hand brushed the handle of his knife.
“Do you?” I asked.
“Of course.” He stared into the fire.
“Well, I’m not here to hunt gold. I’m here for another reason.”
“What’s that?” he asked.
“I’m here until”—I paused, remembering my mother’s warning—“someone comes for me.”
“Oh, who is he? A fiancé, betrothed?” Kash hedged.
“No.” I blushed. “A friend of the family.”
“Ah.” Kash leaned back on his side on the floor and took to playing with a few pebbles that had come loose from the brick fireplace, pushing them around.
“Do you have family or siblings?” I asked.
His mood darkened, and he was reluctant to respond. “Family is what you make of it.”
He was being very evasive, and I hated people that never answered a direct question.
“If you don’t give me a straight answer, you’re going to find yourself out in the storm again,” I snapped.
Kash’s golden eyes met mine. “I’m not proud of my past, nor my family. Speaking of it always causes trouble wherever I go. So I’d rather not.” His congenial demeanor was gone and replaced by a firm, commanding tone that surprised me.
“Well, where are you from?”
“Here. Just further up the mountain. Far enough that I can’t make it by foot during the storm,” he said in a clipped voice.
I wanted to ask him where to, but even though we had fought and not killed each other, I had to remind myself we were both perfect strangers. He knew nothing about me, and I knew nothing about him. And the way our conversation was going, we were going to remain strangers.
Kash grabbed a spare blanket and curled up by the fire, tucking his hands behind his head to prepare for sleep.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice rising in pitch.
“I’m going to sleep. I’m exhausted.” He stretched out his long legs and crossed them at the ankles.
“Not here, you’re not.”
Kash leaned up on his elbows and gave me an exasperated stare. “Rhea, I’m tired. You’re tired. It’s cold out. This is the warmest place in the manor. Just rest. I promise not to knock you out or tie you up.” After he said his piece, he leaned back down and turned on his side, giving me his back.
I stared at Kash for close to a candle mark, and I couldn’t tell if he was asleep or not. But I gave him plenty of time to doze off into a deep sleep. Grabbing up the blankets I slept on, I tiptoed out of the sitting room. There was no way I was going to sleep in the same room as a stranger, even if he did feed me. It wasn’t safe. My mother taught me not to trust strange men, and Kash was by far the strangest I had met.
Bundling the blankets to my chest, I ran up the stairs to the west wing and into the one room I knew locked from the inside. I needed the safety of the wall between us.
Unfortunately, it was a room that was still missing a pane of glass and the temperature was below freezing. It was the first bedroom I’d found, with the peeling blue wallpaper and the fourposter bed that sat directly under the window. I turned the key in the lock and to be safe, placed a ward on the door. One that would shock any intruder. I crawled up on a rug at the far end of the room, opposite the window, and wrapped the blanket around me, wishing that I had thought to recharge my charms during the day—or that I had the forethought to carry wood to more than the main sitting room.
I shivered as I pulled the blanket over my head to block out the bitter chill, letting my breath create a pocket of warmth. But try as I might, I kept falling in and out of fitful sleep. My dreams were chaos as I floated in and out of consciousness. I dreamed of the storm.
The next morning, I awoke to find that I was warm despite the freezing room. Pulling the blanket off my head, I was confused to find that another had been placed on top of me. Looking around the room, the door was locked, and the key was still in the keyhole.
I must have been mistaken. I must have taken three blankets with me in the middle of the night. That must have been it.
When I went back down the stairs, I found the sitting room empty; the fire had dulled to a flicker, and it hadn’t been tended to in hours. I added more wood and walked through the manor, searching for Kash. Realizing that, once again, I was alone.
Unsure how to process his sudden departures. What was he doing? Would he come back? And then my heart fluttered as I realized I wanted him to.
I spent the rest of the day working on bread and letting it rise. Thankful once again for my mother’s foresight to place a preserving charm on the kitchen cellar.
The scent of freshly baked bread filled the kitchen as I let it rest on the table.
But all my baking had depleted the wood bin, and it needed to be filled to get through the rest of the night. As the sun continued to set, I knew I needed to face the coming darkness and the fact that Kash very well would not return. I had to rely on myself.
Wrapping my cloak around my shoulders, I braced for a blast of freezing wind when I opened the door. And blast it did.
The snow stung my eyes, and I could feel it melt on my cheeks, and then instantly freeze. This wasn’t good. It was freezing, and I’d have to move fast. Thankfully, Kash had found a cart to haul the wood and left it by the front door. Inside the cart was an axe.
“Praise the stars,” I said in relief as I picked up the long handles of the cart and lifted it. Pushing it around the side of the house, I saw a trail into the woods where the snow wasn’t as deep, indicating Kash had used that path.
I stopped at the first tree that seemed easy to cut through and would provide adequate firewood. Growing up in the country, I wasn’t without basic skills. All my sisters knew how to cut wood. It was easy if you chose your target wisely. I never picked a tree thicker than my leg. I could cut through it easily and chop it into small pieces and carry it back easily without burning through too much energy. The ash grove I stumbled into was perfect.