Sea of Shadows (Age of Legends 1)

"He's right," Moria said. "Someone has hired them. Someone who respects the spirits enough not to lay hands on the Seeker and Keeper, but not so much that he fears holding them hostage. So they have us, and they have the children, and they've slaughtered the village of Edgewood. To what purpose? Have they told you?"

Ashyn shook her head. "We've only been here one night, and no one will speak." She did not mention the escape attempt. She told herself this was not the time, but in truth, she didn't wish this moment clouded by the memory.

"I want answers," Moria said, pushing up.

Gavril rose with her. He leaned over, whispering to her again. Ashyn heard enough to make out the gist of it, which was nothing terribly private. Gavril wanted Moria to let him get answers.

"At least allow me to try," he murmured. "If it doesn't work, you can do it your way."

Moria waved for him to go ahead. He bent to say something else. As he did, Moria turned her head to listen and Ashyn noticed the odd way her hair was bound, with small braids at the sides, pulled back with a dark strip of leather. She looked at Gavril, leaning over, one of his braids loose at the end, the tie gone.

Ashyn remembered back in Edgewood, the village girls vying for lovers among the guards. It was not easy to marry into a higher caste, but it was possible, and for the girls of Edgewood, those warrior guards were their best chance of bettering their lives. If they managed to catch one even temporarily, they'd parade trophies like the plunder of war. Most prized of all were beads. If their lover wore braids, they'd persuade him to part with a few and weave them into their own hair.

Ashyn looked at Gavril, at that unbound braid, the strap now binding her sister's locks.

She knew it did not mean the same thing. Her sister was too private a person to ever flaunt a conquest. And yet, was it still a lover's gift? There was something between her sister and the Kitsune. There always had been, even when they were at each other's throats. Now even Ronan saw it, given the way he watched them whisper.

Was he sad to see it? He ought not to be, considering he had a girl in the city. Perhaps, though, he still had feelings for Moria, and she felt no pleasure at seeing him disappointed.

As for Moria and Gavril . . . Ashyn knew her sister was curious about what happened between men and women, and she made little secret of it. But that was a curiosity to be pursued when nothing else required her attention. She would not escape her massacred village, set out on the Wastes with a handsome warrior, and decide it was the perfect opportunity to find out what all the fuss was about.

Yet they had spent five days alone together, in the wake of a tragedy, relying on each other for survival and . . . comfort? Perhaps.

She looked at her sister's hair.

"Yes," Moria said. "It's a mess. Just be thankful I didn't cut it after it almost got me killed."

"Your hair?" Ronan said.

"Did I mention the talons on that thunder hawk?" she said. "They liked long hair."

Ronan moved closer. "You truly killed it?"

"Gavril struck the fatal blow."

Ronan started to ask for more, but Ashyn cut in. "So your hair, that's why it's pulled back like that."

"Yes, he"--a wave at Gavril, now at the door, talking to the guard outside--"wouldn't let me cut it and risk angering the spirits. So I made him figure out an alternative."

That explained the strap then. Expediency. Which Ashyn should have known--while she thought it quite romantic to wear a lover's beads, her sister was far more practical. Still, there was something between them. . . .

Gavril came back. "We'll have an audience before sundown."

"Thank you," Ashyn said.

Gavril nodded, but Ashyn could tell he was waiting for a response from her sister. Moria grumbled about the wait, but she didn't blame him or try to do better, which Gavril seemed to recognize as a sign he'd done well. He walked to Daigo and bent to examine the wildcat's wounds.

"We should get water for these," he said. "One is oozing a little."

Ashyn retrieved a bowl of water and helped Moria clean Daigo's wounds. She took a closer look, too. Gavril was right. One showed signs of infection. The surrounding flesh was hot to the touch. Yet the wounds were otherwise healing well. She'd keep an eye on it.

As they finished their work, Ashyn gestured to the bowl. "Daigo isn't the only one who could use some cleaning. There's a tub in back, and they'll bring all the hot water you want."

Her sister opened her mouth, but Ashyn cut her off. "Yes, I know you consider it a waste of time under the circumstances, but we have time to waste. You ought to spend it getting rested and fed."

"And clean," Gavril said. "You could use the bath, Keeper."

"No more than you, Kitsune. Did you notice I've been sleeping upwind?"