The Deathsinger: Book 1

Ch. 24: Violations

The room was simple, much like my room in the palace, and for the first time since leaving, I was homesick. Sitting on the homespun quilt covering the single bed, I ran my hand over the stitching and exhaled. It was a welcome release, expelling all the worries snarled in the middle of my chest, but the relief was temporary. The moment silence crept back in my mind raced with tomorrows.

A gentle rap on the door saved me from my thoughts, and I cautiously made my way toward the door, pausing with my hand on the handle.

"Miss? Just checking if you'd like some hot bathwater," the woman on the other side called out.

"Thank you," I said, cracking the door, confirming it was just her, and then opening it wide and stepping back. "A hot bath sounds wonderful."

A quick swipe with a rag dipped in cold water stopped being effective days ago. Filth covered nearly every surface of my body. As she carried buckets of steaming water and poured them into the porcelain tub against the back wall, I resisted the urge to scratch the back of my neck and scalp. It was as if the mention of a bath suddenly made everything itch.

"You must have spent a hard couple of days on the road," the girl said. She stopped and pressed her hands to the middle of her back and stretched. "Did you come from the mountains? Lots of folks been coming down from the mountains saying the storm is gone. Did you ever think such a thing could happen?"

"It's unbelievable, isn't it?" I said, hoping to encourage her to keep talking without actually engaging in conversation. There was a fine line between getting information and giving it, and I was no expert on the matter.

"Right so. Some are saying it's the end times. After that business we're hearing about in Friedesh, but them is just rumors." She dumped the last bucket into the tub and looked at me. Her pink eyes went wide. "Nothing to be afraid of. Didn't mean to frighten you. You went pale beneath all that di–You went pale."

I cleared my throat and forced a chuckle. "That's just my natural coloring. Pale. We haven't heard anything about Friedesh. What happened?"

"Well, I oughtn't to linger too long." She hesitated. "Unless you'd like help with your bath. Now and then we get a rare lady of breeding in here, and she likes help with her bath. You look every bit a lady to me."

Growing up in the palace ensured I wasn't a prude. I'd scrubbed more backs and breasts than the men could claim to have ever seen in a lifetime, but never had I had the luxury of the favor being returned. And with the grime coating me, it would be nice to have some help. Even better to have some useful gossip to share with the others later.

"That would be lovely," I replied, doing my best imitation of Astreia as I lifted my arms above my head to remove my top.

"Here, hand me your clothes and go on and get in. My name is Arna. Oh!"

Her eyes went wide when she saw the burns on my arm. Instinctively, I put my hand over the scars, though it couldn't cover them all, and hopped into the tub. Sinking low into the deliciously warm water, I let out another exhale, this one a cross between a sigh and one of the moans Tievel had pulled from me with his clever hands. Just remembering that turned me pink faster than the heat. Terrified my thoughts were on my face, I ducked beneath the water to hide.

"You have such interesting coloring," Arna said when I emerged, choosing to ignore my scars all together. She lathered soap in her hands before driving them into the tangled mess of my hair and filling my nose with the scent of orange blossoms and ginger. "Almost like the Araphel women."

"Araphel?" This wasn't the topic we needed to discuss, but she piqued my curiosity.

Arna's sturdy fingers slowed–no longer scrubbing but moving in soothing circles. "Oof, sorry. Living so close to the Crystal Sea means we get a lot of travelers passing through, and nearly every single one of them mentions the beautiful black-haired women of Araphel. Well, how beautiful they used to be. Ain't nobody seen them in a long time. Not since the war."