Page 34 of The Oracle's Journey

Both elves were in the gray cotton shorts that served as underwear, blades in hand.

“Everything is fine?” Lobikno asked with a sleepy voice.

“Yes,” Judith fussed, waving her arms. “Shoo!”

I smirked as the blanket over the younger women lifted and two sets of eyes peered out from underneath the edge. Who could blame them?

As the elves turned to leave, Lhoris’ eyes raked over me in my camisole and underwear. I returned the look, devouring him with my eyes, and then spared a moment to appreciate his brother as well. Oddly, it was the first time I noticed any resemblance. I could see they had the same build, now that Lobikno wasn’t hidden under his leathers. The difference, though, made the breath catch in my throat.

The scars on Lobikno’s left jaw merely started there—almost every inch of his skin, from the neck down, was scarred. He had some of the battle scars one would expect from a soldier. Slashes. Stabs. Cuts. But there were also old lash marks and places where intentional patterns and shapes had been carved away. Burns. Brands. A broad, puckered strip all the way around one thigh. All had been treated and healed so well I suspected magic was involved in their care, but still—to have endured all of that! But somehow, none of those scars detracted from his masculine beauty. As though someone had methodically set out to preserve it while they hurt him. The thought made my stomach churn. I kept my face neutral when he passed me by, but my heart ached for him.

No wonder he could be such an asshole.

A voice from down the hallway shouted, “Shut the fuck up!” Another guest disturbed by our racket, no doubt.

“Fuck you,” Lhoris drawled in kind. Lobikno said the same, but in elvish. It was the one phrase of their language I’d picked up—probably because it was his favorite.

Judith turned back to the two younger women, hands on her hips. “Well, then, I guess I see what you girls like about them.” She lifted a hand to fan her face.

Eve and Emma tittered under the blanket.

We gathered and ate breakfast in our room since it was the larger of the two we’d rented, and Emma told us about her conversation with Nicolas. I suspected that she left out some personal details, if her blush was any indication.

“Your lie to the boy ... was there any reason for it?” Lobikno asked. He sat perched at the foot of one bed, Lhoris and I on the other.

Emma shrugged from her place next to Eve, on the floor, Judith seated on a trunk behind them. “Not really. Just my gut saying I should be careful. I don’t think anybody could be watching our dream space, but I’m a lot more wary than I was a week or so ago.”

“To be fair,” Eve said, “I think that’s true for a lot of us.”

Lobikno let the corners of his lips turn upward for a change. Just a little. “Because it’s wise. The fewer who know, the better.”

“And I don’t know that Nicolas would want to marry me if he saw me like this,” Emma lamented. “I’d rather not risk crossing paths with him until this …” She gestured to herself. “… is resolved.”

“He would be a fool to reject you for this,” Lobikno said. “You killed many of my people, all monsters. You would be a powerful mate for anybody. If he sees your power and shuns you, he’s not a man at all.”

Melting a little, Emma asked, “You mean it?”

“I said it, didn’t I?” he groused.

“Thank you, Lobikno.” Emma smiled.

“In light of your instinct to keep your betrothed in the dark,” Lhoris said, “you should probably tell him to hold off on taking any action if you see him tonight.” He nuzzled his nose behind my ear and inhaled. It garnered harsh looks from Judith and Lobikno. Neither seemed to appreciate the frequent displays of affection.

Too bad for them.

Emma gasped, drawing their attention away. “I’ve got another finger!”

Lhoris

I bought a reasonably sized cart, large enough to carry our supplies and few personal items, with the money I received from the stolen metal and spare horses. Judith thanked me for picking something easier to drive than the carriage.

The sky was heavy with miserable, gray rain clouds when we left the inn. It appeared the sky would open up at any moment to soak the parched summer soil. We piled anything we wanted dry in the cart and covered it with a large sheet of oil cloth.

Before leaving Dulhal, we stopped at the cobbler’s shop where I’d purchased Lobikno a pair of boots the previous day. While there, I’d ordered a second pair to be altered. The cobbler said I could pick them up in the morning. A task I wanted to put behind us so I could speak to Oz alone.

As we pulled up in front of the cobbler’s shop, I overheard Emma telling Eve something about kissing her Duke and it had the two girls giggling. Then Eve produced the book Oz had given them. She pointed to a passage for Emma to read, and they giggled even more. When they got a little too boisterous, Judith reminded them to “act like ladies.”

Silly maidens.

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