Page 34 of Shadows of Winter

She had been.

Vlerion smiled slightly at her. “Targon will be glad to know the newcomers he wants to use aren’t easily scared.”

“Yes, Targon is who I long to impress.”

His smile widened, his face less restrained, and she decided he was handsome. Despite the scars.

“Vee.” Ghara lifted a finger, beckoning. “A word?”

Vlerion nodded but bumped his knuckles against Kaylina’s arm before walking away.

She didn’t know how to interpret the gesture, but at least he’d acknowledged she wasn’t easily scared. That was almost the same as calling her brave, wasn’t it?

Ghara linked one of her arms with Vlerion’s and guided him through the great hall and toward the dining hall. “Will you return to the mountains after this?”

“After Lord Darringtar’s murderer is caught and the ringleaders of the rebellion are dealt with.”

Hanged, if the newspaper article was correct.

“So, you’ll be in the city for a while? I could move a few things into my apartment here and visit with you when you’re off duty. I miss having you close.”

Kaylina didn’t hear his response, but Ghara slipped her arm fully around him before they moved out of view.

Not my business, Kaylina told herself. Why her jaw clenched, she didn’t know.

Frayvar joined her, sighing wistfully. “Is five hundred a month written on the lease? What’s the length of our commitment? Will they do any repairs?”

Reminded of the paperwork, Kaylina held the lease out, but the rows and rows of tiny print blurred when she tried to read them. The night’s fatigue was catching up with her.

“Check, will you?” She handed the pages to him.

Most people would find such a task onerous, but Frayvar pounced on the contract, taking the pages to the light of a window.

There was more to clean—much more—but Kaylina couldn’t help but be curious what Ghara and Vlerion were talking about. If the topic was her apartment and how he was invited to visit any time… that wasn’t anything Kaylina needed to know about. But if they spoke about what Captain Targon had planned for Kaylina’s new meadery, wouldn’t it be smart to gather whatever intelligence she could?

Yes, but if she sneaked closer to listen in, would Vlerion catch her? Probably. He had when she’d eavesdropped back at the jail.

Kaylina grabbed her broom and rags and headed through the library toward the kitchen. She paused inside the little well room to wet the rags. The water that came up from below was pure and delicious—she’d tasted some the night before and had been delighted. It would be wonderful for the mead.

She’d already swept and wiped the counters in the kitchen, so she pushed open a pantry door that creaked on its hinges and stepped inside. Light came through a narrow horizontal window near the ceiling, illuminating shelves that had mostly rotted away. They’d been made from a less resilient wood than the oak of the stairs and bookcases elsewhere in the keep, but once she repaired them, there would be room for dozens, if not hundreds, of bottles and all the spices her brother could ever need.

A few large glass jugs hunkered on the floor in the back, and Kaylina stepped fully inside, crouching to wipe them off. The door creaked, and she whirled, afraid of it locking, the way the front door had. But it didn’t close fully, and she let out a relieved breath.

Wiping the jugs revealed that they could be used as carboys, and delight filled Kaylina for the first time since the rangers had shown up, interfering with her plans. She would need larger fermentation vessels eventually, but these would be perfect to get started. When she made specialty varieties of mead, she usually did small batches anyway.

She caressed the jugs with love. “Perfect.”

Voices sounded in the kitchen. Vlerion and Ghara.

Kaylina froze. She’d thought they’d stopped in the dining hall for their private conversation.

“I can’t believe you made those two sleep here,” Ghara said. “They could have been killed. People have been, you know.”

“Not for years,” Vlerion said.

Kaylina stood, intending to step out and make her presence known, but the desire to hear what they would say stilled her feet.

“Only because people stopped spending time here.”

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