Page 36 of Shadows of Winter

“I’ve gained some more experience since then,” Ghara admitted. “If you’d like to try again.”

“You’ve been taking lovers to learn better bedroom play?” He sounded amused.

“One has to learn somehow. So one can make sure her man enjoys his time as much as she enjoys hers.”

“Your grandfather would be horrified to hear you speaking of pleasing a man.”

“It’s not proper to bring up elderly relatives during tender moments, Vee.”

Kaylina crept closer to the back wall to consider the window more closely.

“This can’t be a tender moment,” Vlerion said. “It’s safer if there’s nothing between us.”

“Safer?” Ghara laughed. “Are you afraid the curse of the castle will get worse if we’re intimate in the kitchen?”

“No.”

“From what I’ve heard, nights are worse, though I wouldn’t want to be here alone during the day. Your tourists are either foolish or brave.”

“Some of both, perhaps.”

“Vee,” Ghara groaned his name. As she slumped against him? “I’ve missed you. I want you.”

They fell silent. Kaylina didn’t return to the door to see if they were kissing. She didn’t want to know.

Instead, she reached for the sturdiest of the rotten shelves. It was time to get out of there.

Before she could climb, the door creaked open.

She barely kept from blurting, “Shit.” Instead of going up, she crouched, grabbing one of the carboys. With the heavy glass in her arms, she spun.

Vlerion stood in the open doorway, his face a mask. His cloak had been thrown back, and his shirt was untucked. Had Ghara been shoving her hands up there? Or going for his belt to show him what she’d learned from her other lovers?

Not Kaylina's business.

“Are you done out there? I didn’t want to interrupt.” Kaylina's words came out panicked, tripping over each other. She raised the carboy, half of it cleaned of dust. “Look what I found. I can use these for my first batch of mead. If you could refrain from having sex in the kitchen, that would be amazing. There’s so much to do, and I need to focus on getting this room up to sanitary standards. I assume they do have sanitary standards up here in the north, right? This is the capital, after all, the heart of the kingdom. The epitome of civilization, one would assume.”

Stop talking, the back of her brain ordered as Ghara peered around Vlerion to look into the pantry. Thankfully, nothing was untucked on her.

“I’ll get out of your way.” Giving up on the idea of the window—though it was tempting to flee that way and hide in the courtyard until they left—Kaylina stepped toward them.

If Vlerion didn’t budge, there was no way she would get by him, but she kept walking, as if she fully expected him to. Would he move? Or grab her?

His eyebrow twitched ever so slightly, and he stepped aside. Ghara did too, though she was frowning deeply at this intrusion.

Still clutching the carboy, Kaylina hurried past them and fled the kitchen. She found her brother in the great hall, the lease in his hand.

Frayvar held it up. “We would only be committing to a year.”

“That’s not much.”

“Not for a commercial endeavor, no.” He sounded surprised. “Maybe she owes Lord Vlerion a favor.”

Thinking of the conversation she’d overheard, Kaylina glanced back at the kitchen. “Yeah.”

Vlerion wanted Kaylina and Frayvar to leave, or at least thought they would be better off if they did, but he had also done exactly what his captain asked. She would be wise to remember his loyalty was to his boss and his class, not a couple of tourists.

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