Page 76 of Bloodguard

The soles of her leather slippers scrape along the slate stone. She extends her hand. “Here,” she says, practically bouncing in place.

I close the distance between us until she’s near enough to touch. But I don’t take what she offers, too engrossed in her gaze to spare a glance at her hands.

Maeve saves me the trouble of drawing closer when she inches forward to roll the ties on the front of my shirt between her fingers. “You mentioned your family doesn’t have much in the way of clothes.”

I tilt my head. “That’s right, which is why you sent them as much as you did when we made our agreement.”

“Well, I sent them more, and blankets, and a couple of children’s stories, too.”

“Why…” I hold out a hand. I know why she did it. She’s Maeve, and this is what Maeve does. She cares for those who need caring. “How did you manage?”

“The messenger hawks you told me about. Neela—you know Neela? Our grandmother troll you want to do naughty things with?”

Oh, she’ll never let this go. “Yes, I remember,” I admit. I also remember how Neela pelted me in the back of the head with an apple the first day I took a walk around the grounds. In her defense, it was a damn good throw, and that apple was delicious.

Maeve shrugs playfully. “Well, Neela secured several. I didn’t realize how much they can carry and decided to make it worth the trip.” She smiles. “When Neela paid the remaining charge today, there was something waiting for you.”

She offers me the small envelope.

“What’s this?” I ask.

“A letter from home,” she says.

Joy pierces my heart. My pause is brief. I attack the envelope containing the letter. Mother never learned to read or write, but Rose has learned enough to scrawl words onto a ratty piece of parchment paper.

Deer Leith,

Erth quaqes hav sterted heer. They hav us all skared. Wee receeved wut u sent. It helpt Dahlia. It helpt us.

Thanq u. We mis u n r blest by ur sakrifeyce.

All ower luv,

Rose

“I helped them,” I say. I look up at Maeve. “Dahlia is doing better.”

Maeve jumps and claps in place. “Leith, you saved your little sister and helped your family.”

I frown when something occurs to me. Maeve leans in. “What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s just…” I reread Rose’s letter. “Something is off.”

She tilts her head, questioning me but careful to avoid reading the letter. “How so?”

Again, I take in each word. “You sent my winnings from my last match.”

“Well, technically Neela had them sent.” She’s so close her arm brushes mine. “Given your family’s situation, we sent everything as soon as we could manage. What are you upset about?” she asks.

“It’s probably nothing,” I say. “But it usually takes longer to hear back from them. A month, sometimes two.” Perhaps Rose is getting faster and they were able to send this letter back with the messenger hawks. The thought makes me happy.

She bites her bottom lip. I wish she wouldn’t.Iwant to do it for her.

“I sent all the medicines and elixirs I had.”

“Thank you, Maeve.” And damn it if my voice doesn’t quiver.

“I don’t have any more aja mushrooms. But the moment they come into bloom, I’ll get them. I know a spot now. I promise—”

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