Page 72 of A Dagger in the Ivy

Twenty-Six

I’m awoken by a body bouncing on my bed. I blink, slowly taking in the fact that Nadya is lying beside me. She smiles at me and tucks her hands under the pillow next to mine.

“Good morning.” She giggles, and I can smell the wine on her breath.

“Nadya. You’re drunk. You should get some sleep.”

“I did.”

I turn to face her. “Oh, really? Did you sleep well?”

“As well as I can in an unfamiliar bed.”

“I’m pretty sure you did more drinking than sleeping.”

“Oops.” She covers her mouth and giggles again. “But didyousleep? No wandering?”

I bristle, my face growing warm. I wish she didn’t know about my problem, but she’s been at my side since we were children, and she was bound to find out about them at some point. She’s caught me a few times when we lived at the Garrison, but as far as I know, she hasn’t seen me do it here. “No,” I lie, not wanting her to worry.

“Will you threaten to cut my head off if I ask about your magic?”Her drunken state has obviously stripped her of her inhibitions.

“You mean lack of it.”

“Nothing more has manifested?”

I sigh. “Nothing more than the basic fae powers.”

She closes her eyes, pressing her cheek against the pillow. “I wish I could stay in bed, but I have lessons.”

“Wehave lessons.” I shift to a sitting position. “Actually, no.Ihave lessons. Ezra promised I could train today.”

“Right. But don’t worry, I won’t abandon you.” Her eyes are still closed, so I’m not sure she means it.

I swing my legs over the bed and stroll to my chest to find something to wear.

The door opens, and Indira walks in. She stops short when she spots Nadya in my bed. “I don’t know why we even bothered making up a room for her; she never sleeps in it.”

I give Indira a small smile. “Nadya’s the kind of person who thrives with human contact.”

“She must be thriving vigorously,” Indira mumbles as she carries fresh towels to the bathing room.

“I heard that,” Nadya says into the pillow.

I pull out trousers and a blouse and lay them on the armchair near my wardrobe.

Indira shakes her head as she comes back into the room, her arms full of the used towels from yesterday. “The queen gave you so many dresses.”

“But I’m sword training today,” I explain. “I’d rather not accidentally cut up one the beautiful dresses from the queen.”

“Hasn’t stopped you before.” Indira purses her lips.

A giggle bubbles up from Nadya’s pillow.

Ignoring Indira’s aversion to my clothing choices, I ask her to plait back my hair to avoid it getting in my way. It takes her no time at all, and when she’s finished, we both raise our brows to the sound of Nadya snoring.

“I’m not certain she’ll be joining you for breakfast,” Indira says.

I can tell she’s holding back a smile, despite her complaints about Nadya.

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