Page 129 of Skalterra By Nightmare
“He’s gonna lose it when he sees Jonquil in a monocle.”
“He will.”
I waited for him to be the first to let go before I slid away, but he slipped my hands into his when I did. He forced a smile.
“Don’t do that,” I said.
“Do what?”
“Pretend that you’re happy. It’s okay to be sad.”
His smile faltered.
“But being sad is admitting he’s gone.”
“He is gone. For now. Even if it’s temporary, you’re allowed to be sad until he’s back.”
He let the smile fall.
“Thanks.” He gave my hand a squeeze, his fingers brushing against the scars on my palm, and he fell back onto the couch. “I’m happy you’re my friend.”
“I’m happy I’m your friend too. Keep the nightmares away again?”
“Of course, Wren.” This new smile was small and sad, but despite the weight it carried, it at least looked genuine.
Steam swirled past my head, giving me a disorienting welcome back to Skalterra. I stumbled on a water-slicked stone floor that shined in the dull light of paper lanterns. Crickets chirped somewhere out of sight, hiding in the maple trees and shrubs that lined the courtyard where I stood.
The wooden building behind me emitted a cozy orange and red glow from behind papered windows, and wooden posts supported the slanted roof of an eave.
“Galahad?” I spun around, looking for Galahad, Ferrin, and the others.
“Down here, Nightmare.”
I stepped back, and the swirling steam cleared enough for me to see the two pools of water that spanned the small courtyard. Orla, Iseult, and Fana sat in the water to my left while Ferrin, Galahad, and Tiernan soaked on my right. Despite the cloudy appearance of the water, I could tell instantly that something was missing from each of my friends.
“Oh my god!” I slapped my hand over my eyes. “Are none of you wearing clothes?”
“Do you bathe in your clothes in Keldori?” Orla asked. I peeked at her through my fingers. Her short hair stuck to her forehead, so she must’ve dunked her head under the steaming water.
“No?”
“Then why would we be wearing clothes?”
I pressed my lips together and looked up at the night sky.
“We don’t do group bath time, either,” I said. “At least, not where I’m from.”
“Then don’t look.” A splash to my right accompanied Tiernan’s voice, and heat burned in my cheeks. I raised a hand to protect my peripheral vision as I listened to Tiernan’s wet feet slap against stone floor.
“Done already?” Ferrin asked.
“I relaxed. I washed. I need to be prepared just in case,” Tiernan said.
“That’s what Just-Wren’s for,” Fana giggled up at me. Her curly hair had frizzed considerably in the steam, and her slim shoulders peeked out at me just above the water level.
Tiernan grunted, and the sound of a sliding door behind me told me it was safe to lower my hand.
“We’re in the foothills of the mountains, so we’ll be passing into the Skalterran Highlands soon.” Ferrin raised his arms out of the water to set his hands behind his head, and he settled back into the stone wall of the water basin. “It won’t be long until we reach the Second Sentinel.”
