Page 177 of Upon Buried Embers
“Come on,” Durruk says to Karag, “Let’s roll some dice.”
Karag sneers, but they leave without another word.
“I’ll be going now,” Calian says, Tofa still in his arms, hand over her mouth. She shouts from behind it while he walks her away.
“Come on Beau, let’s grab a drink,” Kaldar suggests.
And then it’s just me and a very angry Dragonbond, all alone.
Forty one
Elf
I wait in the tent for Rohan.
He went to a nearby stream to bathe, not wanting to dirty me, and though I protested, he was adamant.
So now I’m waiting for his return, nerves settling inside of me.
Will he blame me for Rhett’s death and Darcia leaving?
No.I banish my doubts.He won’t.
Rohan enters the tent, but he’s far from relaxed, and he must have rushed bathing because he still has flecks of blood on him.
It doesn’t bother me, I’ve seen worse things in the underground.
He’s pacing, growling to himself about how he should have killed Darcia.
Though I can still feel his anger, the silence of the tent and the privacy it offers relaxes me now that he’s here.
“She’s gone now Rohan,” I remind him, and she is.
Sigrid said as much when she caught us walking back. She also said something about giving her another lesson, but I didn’t ask what that was.
Darcia isn’t here anymore. Rhett’s really gone.
The fear she caused, the looking over my shoulder, the constant anxiety as soon as she was near, evaporated instantly.
It’s over.
“You should’ve told me about them,” he fumes. “I should’ve found out sooner, I should have…”
I grip his hand and he stills, looking at my smaller one curling around his.
“I didn’t want you to know, Rohan. I didn’t want to cause trouble.”
He lifts his hand and runs his fingers down the side of my neck. “I didn’t protect you,” he says hoarsely, circling my throat gently. “It’s my duty, and I failed you.”
His duty.
“You didn’t fail me.”
“I did.” His eyes are hard. “Itook you, soItake care of you, andIdidn’t.”
This silly man.
“Rohan, you have taken care of me far more than anyone ever has.” I touch the ribbons on his forearm and slowly start to loosen them.
