The Dead and the Dusk (The Nightmare Court Book 2)

by Val Saintcrowe

  “As it happens,” she said. “I know of a place where we could go in the mountains.”

  “You do?”

  “The king pointed it out to me once when we went horseback riding and had a picnic lunch. He called it a hunting cabin, but I thought it a bit too large to be termed a cabin. At any rate, I don’t think he would be there, hunting in the dead of winter.”

  “Men hunt in the winter,” said Eithan. “Men hunt year round. They need to eat all the time.”

  “Well, the king hunts for sport, not for food,” said Nicce. “And I don’t think he’d relish the cold.”

  “Easier to track animals when they leave footprints in the snow,” said Eithan.

  “He’s not hunting,” said Nicce. “I have met him, and he has never done a strenuous activity in his life.”

  “I have met him too, and he would not give you up, not in the face of threat,” said Eithan. “He may have more mettle than you give him credit for.”

  This didn’t surprise Nicce. The king had been in love with her mother, but she thought that only made it more disgusting that he’d decided to make amorous advances toward her. In the end, she’d told him that she had been terrorized by Sir Eithan and could not bear the touch of a man, and the king had left her alone, but had been twice as fierce in his intention to protect her.

  “I don’t believe anyone will be in that cabin,” said Nicce. “We would have the place to ourselves. We would have access to fresh water. And we would be away from prying eyes. Further, we wouldn’t have to spend coin on rooms at an inn. I think we should go there.”

  “Yes, I suppose I haven’t any objections,” said Eithan, but he didn’t sound eager at the prospect either. “We’ll set out as soon as possible.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  They set out soon after. They rode until sunset and then decided to camp for the night. As they settled down, she thought that they should probably reach the mountains the following day. They could have kept traveling, going straight through the night, but they had decided there was no hurry. So they made a fire and set up a place to sleep under a rocky overhang. It was dry there.

  Nicce hadn’t spent many nights outside without any shelter at all, she had to admit. She had spent most of her time at the Guild, and there hadn’t been a lot of travel. She knew how to build a fire, though, and she could bear discomfort and cold, so she didn’t complain about sleeping on the ground without blankets.

  She supposed that Eithan was used to being cold, since his skin was so cold. He likely didn’t even feel uncomfortable. She almost asked him about it, but it seemed rude. At any rate, there was no huddling close for body heat, since he had none. Not that she wanted to huddle with him, because she didn’t. It was only that the thought had crossed her mind when the fire was burning low and she was nearly asleep, and she was trying to make herself get up and move to build it back up, but she was slipping off into a dream.

  When she woke the next morning, every single one of her muscles was stiff and she was sore from the hard ground she’d rested on. Eithan was stoking the fire back to life, for which she was grateful, because her fingers and toes were numb. She was sore everywhere, and she wasn’t excited at the idea of getting back on a horse. And her stomach was growling.

  Eithan apparently didn’t need to eat. She did. She stayed by the fire as long as she could, warming herself before she traipsed off into the woods to look for food. It was frigid out here, the leaves and branches covered in glittering frost. Her hunting skills weren’t as good as her fighting skills, but the Guild had to eat, and the members all rotated through hunting duty. It would have been easier with a bow and arrows, but she managed with her knife. It took a long time, mostly because she was waiting in the cold for something to move. When she saw a rabbit, though, she hurled her knife and killed it.

  Breakfast was stringy and gamey, but she was hungry enough that she didn’t care. She roasted the rabbit over the fire, and wished she’d thought to bring more food along from the tavern, but they’d only had enough to last through the night. She gazed at how high the sun was in the sky, annoyed at the delay.

  Eithan wasn’t ruffled by how long it had taken her to eat, but he did refuse to take any of the meat from her. The rabbit had been small. He said she needed to eat it all.

  Her stomach full, they set off.

  They traveled for hours before they reached the foot of the mountain. Once there, they realized there was only one path, and it led directly to the castle. They spent some time discussing whether it would be prudent to take the path, and ended up deciding that if they kept their hoods up they wouldn’t likely be recognized, and that they could handle a skirmish if one presented itself. Trying to force their horses up the mountain without the path would be too difficult. The risks of taking the path were worth it.

  And they were lucky enough not to see anyone on the way up. It was winter, after all. Most people were inside.

  The air grew even colder as they ascended higher up the mountain. They passed the castle, continuing on, and Nicce began to look about for the cabin, which she remembered had been high up, surrounded by trees, almost obscured from view. Of course, it had been autumn then and there was a lot of foliage.

  Finally, she spied it, and then they spent the better part of a half hour looking for a path up to it. Eventually, they found it, and they were forced to get off the horses and walk because of how rocky and steep the path was. On the way, they passed a lake, frozen solid, with a little shack built next to it. Nicce thought of skating on the ice with Rhodes, and she felt a spike of sorrow to her heart.

  But soon enough they were at the cabin, which was two stories tall and far too big to be considered a cabin. It was a simple enough structure, even rustic, she supposed, but it was obviously built for someone who was used to having privilege in life. She gazed up at it, the windows and the balcony that jutted out over the front door. It looked empty, anyway.

  She marched up to the front door and tried it. She hadn’t expected it to be unlocked, but it was. Maybe the king was frightfully trusting, or maybe he was convinced no one knew about this place. It was well hidden from the path, it was true. In the summer, she bet it was practically invisible.

  Eithan took the horses to the small stable that sat off the path, and she went inside the place.

  The front door opened onto a large room with a massive fireplace against the wall, a mounted deer with pointed antlers above it. The room was full of couches and chairs. There was a fur rug on the floor. The walls and the floors were bare boards, polished until they gleamed. She moved through the large sitting room and found that the only other room on the lower level was a kitchen. It was smaller, with a potbelly stove for cooking and a larder full of flour, canned goods, and dried meat. She touched the jars of food.

  She should leave things as they were if she didn’t want anyone to know that they had been there.

  On the other hand, what did she care about the king’s anger? Once they figured out the secret of her blood, she would be taken to the Nightmare Court, and once she killed Ciaska, the king would be so grateful that he would forgive her any number of sins.

  It would be good to have the food here. It would mean she didn’t have to waste time hunting. She would use it.

  She emerged out of the kitchen to see that Eithan was there.

  He had skates dangling from his hands.

  Her heart stopped. “Why do you have those?”

  “I found them in the stables,” he said. “I have no idea what they are. I thought they might be some kind of strange weapon, but I think they’re meant to be strapped to one’s feet, which seems hardly practical. How does one balance?”

  She swallowed. “It’s for the ice. Rhodes used to take me every winter.”

  Eithan furrowed his brow. “I don’t understand.”

  She hesitated for a minute, and then she went over to him and snatched the skates away. They were only blades with leather buckles, but once her feet had stopped growin
g, Rhodes’d had pairs made for them like shoes, with permanent blades attached. She almost wished she’d gone back for them when she had been at the Guild. But that would have been foolish. She could not carry them about from place to place. “I’ll show you.”

  “What?” he said.

  “Come with me,” she said, heading out the front door.

  He caught up with her. “I was only curious. It’s not important.”

  “I know,” she said, but she wanted to skate. She had not gotten to do so this year, what with Rhodes being gone, and she missed it.

  She hurried down to the lake. The door to the small building near it was open, and she saw that there were more skates inside, hanging on the wall, all of them the strap kind. She paused for a moment, because the sight of the skates made her realize that this place was most definitely inhabited in the winter. The skates were proof. The king could be coming there at any time.

  Maybe that was why the door had been unlocked. Maybe he was just out on a hunt, and he would return in a few hours.

  But no, because the king would have an entourage of servants and probably other members of the court with him to hunt. At the very least, they would have left a fire burning, and the house had been cold and empty.

  Still, they might be taking a risk by being here. But she shrugged it off, and she went inside to snatch up another pair of the skates. She handed them to Eithan. Then she sat down on a bench that was built next to the frozen lake and she began to tie the other pair of skates to her feet.

  He watched her, brow furrowed.

  “Put yours on,” she said.

  He didn’t. He held them up, turning them this way and that, as if he couldn’t make sense of them.

  She got up and glided onto the lake. It took her a moment to remember what she was doing. It was her muscles that remembered, not her brain, and then it was easy, the wind blowing in her face, the speed and freedom of it. She imagined it felt the way flight might feel. She smiled, the expression tearing across her face before she could help it, and she turned back to Eithan, beaming.

  He was on his feet, watching her, his head cocked to one side.

  “I suppose they didn’t have such things a hundred years ago?” she said.

  “If they did, there was no time in a soldier’s life for them,” he said.

  “Put yours on.”

  He hesitated, but then he sat down on the bench and strapped the skates on. When he got up, he wobbled as he came for the lake.

  She couldn’t help but laugh. She skated over to him, holding out a hand to him.

  He waved her off, but the minute he stepped onto the ice, he went sprawling, down on his backside.

  She couldn’t stop laughing.

  He looked up at her ruefully. “I should have known it wasn’t as easy as you make it look.”

  “It is, actually,” she said, offering her hand to him again. “You can’t be afraid of falling. The fear makes you too cautious, and then you lose your balance. In order to stay upright a certain amount of speed is necessary.”

  “Mmm.” He was thoughtful as he let her help him up.

  “You can hold onto me,” she said. “I won’t let you fall again.”

  He chuckled. “Yes, you’re quite chivalrous, I see.”

  “I wouldn’t want your delicate skin to bruise.” She couldn’t stop grinning.

  He laughed again, but then he let go of her hand and tried again, an attempt that ended up with him on his backside on the ice again.

  She doubled over, laughing so hard that tears came to her eyes.

  For his part, he was laughing too, but he wouldn’t let her help him to his feet, insisting on managing it himself.

  Once on his feet, he managed to stay upright but mostly by flailing his arms.

  She reached for him again. “Does your skin bruise or is it permanently altered by whatever makes you unaging?”

  “I can be hurt,” he said. “I don’t need your help.”

  “Oh, I think you do,” she said, amused.

  “I’m quite capable of figuring this out on my own,” he said, turning away from her.

  And he promptly fell down.

  She couldn’t help but laugh again.

  “Stop it,” he said, getting back up. “It’s not funny.”

  “It is, in fact,” she said.

  “You enjoy watching me fail?” Tentatively, he leaned to one side, letting himself glide over the ice.

  “Oh, very much,” she said.

  He toppled over again when he tried to switch to the other skate, his center of balance off. He grunted. “Well, I suppose I can’t begrudge your hatred of me. But is that why you compelled me to do this? To mock me?”

  She was still giggling. “I don’t hate you.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “No, I don’t. Not at all. I should hate you. I wish I did, but I don’t. And… I don’t know why I wanted us to do this. I always did it with Rhodes, and you… well, if it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t be dead.” There was no laughter left now.

  Eithan took that moment to execute his first successful attempt at skating. He moved all the way across the lake, but then he couldn’t turn. He leaned too far and went down again, this time on his belly. He lay on the ice, cheek against it, and he didn’t get up.

  She didn’t laugh. She skated over and offered her hand.

  He took it. “I’m sorry about Rhodes.”

  She helped him up. “You aren’t. You’d do it again.”

  “Knowing what I know about you, I wouldn’t.” He shook his head, wiping at the tiny pieces of ice on the front of his clothes.

  She hung her head. “He was all I had. I don’t have anyone else.”

  Eithan didn’t say anything. “Perhaps we should… stop this nonsense.” He looked up at the cabin.

  “Not yet,” she murmured. “I suppose I asked you because, well, you’re what I have. I don’t have anyone except you.”

  He turned back to her, and his eyes seemed to be glowing brighter than they usually did.

  She skated backward, away from him. “I bet you can’t catch me now.”

  “Probably not,” he said, shaking his head. “Not on these godstaken things.”

  “But you’ll chase me, won’t you? You always do.”

  He nodded slowly.

  She smiled again and turned her back on him, skating away as quickly as she could. She looked over her shoulder to see that he was coming after her.

  He fell down twice more, but he did catch up to her, and when he did, she spun them in a circle until they had used up their momentum. She opened her mouth to tell him to let go of her, but then something else came out. “I should tell you…”

  “What?”

  “When you drank my blood—”

  “Let’s not speak of that.”

  “You said that I caused a response within you, and the truth is that you caused one in me as well.”

  He drew back. “What?”

  “I was in your arms, and you… touched my hair.” Her voice was too soft now.

  He was whispering too. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Probably not, but you did, and now I think of you sometimes when I’m…” Oh, sun and bones, what was she saying? Was she going to tell him that she called up his hungry gaze when she was pleasuring herself? She could never tell him that.

  “When you’re what?” he choked.

  “Nothing,” she said. She let go of him.

  He nearly went down again, but he caught himself. He skated back to her, wobbling only a little. “Perhaps it’s best if we don’t talk about this again.”

  She nodded. “Yes, I agree. It will only make things between us more difficult.”

  “I’m here to use you,” he said. “And you said yourself you wish to hate me.”

  “I do wish it.”

  “As only makes sense.” He skated away, remarkably steady now. He was heading for the bench.

  She watched him go. She took a deep b
reath, and then she skated after him.

  He was taking off the skates on the bench when she sat down next to him. “If they skate on the frozen lake, they come here in the winter. We shouldn’t stay too long.”

  “You’re right,” she said. “Should we do it tonight?”

  “I think it might be better to wait until you’re well rested.”

  “Well, I think we should get it over with,” she said.

  * * *

  Eithan tried to offer to help with making food, but she refused his help. Since he didn’t need to eat, he told her he wouldn’t take any of the food, and he went off outside to gather up buckets of water from nearby streams. When he got back, he waited in the sitting room, but he didn’t sit. He wandered around, looking up at the mounted deer and the paintings on the walls of landscapes and still lifes.

  She was colder with him now.

  He found himself regretting that. Everything about her was confusing. Why would she say that to him, about responding to him? Why did she look at him the way she did sometimes?

  He’d convinced himself that he was imagining it, and then she had to go and say that to him. And that she didn’t hate him, even though she wished to. She shouldn’t have said either of those things to him, because it made the things that had begun to stir within him start to churn.

  She’d rescued him from the Guild—well, he hadn’t needed rescuing exactly, but she’d come for him, which wasn’t what one did for an enemy. Did that mean something?

  He wanted her to want him, because he wanted her, and he had wanted her from the moment she’d refused to tell him her name in that room in the fortress the night of the Equinox.

  But wanting her…

  He had too many people to protect, too many people who relied on him, and her needs might come at cross purposes with his own needs or with the needs of his men or with the needs of Lian, and he couldn’t have that. Lian was the son of Ciaska. His father was one of the Knights of Midian—Absalom, Philo, Septimus, or Jonas. They had all lain with the goddess before she had grown heavy with child. They didn’t know which of them was his father, but they all protected the boy, and that was the primary reason that they wanted to defeat Ciaska, to save the child.