She took a grateful sip, letting the rich, savory broth warm her belly. “What happened?” she asked on a groan, her right arm protesting when she tried to sit up on her elbow.
“You slayed a sea bitch like a boss, so sayeth Nina.” Jon brushed her hair from her face, his eyes tender, his smile affectionate. “You also scared the soul from my very body when you fell to the shore. Never do that again. I beg of you.”
Toni chuckled, warmth spreading throughout her limbs as his words. At Jon’s insistence, she leaned back against pillows.
Wait. Pillows?
She popped upright then groaned. “Where are we?” she asked as she looked around the room. Softly lit with a roaring fire, it was a crude bedroom, but she was in a bed, a soft bed with warm blankets, and a window where snow fell in a curtain of white. A small Christmas tree sat in the corner, strands of fragile tinsel draped across its thin branches.
Her dress hung by the fire, the remains of it sewn with patches of various materials to mend the holes.
“We are the guests of a very kind fisherman named Aegon and his wife Flauta. They saw you kill Pricilla from the cliffs and wanted to thank you by harboring us for the night. She has ruined a great many fishing expeditions for him with her tax on the ocean’s depths.”
She forgot about Pricilla for a moment and grabbed his hand, her heart racing. “Carl? The others? Is everyone all right?”
He pressed her to the pillows with an easy smile as he sat on the edge of the bed. “Everyone is fine, milady. This I promise. They’re all resting quite comfortably. Fed, warm clothes, warm beds. All is well this night.”
Closing her eyes, she leaned forward against him in relief, realizing she was naked beneath the blankets, but her limbs were too sore and tired to care about her modesty. “Muriel? Is she okay, too? She saved you from drowning.”
“Aye. She’s well, and quite happy in her native waters. No more talk. Now you must rest.” He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and rose to leave, but she gripped his hand and pulled him back down.
She needed to know where they were in relation to their destination. How many more days she had before she needed to figure out her life and what waited for her at the castle.
“The castle, are we close?”
“If all goes well, we arrive at nightfall tomorrow. Just one day before the Christmas Eve ball. Somehow, when we tangled with Pricilla it brought us closer to our destination.”
And then she’d find out what this gift of happiness was about. What this journey meant. Whether she could stay here in Shamalot because there was nothing to return to back in Jersey. How she would survive here in a land that, while beautiful and far away from Stas, was also riddled with its own dangers, like a price on her head for something she knew nothing about.
“I’m afraid,” she admitted on a whisper.
Jon scooted onto the bed beside her. “There is nothing to fear here. We’re safe for the night, Toni.”
She snuggled down against him, burrowing in his warmth, cherishing this moment. “No. I mean finding out what waits for me at the castle scares me.”
“The castle is a wondrous place, Toni. Beautiful and serene. Whatever waits there for you, I know it will bring you only great joy.”
She closed her eyes to steady the panic building. “You’ve been?”
Jon nodded his head. “A time or two. It’s fit for someone as beautiful as you.”
Her cheeks flushed as she focused on the buttons of his vest. “What if my happiness is finding my brother after all this time?”
He tilted her chin upward and looked into her eyes. “That would be a gift. A true gift.”
“I’d…I’d have to go back to Jersey,” she said, though the idea pained her, hurt her deep in her marrow. The thought of leaving Jon brought tears to her eyes even as the thought of her brother, alive and well, brought joy. As silly as it sounded after knowing him for such a short time, she wanted to get to know Jon more deeply.
“And I would not begrudge you the chance. Family is important. I see these women, who behave like family. These women who protect and honor their friendships or fall on the sword…I admire them. They are strong, smart warriors not only in the physical sense, but of the heart. They speak of their husbands and children and friends with pride I can almost taste on the tip of my tongue. They make me reconsider my anger with my own family.”
Toni looked up at him, curious. “Why are you angry with them?”
His eyes drifted away from hers and to the window where he gazed at the snow. “They wish for me to do something I do not wish to do. A family obligation, shall we say. Yet, I long for them much the way you long for your brother.”
“What do they want you to do? Marry some hot maiden in exchange for a barrel of fish and a herd of bison?”
He barked a laugh, stroking her arm. “Again with the funny words. What are bison?”
She splayed her aching arms outward. “Big, big cows.”