Jenna yawned and snuggled in closer. “This is scandalous, you know, that we’ve spent so much unchaperoned time together.”
“Are you complaining?”
“No!” she exclaimed, with such fervor that he laughed. “It’s just—in Bruinswallow, I think we’d be considered married, and I still don’t know your real name.”
Ash searched her eyes, brushing her lips with his fingertips. “Do you really want to know? Because I’ll tell you.”
She returned his gaze for a long moment, then shook her head. “It can keep. I rather like Adam Wolf. When this is all over, you can take me to meet your mother.”
“I’ll do that,” he said, realizing that he wanted them to meet.
She grimaced. “She’ll probably hate me.”
“You’re wrong,” Ash said. “She’ll probably like you more than me.” He took her face between his hands and kissed her nose and her eyelids. Then gently freed himself, straightened his clothing, and buttoned up.
She wrapped up in a quilt, found paper and a quill, and wrote him a list. Then told him exactly what to do with the items on it.
Ash slid his finger under his silver collar and brought out a tiny packet made of cloth. He held it up for her inspection. “This contains two berries, known as baneberry. A single berry will kill you within minutes.”
She stared at it. “You’ve had this all along?”
“You never know when you might face the sudden need to die,” he said. “Or for someone else to die.”
Jenna eyed the packet. “Is it—is it painful?”
“Would I choose something painful?” Ash snorted. “I’m told it’s quite pleasant.” He showed her the cords attached to the packet. “This ties in place, inside your clothing. Any questions?”
She was looking at him, head tilted, questions crowding into her eyes. “More secrets, healer?”
He shrugged. “We are trading secrets, I believe. Just remember to take it with you if you change clothes.”
“I’ll remember,” Jenna said. She dug into the little bag and extracted one of the berries. “Keep this,” she said, holding it out to him. “I only need one.”
“I have plenty,” he said.
They kissed. And kissed again.
Finally she broke away and said, “I have something for you, too.” She crossed to the bed, reached under the straw ticking, and retrieved something. She took his hand and dropped it into his palm, closing his fingers over it.
He opened his hand and looked at it, poking at it with his other hand. It was a pendant on a chain, both corroded by the passage of time. “What is this?” he said.
“It was my father’s,” she said. “It’s all I have of his.”
“Jenna,” he said, his voice thick. “You can’t give me this. Why are you—”
“I want you to have this, for luck,” she said. When he shook his head, she said, “I want to give it to you. If I keep it, sooner or later they’ll take it away.”
“But . . . what about you?” Adam said. “What will you do for luck?”
“I have you, healer,” she said. “That’s all I need. You can give it back to me when I see you again. Now kiss me again, and go.”
So Ash did. Pausing in the doorway, he said, “See you soon.”
“Thank you, healer,” she called after him. He looked back at her and she was sitting cross-legged in the chair, hands resting on her lap, palms up. There was something in her eyes that sent a shiver of apprehension through him.
It was hope.
38
ON THE WATERFRONT
Ash was already sorry he’d brought Lila along. She’d been raising objections and complaints ever since he’d shared the new plan.
“Couldn’t you have picked a less miserable night?” Lila grumbled as they navigated the twisting streets of the harbor district of Ardenscourt. She swiped rain from her face with her sleeve and hunched her shoulders.
“I don’t know how much time we have,” Ash said. “Strangward could decide to sail with the morning tide.”
“Strangward seems to be tight with the weather gods. Maybe he knows we’re coming, and he ordered this up special.”
The hair prickled on the back of Ash’s neck. No. How would he know?
“Do you really think the empress will blame this on Arden?”
“It seems plausible, doesn’t it? Arden sinks their ship and steals their dragon so they don’t have to come to terms.”
“That doesn’t work if what you really want is an army,” Lila pointed out.
“You don’t have to come with me,” Ash said. “I only brought you along because you’re good with a knife. And got us the uniforms. And the explosives.”
Lila snorted. “Sorry I’m not pulling my weight.”
“This may not be your idea,” Ash said doggedly, “but it’s what we’re going to do.”
“Is it? Are you really going to start playing the prince card after all?”
“Don’t start in about my mother the queen, because I don’t want to hear it.”
“All right, then, as your peer and absolute equal, I can’t help thinking this is a really bad idea.” Thunder crashed, and Lila flinched. “Will this stuff even work when it’s wet?” She patted her backpack.