Studying his shelves of books, Ash chose two. One was Tisdale’s, the green magic handbook he’d used since his arrival in Oden’s Ford. The other was a small, battered volume bound in leather. A guide to poisons.
Taliesin had given it to him, but not without making her opinions known.
With everything assembled, he quickly stowed his supplies in two panniers, distributing the weight as evenly as he could.
When all was ready, Ash considered taking advantage of the deserted dormitory to carry his panniers to the stables and stow them there. In the end, he returned them to the drawer under the bed. He didn’t want to risk their being discovered in the unlikely event the stable boys mucked out the stalls again before he left.
Just as he got his gear stowed away, there came a knock at the door.
“Ash! It’s Lila.” That would be Lila Barrowhill, a Southern Islander cadet from Wien House, the military school.
“It’s open,” Ash said.
“No, it’s not.”
“Oh.” Ash unlocked the door and swung it open.
Lila stalked past him and dropped into a chair like she owned the place. In fact, he might not have recognized her without an introduction. She’d replaced her dun-colored Wien House uniform with a long blue skirt and a close-fitting blouse that exposed her shoulders and set off her dark skin. Her tangle of curls was pinned up and she’d rouged her lips.
“How come your door was locked?”
“I didn’t realize it was,” Ash said, sitting down on the bed.
Lila was one of a handful of Southern Islanders at Wien House. Most attended either the Temple School or Isenwerk, the engineering school. She looked to be of mixed blood, actually, and she spoke several languages fluently, including Fellsian.
Up to this year, they’d rarely crossed paths. Wien House was on the opposite side of the river from Mystwerk. Lila also seemed to spend considerable time away from school. He’d heard that she’d been expelled several times, but always talked her way back in.
Lila spent every spare moment in the dining halls, the taverns, the gymnasium—anywhere people gathered, played cards and darts, drank, ate, gossiped, and flirted. Ash had no idea when she got her studying done, but she seemed to do middling well in her classes with very little effort.
Ash had little time for socializing, between his doubled class schedule and the time he spent in the healing halls and studying with Taliesin. Besides, he was a loner at heart.
Now that Ash was a proficient, and Lila a cadet in Wien House, they’d ended up in the same dormitory. Though they saw more of each other than before, they mixed like oil and water. If anything, Lila seemed to dislike him for some reason. It perplexed him. Granted, he was no charmer, but he got along with most people.
He stole another look at Lila, still distracted by the sudden transformation and wondering what had brought her to his door.
Lila caught him staring and said, “No, Hanson, this is not the scene where the girl puts on a skirt and some paint and her schoolmate, who’s a little thick, suddenly realizes that she is his true love.”
“Oh,” Ash said. “Good to know.”
“Just because you’re on the market doesn’t mean that I am.”
“What makes you think I’m on the market?”
“I saw Suze on Bridge Street earlier. The end-of-term party started mid-afternoon. She wondered where you were.”
Oh. So that’s what this is about. Suze was a plebe at Isenwerk. She and Ash had walked out together for a few months, but had recently called it quits. At least he had.
“I went to see Taliesin, to say good-bye. It took longer than I expected.”
“I think Suze was hoping to give you a reason not to go.” When Ash said nothing, Lila growled, “You broke her heart, you know. The least you can do is talk to her.”
“I have talked to her. I tried, anyway. I told her up front that I wasn’t looking for a long-term sweetheart. I thought we both agreed to that.”
“Did you make her sign a bloody contract?” Lila laughed, but there was a bitter edge to it. “‘I promise that I won’t fall in love with the moody, mysterious Ash Hanson. I will enjoy his rangy body, his broad shoulders, and shapely leg, all the while knowing it’s a lease, not a buy.’”
“Shapely leg?” Ash thrust out his leg, pretending to examine it, hoping to interrupt the litany of his physical gifts.
But Lila was on a roll. “‘I will not fall into those blue-green eyes, deep as twin mountain pools, nor succumb to the lure of his full lips. Well, I will succumb, but for a limited time only. And the stubble—have I mentioned the stubble?’”
Ash’s patience had run out. Lila was far too fluent in Fellsian for his liking. “Shut up, Lila.”
“Isn’t there anyone who meets your standards?”
“At least I have standards.” He raised an eyebrow.
“Ouch!” Lila clutched her shoulder. “A fair hit, sir. A fair hit.” Her smile faded. “The problem is, hope is the thing that can’t be reined in by rules or pinned down by bitter experience. It’s a blessing and curse.”