Vassal Sterling D'Este (top 10 books of all time .TXT) đ
- Author: Sterling D'Este
Book online «Vassal Sterling D'Este (top 10 books of all time .TXT) đ». Author Sterling D'Este
Of course, Delyth knew the language, butâŠ
Alphonse glanced at the warrior and then away.
She couldnât ask the priestess.
âWell⊠I hope that doesnât mean sheâll start targeting you the way she does Etienne. Her dissatisfaction can be quite painful to withstand.â
Tristan snorted. âI doubt it. Etienne is too tempting a victim.â
He looked over Alphonseâs shoulder to where the other two were almost finished setting up camp. âHey look, I think your little mouse is starting to get sweet on me. Sheâs even worried about me.â
âWhat? NoâI was only askingââ Alphonse sputtered, immediately horrified. There was no chance she was growing âsweetâ on Tristan, and the thought that Etienne or Delyth might think so was embarrassing.
âLeave her alone,â the warrior said. Alphonse cast her a grateful look, but Delyth was already turning away. No longer the healerâs friend or protector. Just doing her duty to Enyo, keeping Tristan from harassing her too much. Alphonseâs heart faltered.
â¶
Dinner was uninspired but warm and filling. Enyo hadnât gone hunting, and no one wanted to slow their progress to do so. Thankfully the rations Etienne had gotten in that mountainside settlement were still holding them over. Dried noodle soup with a few spring onions and carrots found on the side of the road.
Etienne watched Alphonse shovel down her food and head immediately to her tent. Delyth watched her too, but just when he expected the warrior to follow her, she hunched her shoulders and turned back to her near-empty bowl.
No one spoke.
The scholar sighed. This wasnât going to get any better if it continued in this way, and perhaps that was for the best. Alphonse didnât need to be worrying about Delythâs feelings when it came time to bind Enyo in the temple.
Then again, if he were to be honest, heâd have to admit she would worry anyway. That was just Alphonse. And the journey would be hard enough without the added tension between them.
âI donât know much about people,â he told Delyth in hushed tones, âbut I know Alphonse. If you want this to get fixed, youâre going to have to let her know. Otherwise, sheâll just assume you want nothing to do with her.â
For a second, he could see past Delythâs perpetual mask. She turned to him, growling in frustration. âBut thatâsâ Iâyouâre the ones that left.â
Tristan was looking between them with interest, his face unreadable. âExactly. She left us. Let her stew in it.â
Etienne shot him a frustrated look. âNo one asked you. And yeah, we did. Obviously, it wasnât the best choice, but if you think Alphonse is worth fixing your friendship, then thatâs what you have to do.â
He turned back to his bowl as if he didnât care what the others did, his temper up. For a long moment, Delyth didnât move either, but when he looked again, she was staring towards the tent she shared with Alphonse. A second later, she placed her bowl down and moved towards it.
âReally? She ought to come to you to fix it, not the other way around,â Tristan said, but Delyth ignored him and slipped inside.
â
True to her plan, Alphonse was wrapped in her blankets, eyes firmly shut, back to the entrance of the tent. She would make this as easy as possible for Delyth. Even if she was listening on tenterhooks as the other woman entered, the earth beneath her feet crunching as she moved.
Was she lying down with her back to Alphonse as well?
The healerâs heart stammered at the thought.
Schooling herself to breathe slowly, calmly, as if asleep, Alphonse strained to hear more. Was Delythâs breathing fast and angry? Unlikely. The priestess was disciplined beyond reason. Perhaps from a life of people fearing her intense and different appearance, being a Cabot and all. Or did her breath hitch with hurt or sorrow? Surely if that was the case, Alphonse should comfort her?
But Delyth didnât want Alphonse to comfort her.
Was it possible for Alphonse to release Enyo on purpose? To show Delyth that her Goddess was alive and well?
A bundle of emotions in her chest tightened at that. Yes. It purred. Release Enyo. Sheâll make the priestess happy.
âI know youâre not asleep,â Delyth said finally, her voice quiet.
Stiffening, Alphonse at least had the wherewithal to feel a touch embarrassed when caught pretending to be asleep. Like a child, whose parents had looked in for the night only to be found reading under the covers with a mage light.
She swallowed and spoke into the darkness. âI didnât want toâto make you feel as though you had to speak to me.â
Because Delyth seemed tired of the apologies and uninterested in conversation. And all Alphonse wanted to do was apologize over and over again and beg for forgiveness. Slowly, she peered over her shoulder at the warrior. Delyth was sitting on her own pallet, scabbard and boots discarded, tossing the wolf furs aside. She was looking right at Alphonse, and hastily, the healer sat up. âDelyth?â
àŒ
Delyth struggled for the right thing to say. She felt like she was caught in a storm, a tumult of anger and guilt and simple loneliness. Should she just come out and ask Alphonse why she had left her behind?
The idea made her feel raw inside like sheâd been cut open and turned inside out so that all of the writhing, dark bits she didnât show were on full display.
She swallowed and delayed. âYou think too much.â This, of course, wasnât helpful. She had come in here to talk. She had to say something or give up, defeated by her own fear.
And she was afraid. She could feel it in the feather-pulse of her blood, but she couldnât say what exactly it was that scared her. Delyth swallowed again. âI donât like this,â she said, gesturing between them. âHow things have been.â
A shuddering sigh whooshed out of Alphonse. She leaned forward, not a hint of embers or fire in those amber eyes. They were purely mournful.
âI hate this. I hate that I hurt you. That I
Comments (0)