Chapter 12

• I surfaced into the morning heavily, my eyes reluctant to open and my body reluctant to leave sleep. Aurien was not in bed with me. I had slept late, and he had risen without me. I could hear his voice in the main chamber of the tent, speaking quietly in Fae. I heard Ashara respond and felt my heart tighten.
• I pulled my exhausted body up to sitting, swinging my feet to the ground, and sat there a moment, fighting a wave of dizziness and nausea. Was I sick? More importantly, was I going to be sick? I swallowed laboriously, trying to hold my rebelling stomach in place. Dizziness and nausea subsided, and I stood, wondering at the strange and persistent illness that had been bothering me.
• I pulled on the tunic dress of the day before, slowly buttoning the front, and hesitated against the tent flap. They were no longer speaking. What did that mean? What would I walk out into? What would I do if they were kissing or worse? I closed my eyes, steeling myself, and pushed open the flap. Ashara was tidying the tent into chests for travelling. The maps were neatly put away into their leather cases, and my breakfast sat upon the table.