The Bear of Rosethorn Ring by Fichter Kirsten

Author:Fichter, Kirsten
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-04-06T00:00:00+00:00

~*~

Diamond awoke to the sounds of Marita’s moaning on the pallet beside her.

“So sore.”

Someone else laughed from a pallet further away – Dove. “Get used to it, high walker. It’ll get easier with time. You won’t wake up in so much pain.”

Diamond reached out and found Marita’s arm. She tried to keep her touch as light as possible as she began massaging the muscles in her twin’s shoulder.

“Ow.”

“Breakfast will be out on the cookfires,” Dove said, moving around the tent by the sound of her voice. “We’d better get out there before the riders eat double their share. Albus and Adam have hearty appetites.”

Marita only groaned. “I’d rather sleep for another six hours.”

Diamond felt her twin roll away, and then the blankets jerked under her. She must have covered her head. Even though she couldn’t see her sister, she was getting used to Marita’s way of doing things. And early mornings were never something Marita enjoyed. And now since we’re here, we’ve lost our comfortable beds at The Scarlet Thorn. She didn’t regret coming after Lucas, but she almost regretted losing the real bed.

She reached for Marita again. “Come on, we should get going.”

It took a little while, but eventually the two sisters were making their way out of the tent and toward the enticing aromas of breakfast. Conversation buzzed around them, and Diamond shifted closer to Marita, trusting that her sister wouldn’t run her into any of the other Ringers.

Above the buzz Diamond caught snatches of someone yelling. Although she couldn’t quite pin down what the yeller was saying, the cadence of his voice made her think it was D’vard. What’s he upset about today? Everything she’d heard about from Dove last night had indicated they’d had a successful performance. Felix and Samson had been cast as part of the riders’ act, and Marita said they’d done fabulously.

A shiver crept down her spine. Did someone try to kill him last night?

Felix’s cheerful voice greeted them. He helped steer Diamond to a vacant log to sit down, then he was pressing a hot mug of something into her hands.

“What’s this?”

“Coffee,” he said. “All the Ringers drink it. They say it helps wake them up in the morning.”

“Is there some for me?” Marita asked with a yawn. “That sounds like something I need.”

As Felix walked away to secure another cup of the hot liquid, Diamond hesitantly sniffed at her mug. It smells good. She carefully lifted it to her mouth for an exploratory sip. It was hot, just as she’d expected, but a strange bitterness washed over her tongue. She spat it out before realizing her reaction was incredibly rude.

Marita laughed. “Don’t like it?”

A light giggle floated from past Marita. Dove must have gathered her breakfast and returned to eat with them. “It’s much better with some sugar and milk when we’ve got it.”

Diamond nodded. It’d be much better with a lot of sugar. Maybe the coffee would taste better on the second sip. She tried again. No. She felt for the ground and set her mug down gently by her feet.

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