Whispers of Ebony: A Kingdom of Birds and Beasts Novella by Ivinya Alice

Author:Ivinya, Alice
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-10-21T00:00:00+00:00

HAI RONG

I shaved and trimmed my beard in the reflection of a soup ladle, which was harder than I’d expected. Still, it was the shiniest thing I had access to, and I was quite proud of my beard and its sharp edges. It framed my mouth but left my cheeks bare. Next I cleaned the black earring that coiled around the lobe of one ear. I couldn’t remember the last time I had taken it off, and it was a bit grimy. I needed to look as presentable as possible if I was traveling with Ju. I grinned and wiggled my eyebrows, liking how confident my reflection looked while my insides squirmed with the worry I would never be good enough for her.

Still, she was talking to me now, and I understood why she’d always been so secretive. She’d been protecting Miala. Maybe if I showed her I accepted the mountain lion, she would finally give me a chance.

I packed my small bag of provisions and tried to gain Ai’s attention from where she was staring at Ju’s simplified instructions for how to make bread and feed her cat. She was chewing on her nails.

I went to pat her shoulder, then remembered she didn’t like to be touched. “Lady Ai, are you confident that you can run this place while we’re gone?”

She shrugged, mumbling, “I can clean things and keep a stew boiling and fight anyone who tries to steal it.”

I sucked in a breath. This could go very wrong. Ai was incredibly talented at many things and invaluable to Brianna. But something told me she was not born to be an innkeeper.

I put my hand over the paper, covering the instructions to get her full attention. “Please leave Ju’s personal belongings alone, my lady.”

She glared at me and pushed my hand from the paper. “You’re creasing my instructions.”

I sighed in defeat. “We won’t be long.”

She waved me off without looking at me again.

I found Ju waiting by the outside door. She was normally so nonchalant, but I could tell she was nervous now. She kept looking around the common room as if she were scared she would never see it again, her foot tapping the floor. My heart squeezed at her attempts to hide her distress.

I couldn’t help but worry that if she accepted my affections, we would struggle when I had to guard Brianna day and night in Stonekeep. She clearly hated to leave her inn. The thought of winning her heart just to lose it to logistics was too painful to contemplate. There had to be a compromise possible somewhere.

Ju pulled the hood of her black cloak over her head. Underneath she wore riding leathers with fleece lining, and a split tunic that reached her knees. A wide leather belt clinched her slender frame, and she wore no earrings. Her braids plaited her hair back from her face and along her scalp, and her eyes were shadowed with kohl. She looked like a determined warrior from a story.

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