Forged in Frost and Fire (Book 1 in the Chronicles of Kings trilogy)

Chapter Thirty Three

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

I stretched my legs out in front of me, my feet, covered in knitted stockings, reached out towards the fire. Warmth licked over me and I sighed, leaning my head against the loveseat I was sprawled in. I had my legs kicked over the armrest, a hefty book in my lap. I was wearing one of Sable's shirts. He had gotten me clothes to wear to bed, but his were comfier.

I had been reading for the past few hours after plucking a book from one of Sable's shelves. He had quite the collection, and each book looked worn, their texts fading, the pages soft. He'd probably had some of them for the three hundred years he'd been alive. I'd meant to ask him about his age, but I hadn't seen him since that day he was training on the cliff below us. For the past few days he'd been getting into the room after I fell asleep and left before I awoke. I only ever knew he was there by the strong smell of him on his pillow.

I thunked my head against the seat, letting out a sigh. I hadn't been doing much these past few days since I was still in the throws of bloody womanhood. Tomorrow I'd start training, which to say I was terrified for was an understatement. I sat in on some of the cadre's training sessions and watched in absolute awe and horror as they seemed to push their bodies to the very edge without even breaking much of a sweat. To think I was a part of their cadre now made me feel sick. I wasn't good enough, not to mention I was also a rat. I was a spy, though I really couldn't do any spy work now considering every move of mine was heavily watched by people like Sable-

"Meow," I jerked forward, my head whipping to the sound of a cat's meow.

"Do it again," I whispered, praying I wasn't hallucinating. The noise sounded again and I whirled out of my seat, looking around like a madwoman. There, in the corner of the room was none other than a black cat curled up next to the bookshelf.

"Gods above," I whispered, going down onto my knees. I opened my arms and the cat slowly crawled over to me. It was a tiny thing, and looked no bigger than a kitten. It had large eyes the color of coffee.

"Whose are you?" I asked, reaching forward to brush a hand over its head. It purred and crawled closer to me, brushing its head against my arm, its whiskers skittering over my skin. "Oh gods," I pulled my hand away from it. "Are you Sable's?" I let out a huff. "I'm so sorry, girl." I knew she was a girl after a quick look down.

She purred and crawled into my lap, snuggling into my arms. I grinned, petting her soft coat. This surprise was probably the best thing that had ever happened to me since I had come to House Vellichor, hells, probably since I had entered Hiraeth.

"I'm going to call you Licorice," I said, rubbing her head. She yawned, stretching out against me. I had never had a pet before, pets were expensive and we needed all the money we had for food. I had once given a dog a crust of bread though. Tellie had scolded me for it, and she had been right. In the game of survival, your needs came first.

The sound of piano music pulled me out of my thoughts. I snapped my head up, Licorice looking up curiously at me, those coffee eyes blinking. I slowly set her down and rose to my feet, my brows furrowing. I didn't even know there was a piano here.

"Come along," I said to Licorice before opening up the door to the hall. The halls were dark, lit only by a few candles. I wrapped my arms around myself, fighting off the chill as I followed the music. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard, a cadence of rising and falling notes. The notes seemed to reach out and stroke my most vulnerable parts, singing to the broken, cracked parts of me. The parts that had no hope to ever be fixed again.

I sucked in a sharp breath, continuing to move forward. The piano tiles were smashed as the music continued, whoever was playing was playing with an intense emotion. I crept down the hall, turning a corner to see a door slightly ajar, silver light pouring out of the crack.