Ire Taverness's Arc

Chapter 2 of 19

Ire set the coin box on the shelf and pulled the apron off over her head. Kael was already banking the fire in the big stone hearth, raking coals down so the room would hold warm until morning. The last traveler had gone. The widow's boy had gone home with bread wrapped in cloth. Ire stretched her back until her tail curled up behind her. "Come on up," Kael said. He didn’t raise his voice. He never dared to his love. She followed him up the narrow stairs to the loft under the sturdy roof. The beams there were her father's beams. She knew every knot. Kael pulled his shirt off and sat on the bed. Ire washed her face in the basin, unlaced her boots, and climbed in beside him. He opened his arm. She fit against his chest the way she had since they were small and fighting each other in the yard. "Best day since spring," she said. "Minus two wages." "Still up." "Barely. The margin is thin, baby. If I want to keep the boy and the cook, I need more food moving. That means the eastbound road." His hand stopped on her shoulder for half a breath. She felt it. She always felt it. "Not tomorrow," he said. "Day after. I'll ride out for supply myself. Cheaper than the middleman." He was quiet. She tipped her chin up to look at his face. Orange eyes, tired, but he brought his lips to hers. They kissed and she relaxed into his arms for a while before the kiss broke. "I'm going east for supply," she said. "And I'm looking at that trail while I'm out there." "I know." "You're coming with me." "I know." He kissed the top of her head. She closed her eyes. The hearth downstairs ticked as it cooled. In her mind the plan had changed shape. The tavern still needed the road. The road now had teeth. She would ride out the day after tomorrow, and she would ride armed.