Page 42 of The Thief and the Traitor Bride

“Your room is up there,” Gail said, nodding up the stairs. Caspian was already moving, taking their bags for the evening with him.

Nore sighed. On some level, when Sparrow told her she’d have to act as Caspian’s wife in earnest, she knew that meant sharing a room (if not bed) everywhere they went. But still—it would be nice to get a solid night of sleep without him stealing all the blankets, waking her with his tossing and turning, or in the worst-case scenario, trying to escape and/or kill her.

Nore went upstairs after him. Their room was spacious enough but featured one large bed and no other flat surfaces where one could conceivably rest. There was a door on the other side of the room, half-open, revealing a bathing chamber, so at least she could have privacy for one more night.

Caspian looked up from his bag—he was taking out more of the fever remedy from Kitzen’s crew, so he certainly wasn’t fully recovered—and caught the direction of her gaze. “I suppose you didn’t consider the technicalities of this one,” he said, nodding to the bed.

Nore rolled her eyes. “You don’t scare me, Khari.”

“You sure of that? I can sleep in the outbuilding, if it pleases you,” Caspian said. The smugness of his tone made her thoughts turn briefly to violence.

As if she’d let him out of this house unattended on the very first night. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Go help Gail. Unlike you, I did not get a lovely warm bath last night.”

Caspian snorted. “Whatever you want, Finch.”

Nore waited until he left, then closed the door after him. She leaned against it, her head falling back against the wood.

She couldn’t get a read on him anymore. He went back and forth so wildly between aloof ignorance and vitriolic flirtation, and Nore could not respond with any true certainty. This mission was going to be hard enough, deadly enough, without factoring Caspian into it, too.

This was not the time to allow for distractions. Nore bathed quickly, scheming as she washed away the grime of the voyage. After she was done, she dressed in her sleeping shift, then a heavy dress over and thick woolen socks. She braided her hair in a damp plait and went out in search of food.

Nore slipped out of the room, hesitating on the landing when she heard the voices below. Gail and Caspian were sitting in front of the fire, Gail’s posture relaxed, legs crossed, ankle resting on his knee, steaming cup of tea balanced on the arm of the chair. Caspian was doubled over, elbows on his thighs, his dark curls almost directly below Nore on the landing.

“—can cast, then?” Gail was saying. “What about common spells? The report said you were a materialist, but not much else.”

“I’m somewhat out of practice,” Caspian said. “Fifteen or so simple castings in an hour, and maybe three to five complex. Passive magic comes easier to me, and common—well, I know most of it, but since I didn’t grow up using it…”

Magic, Nore realized, unmoving as she listened. They were talking about magic. Most of what Nore knew of Idistran magic had come from Caspian, then reports of the war, supplemented by her reading from the last few days.

The nation-states all relied on one inherent system of magic in which wells, mages, and typics were born with their abilities (or lack thereof); then, mages had further restrictions on what objects and matter they could perform magic on, to Nore’s understanding.

“Don’t expect me to defer to you, mage,” Gail said.

Caspian snorted. “I don’t believe in that,” he said.

“Shall we test it, then?” Gail asked.

Nore stepped back, into the shadows, trying not to make a sound. She wasn’t certain why she wanted to remain undetected; perhaps it was because her stomach felt odd and bottomless, or because she had never seen Caspian use Idistran magic and she didn’t want him to diminish his skill to hide something from her.

Or maybe, as someone who had never really conquered magic herself, she’d always been a bit jealous of Caspian, who could move easily between at least three systems: his mother’s Idistran, the Lindle of his youth, and now, his father’s Nadiran. Beyond that, it had all seemed so easy to him. Where Lindle calculations had tangled in her brain, the thought process coming convoluted on the way out, he always structured his algorithms perfectly for the intended result. Even in her system, even though he’d started learning years after she had, he had mastered it to a level beyond what she would ever attain.

He never had problems getting new artifacts to work, or understanding the theory of other power.

“Might as well,” Caspian said. “Send a tether.” Nore chewed her lip. He had only spoken Idistran with her at home, to teach her his mother tongue; his Idistran was lilting and musical, beautiful in a way that Gail’s wasn’t.

There was a moment, an indrawn breath, the smell of magic, like static in the air. Nore closed her eyes, taken aback by the familiarity of that feeling of Caspian’s magic. She hadn’t thought what it would mean for her safety if she was here and Caspian was the only one of them who could actively use magic, even if he needed Gail to draw from—knowing the system, Gail wouldn’t question it if Caspian tugged on the tether. Such was the way between mages and wells.

And that meant he had power over her.

Below her, Caspian sighed. It was the sound of relief, of a safe haven. Of contentment. “Iron is still easiest,” he murmured. “But here, let me try to wield—”

Nore shut the door loud enough to startle them, and emerged from the shadows. Both looked at her as she made her way down the stairs. “Is there any tea left?” she asked Gail, forcing the smile on her face to look easy.

“I believe so,” Gail said, jumping up to get her a mug. Caspian leaned back, taking her in, something crossing his face—it looked like a calculation, like an algorithm of magic he decided it best to set aside.

“The bath is free, darling,” Nore said. Her voice was a fraction too hard; she tried to soften it. “If you’d like it.”

Too soon, his expression cleared. Caspian laughed, shaking his head. Gail was still across the room with his back to them, so it wasn’t for his benefit when Caspian stood in one fluid motion and trailed a hand down Nore’s cheek. His fingers grazed her chin, then he pulled her ear to his mouth.