Page 11 of The Warlord’s Princess (Warlords of Tempest #3)

ASHA

Nori squints at the pool of threads, turning the basket they’re nestled in to view them from all angles.

“This…is…fascinating,” she says slowly, which is common when she’s investigating something.

Hailing from a family of lesser nobles, her line was held in high esteem by many, as their intelligence was known to predict the weather, where raiding parties would strike, the weaknesses of an army, and which marriages would be beneficial to the crown.

Her own grandfather had spoken against my father’s marriage to my mother, and he was banished from court for a time, only to be welcomed back when he was proven to be right, after the death of my mother.

Deciding her company is better than the quietness of the hut, I ask, “I’ve dyed a lot of thread in my day, and I’ve never seen anything like it. Have you?”

Nori turns to face me. “No, and I’d like to study it.”

“I’d give it to you, but I need it for my weaves.”

Nori frowns.

“You have to understand, I’m under a lot of pressure to finish the blankets and clothing Elena requested of me.”

She sniffs the air, scrunches her nose, and shakes her head before continuing, “Could you make it without this pool of thread? It is not even enough to weave a whole blanket.”

“With the cold season coming and Ramsey to contend with, every thread matters. Making more is arduous, and the color you have, made from those shells, will be useful for the birthing gift Grixis requested I weave for Elena.”

“But this isn’t natural to Penticar.” Nori shakes the basket. “And it must be studied.”

I sigh. “I understand your curiosity, but can you wait until the cold season passes and more shells can be gathered? No one is going around telling everyone you’re weak.”

“What if I were to spin the thread for you?”

“I’d need more bugs to make dye.”

She purses her lips, looking at the yarn in frustration, fluttering her eyes, which are filled with tears.

She wipes away their glassiness, but new tears take their place.

My eyes are watering too from the strong odor in the room, but I try to ignore the sting.

“I found the bugs a day away from the village. There was a nest of them. Dogan called them grensirs and said they burrow near tree roots.”

“Do any nest nearby?”

“Not that I’ve seen, and I’ve been all around the perimeter and know what to look for.” She wipes her eyes again, pressing them closed before blinking several times.

“Would you gather the bugs for me as well as spinning the thread?”

“I’m already taking a day to create threads and I simply can’t take two more to go bug hunting.”

I look at the threads, remembering Grixis’s request. If I’m to please him, I can’t give it away, but Nori’s offer is appealing because I’ll soon need more thread, and no one is better with repetitive tasks than Nori.

But how will I get more bugs? I blink several times, trying not to grind my palms into my eyes to soothe the stinging.

“Your problem presents you with an opportunity,” Nori says in her typical analytic tone.

“Care to tell me what that is?”

“As you said, you are thought of as weak, even by people of your own tribe. Perhaps if you were to request to go out into the greater forest to look for the bugs yourself, opinions would change.”

“But that’s dangerous…” My voice trails off.

“It is, which is why you would request that Ramsey go with you.”

“Won’t he think I’m weak if a beast attacks and I can’t defend myself?”

“Not necessarily. I can’t defend myself, and Dogan never held that against me.”

“But he likes you.”

Her brow pinches. “No, he doesn’t. He respects me, which is different.”

Is it possible she doesn’t know? She’s so smart, yet often overlooks obvious things.

“I’m sorry for making assumptions, but the fact remains that even if Dogan doesn’t like you in that way, he still cares about you enough to save you if anything were to happen. If I were to be attacked, chances are Ramsey would throw me a spear.”

She nods slowly, blinking her eyes again. “That is likely, but perhaps that is a risk you should take.”

My brow lifts. “You think I should risk being mauled?”

“The likelihood you will encounter a beast within that distance isn’t great, as the Tempest men know how to avoid and drive them away, and if you were to, there’s no telling if they would attack, especially if you carry with you terragulf urine.”

It all seems too much, especially since trekking into the greater island will cost me time, but as always, Nori’s advice is deeply logical.

I won’t be out so much time with her spinning threads for me, and my request to travel so far will likely earn me respect from some of the men, and even the women. Plus, I can bring a weave with me to work when we rest.

“I’ll speak with Ramsey tonight about it.”

She holds up the dyed threads. “May I bring this with me?”

I hesitate for a moment, but the last thing I want to do is annoy one of the few people who’ve treated me well.

“Fine, but you’d better hope I find more bugs.”

“I’m sure Ramsey will know where to look.”

Before leaving the hut, she sniffs, blinking rapidly. “I think you should know that you smell strongly of the Tempest spices.”

“That was the goal,” I say, wiping my eyes.

“Why?”

“Ramsey hates how I smell. He tells me every time we interact, at least three times a conversation.”

“Hm.”

“Hopefully, I’ve layered enough on, though my eyes do sting.”

“Are you trying to get him to want to have romantic relations with you?”

I gasp. “No—why would you think that? Did Arwin put that in your head?”

“I was just wondering if you made yourself smell more like food that he likes to provoke an act of romantic cannibalism.”

My jaw drops.

“If that is the case, you’ve got it wrong. Ramsey likes your scent, which is why he tells you he hates it.”

Furious at her offensive suggestion, I blurt, “But that makes no sense.”

“It makes perfect sense. He sees you as weak, and he hates the fact that he is, on some level he has no control over, attracted to you.”

I wipe my eyes again, but the stinging remains. “Well, I’m sorry to tell you, but logic has failed you for once.”

“As you say.” She exits without another word, leaving me to ponder her comment.

Ramsey has turned loathing me into a sport. It’s absurd to believe he could be attracted to any part of me.

Yet his visceral reaction to my scent suggests Nori could be right. Or maybe I just want her to be.

The door swings open, and grumpy Ramsey enters his hut, hanging his axe on a nail.

His nostrils flare. “Have you been eating in my hut again?”

I blink the sting away. “No?—”

“Yes, you have. The entire place smells of thearnroot.” He fans his hand under his nose. “I thought you Penticari could not handle Tempest spices, yet you reek of it.”

He’s not wrong. It’s practically burning my eyes.

Ramsey blinks half a dozen times. “How much have you eaten to smell so strongly of it? I do not know if your stomach can handle it.”

“As I said, I haven’t been eating in your hut.” I wipe my eyes, feeling the irritation growing.

“Then where is the odor coming from?”

“Because you hate my scent, I rubbed it all over my skin, so you don’t have to deal with it anymore. I picked thearnroot because insects and rodents hate it.”

His mouth gapes open.

“If there is another food scent you enjoy more, I’m happy to?—”

He moves more swiftly than I’ve ever seen him, squatting in front of me and pulling my face forward.

“Your eyes are red.”

“They’ve been stinging.”

“Stupid-Little-Vaeyark!”

Before I can argue with him, he scoops me into his arms and storms from the hut, rushing across the village in giant strides.

At first, I think he’s angry with me and trying to bring me to the longhouse, but we turn away from it, heading towards the northern edge.

I cling to him, terrified by his swift pace and overwhelming rage. “Please say you’re not planning on throwing me over a cliff.”

“I need to get you to Orvell.”

“Why?”

“So you are not blinded.”