CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Bee TrueI slept sitting upright by the door, growing colder as the night progressed and the temperature dropped. The fire died in the grate and nobody came to refresh it. Poking my legs beneath a loose rug from Kuiti’s side of the bed, I settled in for a miserable wait. I hid the fork behind my back should exhaustion fail to wake me if someone arrived.
A faint gloom shone through the window as I snapped awake, not sure what caused my disturbance. Then laughter sounded from the outside steps adjoining my wall. I rose and edged closer, putting my ear to the wall adjoining the glass. It muffled the sound but kept me hidden. My fingers brushed against the pane and the ice cold burned my flesh. “Hush!” a male voice said, “Or you’ll wake the Melanis.”
A snort of derision answ
