SIX
Suspicion
She rolled her head, expecting to see Xenia returned to her side, yet her lover was strangely absent. She rubbed her bleary eyes, hoping that the rheum encrusted there played tricks on her vision – it did not. She lay still for a moment, considering the possibility that Xenia had returned during the night, and had subsequently risen early in the cycle, however, the evidence suggested otherwise; she was a light sleeper – if Xenia had returned, she would have known.
‘Where are you?’ she whispered to herself, before rolling out of the large hammock that they both shared.
She dropped to the floor, letting the hammock swing wildly behind her. The sleeping quarters were empty. Living arrangements in the Ardent Gate were cosy. Most of the knights shared the same quarters, e
