Kat slid under the bed, wrinkling her nose at the dust and, strangely enough, hair. From her vantage point, she was able to see three sets of feet walk in when James opened the door. They quietly proceeded to the washroom. She could hear water pouring out, echoing in the smaller chamber. They must be filling the bath. The feet shuffled back out without a word to James's polite thanks.

The door closed. "You may show yourself again," James said.

Oh, may I? How very kind. She rolled her eyes, crawling out from under the bed and standing.

His mouth turned down at the sight of her dusty clothes. "Take a bath. You are in desperate need of one. I will see about getting new clothes as well as the boy and girl."

Kat nodded, then slipped into the washroom when he left. She had been surprised he had a private washroom, but more surprising was the tub, a toilet, and even a mirror above the pitcher and basin. He must make more wages than I expect from simply being the king's assistant.

She stripped her clothes off and gently submerged herself into the astonishingly warm water. Every other bath she had taken had been in a creek that was cold throughout the year. She never minded the invigorating chill, but Erion always hated it—afraid of catching an illness or stepping on a fish.

He would have loved this. Although I'm sure he would have found something to be afraid of. Her mouth quirked up before she dunked her head under the warm waters, allowing herself to truly relax for the first time in months.

#

Killing him would be preferable, but not very realistic. For one thing, he's the king and would be closely guarded. For another, that would leave Driem devoid of a ruler, which would plunge us into anarchy. Kat stretched out, still submerged in the bath. There's not any real chance of me getting close enough to him to even consider doing damage, but it's pleasant to imagine. She glanced up at the ceiling. I've been soaking for a time... I suppose I should get out. The water sloshed as she stood and gingerly stepped out of the large tub. There was a stack of towels in a small bin, so she borrowed one to dry off before dressing herself back in her clothes. They smelled of her unwashed body and sweat, but she didn't have another choice.

A comb was also in the bin. She tried to brush through the knots in her black hair, but almost broke one of the teeth on the comb. Not wishing to anger her new provider, she put it back and stepped out of the washroom.

James was also coming into the room, but from the hall, a blanket in his arms. He met Kat's eyes before holding the door open for Sage and Jillian, who trooped in like they had been sentenced to the gallows.

"Katarina!" Jillian immediately perked up, rushing over to cling to her.

Kat allowed the girl to hold her around the waist but wasn't sure what to do with her own hands. Should I hug her back? Would that be strange? Well, it's just an embrace from a child; nothing to overthink. She carefully let her hands touch Jillian's back, meeting her brown eyes as the girl smiled up at her.

"I was worried about you," Jillian said.

"I'm well," Kat replied awkwardly. "How do you fare?" She glanced at Sage to include him in her question. He was scowling, keeping his distance from both her and James.

"We met a nice lady. Her name is Sam'ara. She made us work, but she also gave us food," said the little girl, glancing over her shoulder at her brother. "Sage didn't want to do anything, but she told him if he didn't, he wouldn't get any more food, so he did stuff like emptying the rubbish and peeling vegetables. I got to wash the dishes. The water was warm!"

"You don't look much better than you did before." James raised an eyebrow at Kat. "It's a good thing I borrowed a pair of scissors. I'll have to purchase some clothes tomorrow." He dropped the blanket on the couch. "You two stay here. You may sit on the couch, but do not touch anything else."

Sage crossed his arms snidely. "What about the floor? Are we permitted to touch that, my lord?"

James didn't answer. He gestured for Kat to go back into the washroom and got the comb out of the bin. By the time he was done cutting and coming, Kat was nearly in tears from her stinging scalp. There was a lot of hair on the floor, but still enough on her head to fall behind her shoulders. It hadn't completely dried from the bath but hung nearly straight and there were few snares to be found.

James swept her discarded hair aside with his foot and returned to the bedroom, opening the wardrobe. "We will be up early tomorrow. While I prepare for bed, I suggest the three of you arrange how you will sleep." He grabbed some clothes. "You may borrow one blanket from my bed. The one on the couch is also for your use." He dodged into the washroom again and closed the door firmly.

Kat glanced at Sage and Jillian, who were both on the couch. Sage was sitting, his elbow on the armrest, and laying his head on his knuckles. He seemed defiant, but exhausted. Jillian was lying with her legs drawn up and eyes closed, the top of her head brushing against her brother's leg. She had the blanket James brough draped haphazardly over her.

"I'll sleep on the floor," she said, walking over to James's bed to snag a blanket. He had two, both identically patterned in gray, so she simply took the one off the top. "The two of you look comfortable on the couch."

"We'll take the floor," Sage said firmly. "We're clearly not wanted here. I don't even know why he brung us."

She spread the blanket on the floor, relishing the feel of wool under her fingers. "I asked him to."

"I'm not gonna be in debt to you for the rest of my life for this," growled Sage, hands forming into fists.

"I don't expect you to be," Kat said sharply, green eyes meeting his dark brown ones. "I didn't help you to gain for myself or to make you my slave. I know what it's like to grow up without parents, without someone who takes care of you simply because they love you. You should thank me for trying to spare you that fate." She sat on the blanket, letting one arm support her weight.

He raised his chin, glancing briefly at his sister. "You don't love me or Jill. You don't even know us. Why would you wanna try to help us?"

Kat's eyes fell away from his. "You remind me of myself. I know what I was forced to suffer through, and I don't want either of you to know that fate. Please just understand that I only wish to help."

"I don't need your help."

"Then think of your sister. Jillian is younger than you. She is weaker than you. She won't be able to push through the same as you. At least while she's here she will be safe in the kitchens and not subjected to difficult work. You won't have to wonder where she is, if she's safe, if she's had enough to eat." A thin veil of tears lined her eyes as she struggled to keep them out of her voice. "You won't have to wait up in the night, praying to hear her footsteps coming home. I promise you; this is a better home than anywhere on Nash Street."

Sage stayed silent, staring coldly at her. Finally, he huffed and looked away. Standing, he roughly moved Jillian to the end of the couch, then laid down on the other side and used the armrest as a pillow. He stole only an edge of the blanket for himself, throwing the rest on his sister's shoulders.

Kat took in a silent breath. She sat on the blanket she had spread on the floor, looking fondly at Jillian. She still reminds me of Erion—too sweet and too young to be caught in the life she has.

James emerged from the washroom, raising an eyebrow at the sleeping arrangements. He said nothing. He was wearing comfortable, loose clothes now, but they didn't seem to affect his perpetually grim countenance. He walked around the room, blowing out the candles, then slipped into bed without a word to Kat or the children.

Good sleep to you as well.

#

Kat awoke to whimpering that was not her own. She sat up slowly, unable to see much through the black shadows, but she could hear sounds coming from her right side. Jillian.

There was rustling on the couch. The cries became muffled. Sage's lower voice hissed almost imperceptibly soft to his sister. "Shut up. You're going to wake someone else."

"Are you two all right?" she asked quietly, hoping James was still asleep. She could only imagine how irritated he would be if they woke him.

"I had a nightmare," Jillian whispered.

Kat crawled over to the edge of the couch, following the little girl's voice. "I see. Do you want to talk about it?"

She sniffed. "It was about Da throwing us out. We were going to get eaten by wolves and he wouldn't let us back in. They were big and their teeth were longer than their mouths. Mama was crying, but she was stuck. Sage tried to fight them, but they... they ate him." The tears rushed back before they became muffled again. Kat could barely make out the shadow of Sage holding his sister close, comforting her despite his rough words.

"That sounds terrifying," Kat said. She hesitated for a long moment, not sure how to soothe the girl. "I... I never really knew my parents. But I imagine it's worse knowing them and then being tossed away. It's like losing them. I've lost people too. Some more... recently than others." Her mind briefly flashed to a young boy with black hair and intelligent eyes before she shoved the image away.

"What happened to your parents?" Jillian asked.

"They died," Kat said simply. "A long time ago."

"I wish ours were dead." Venom lined Sage's voice. "Especially our father. He deserves it."

Kat smiled sadly. That's a tone I recognize. I don't blame him for wanting them dead. I would too if I were in his situation: alone with a little girl to take care of and no one to help. "And your mother?"

He was silent for a moment. "She let him do it. She's no better than him."

"I suppose not," she said softly. "What happened exactly? Was there a reason?"

"Father was tired of having to provide food for four people instead of two," Sage said bitterly. "Jillian's too delicate to do much of anything and I kept getting sacked from my jobs. Too temperamental they always say. Since neither of us were any help, he threw us out. It just happened one morning. He gave us a slice of bread each and told us to figure it out on our own because he wasn't going to do it for us anymore. Mother didn't say anything. She only cried a little.

"We waited outside for a while, begging them to let us back in, but when they didn't, we had to go off on our own. I got into a fight with two boys a few days later—sons of some rich man I suppose. I was arrested, but they were escorted home. Jill followed me all the way to the dungeons, where James found us before I was admitted. All he did was dump us in a cell and leave us for a while. When he came back, he had you with him."

Kat nodded slowly. "And then you tried to kill me since you were so desperate to appease James and not get sent to prison."

"I'm not sorry for that. He promised that if I won, we would begin our ascent in the ranks. Don't know what ranks, but it sounded better than what we've got."

She tilted her head a little, wondering what James promised him but not her. "I understand."

"That man is kinda scary," Jill said in a wavering voice.

Kat smirked a little. "That he is."

"He saved us though," the girl continued. "He's scary, but... we're all safe now, right?"

"Right," Kat agreed, but inwardly she was unsure. Saved us for what?