Fallen Ward (Deepwoods Saga Book 3) by Honor Raconteur Page B

women’s bathing room.
    In the process, she ran into Sylvie, also heading that direction. The woman was moving at the same creaking pace as Siobhan, although Siobhan couldn’t understand why, as she hadn’t been with the stone gatherers earlier. “Sylvie?”
    Stopping, she craned her head around. “Oh, Siobhan. Back already?”
    “The term you’re looking for is ‘fled while I could,’” Siobhan drawled.
    Sylvie gave her a tired grin. “Grae’s like that when he’s on a schedule.”
    “Don’t I know it.” Catching up to her, she realized that Sylvie sported quite the sunburn across her nose. “Where have you been?”
    “With Cha Ji An. She asked for help in setting up trade negotiations, as she doesn’t know anyone. I thought it was a safer option than being volunteered to help Grae with his new path, so I offered to help.” Sylvie made a sour face. “That woman can walk even a Teheranian into the ground, I swear she can.”
    “Not the safer option, I take it.”
    “My feet haven’t ached this badly in ages. I’m glad I didn’t wear my new boots—I haven’t broke those in properly yet. If I had, I’d probably have blisters on blisters.”
    “Are you set to going out again tomo—” she cut herself off as the door to the men’s bathing room opened and Wolf stepped out. Despite the fact they had a good two feet in between them and she wasn’t in any danger of bumping into him, Siobhan instinctively skittered backwards another two feet.
    “Siobhan?” Wolf asked in confusion.
    Her face was flushing, heart beating a tempo in her ears, and for some reason she found it impossible to look him in the face. Her eyes went everywhere but toward the man.
    “Sorry, you startled me. Sylvie, let’s get a bath, I want dinner.”
    “Sure?” Sylvie’s tone indicated she felt something was off but couldn’t figure out what.
    Back almost to the wall, Siobhan scooted past both of them and ducked into the women’s bathing room like a goose with its tail on fire. Sylvie stepped in behind her, closing the door, and it was only then that Siobhan felt like she could take a proper breath.
    With the door shut, and Wolf out of earshot, she realized how she had reacted and her blush turned into a raging inferno. “That…was awkward, wasn’t it?”
    “Beyond awkward.” Sylvie stepped around to look at her directly. “What is going on?”
    Siobhan threw her clothes down near one of the barrels, upset with herself for acting so stupidly. “I realized that Wolf’s in love with me.”
    “You mean you didn’t know before now?!” Sylvie responded incredulously.
    “Why does everyone ask me that in that tone of voice?” Siobhan complained. “No, I didn’t know! How are you supposed to know things if the man doesn’t say anything to you!”
    “Siobhan, it’s obvious!”
    “ Now it is, sure.” Outright grumpy at this point, she stripped and dove into the tub, grateful that the water was hot. They must have just filled the tubs recently.
    Sylvie followed her example and lathered up a bar of soap before she ventured, “So…what are you going to do?”
    “I don’t know ,” she wailed.
    “I’m sensing frustration, here.”
    Grumbling to herself, she went back to getting dirt out of her skin. She had her hair washed and tied into a loose knot on the top of her head, most of the dirt out from underneath her fingernails, and was attacking her feet before the thought popped into her mind. Suddenly, she knew what the root of the problem was. Or at least part of it. The words slipped out of her mouth before she realized it.
    “I didn’t think he saw me as a woman.”
    “Is that what it was?” Sylvie’s expression was shrewd. “I thought it was because you never once tried to see him as a man.”
    Yes, maybe that was part of the problem too. Their initial meeting had set them off on the wrong foot, what with her acting as a rescuer, him as a victim. It had taken years before Wolf found his center again,