leo4life/algoml_bookcorpus_49_50p · Datasets at Hugging Face

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how could he not understand ?
in tyndam shed finally recognized the hole that had been growing within her .
katin , her best friend , her vala , could do nothing but watch while amira explored this ability on her own .
even her growing love for dardan had only filled the abyss a little .
she didnt believe edon would ever give up trying to find her , control her , possess her .
she couldnt fight him alone .
and she couldnt shout all this at dardan in the darkness .
hed never listened before anyway .
im going to the inn , she hissed at him , and stomped away .
she lay awake in bed for what felt like hours , eventually wondering if maybe dardan had gotten tired of her and fled the town .
she had just begun to drift off when the door creaked open and dardan came in .
she pretended to be asleep as he sat down on the bed beside her , and ran his fingers over her hair .
i love you , he murmured .
thats not enough .
chapter 25 katin katin blinked away sleep and sat up when the morning sun hit her eye .
the servants quarters were small and bare , low cots between brick walls .
the other two cots were both empty ; the barons maidservants had probably risen before dawn .
katin had been so exhausted from their flight , shed slept right through .
she found a chipped basin and pitcher and washed her face and hands .
proper bathing would have to wait .
where is liam ?
probably hiding from her .
no wonder hed avoided telling her where they were going .
baron parvis stanton was the one who had raped that farmgirl , though count asmus had found the man innocent .
well , nobles protected their own , didnt they ?
liam hadnt had any choice , hed said .
well , he was probably right , but that didnt make it better .
shed stayed with him , trusted him , even tried to offer herself to himno , you dont have toshut up she squeezed her eyes shut , trying not to cry , and made herself breathe deep , reaching for a calm that might not come .
hed rescued her .
rescued , like a hero out of legend , spiriting her away in the night !
but a hero did not brutally stab a harmless servant boy to death on his way out of the palace .
katin was not nave enough to believe in legends .
still , hed saved her .
so shed offered him the bed , but then he summoned gallantry like a magician pulling a handkerchief from thin air , something that should have been impossible .
even in the woods on those cold nights , theyd lain next to one another , and he did no more than curl his arm around her shoulders .
hed made the chase , caught the mouse , and then nothing .
why was he toying with her ?
she had thought about leaving , running away , going to hide where no one would ever find her .
as if she knew where that was .
but she would not leave him .
she owed him that much .
she owed him more .
that debt would hang over her like a cloud until it was repaid .
maybe i should i should give him she realized that tears were indeed leaking from her eyes .
she stood up and wiped them away , then took more breaths to prepare herself .
she went to the manors central hall , looking for liam , and found him standing before baron parvis .
her spine stiffened as liams eyes flicked over to her for a moment , but then he attended to the baron again .
we will be gone as soon as possible , mlord .
how thoughtful of you , parvis sneered .
he twisted around in his chair and saw katin .
i see your woman has deigned to rise , now that the morning chores are done .
katins face burned , but she curtseyed quickly and went over to liam .
im sorry , mlord .
she wanted to explain how tired shed been , but parvis did not look like he wanted excuses .
you two will work while youre here .
valai you might be , but a house is always in need of hands .
alvin will task you .
he stood up , brushing invisible lint from himself .
he was dressed properly now , trousers and vest and coat .
im off to town this morning , he announced , and an enormously tall man with black hair stepped out from a corner and handed a riding hat to the baron .
that must be his valo .
the huge mans stare made katin feel like a bug underfoot .
he said nothing and followed parvis out of the room .
she and liam were left alone .
he smiled and reached for her hand , but she snatched it away .
you had to bring us here ?
his smile wavered .
clearly hed been hoping she wouldnt bring it up .
well i didnt know of any other shelter nearby .
parvis hid us from the warden !
would a prison cell have been preferable ?
katin folded her arms .
of course not .
but now what are we going to do ?
liam paused .
im not sure .
i spoke with alvin this morning .
he has only gossip , as he rarely leaves here .
apparently ilya and calys went to thorncross to reaffirm his fealty to the duke and to have ilya declared the new count .
theres been no word of dardan or amira .
katin grimaced .
her hope drained away , a small warmth she hadnt even known was there , smothered by cold despair .
then theres little reason to stay here .
let us stay a day or three , at least .
we need the rest , after the journey , and last night .
and anyway , baron parvis commanded we not leave the grounds for the time being .
alvin sent liam out to the stables , and gave katin to a plump young maid named chelsea , who set katin at the laundry .
she let the mindlessness of it wash over her .
this scutwork was a long step down from serving as a vala , but it suited her mood .
in the rear of the manor , near the washing room , was a little nook with undersized replicas of the eight altars one would find in a niderine temple .
even nobles rarely had such rooms in their homes , and parvis did not seem the type to spend time wordlessly in prayer , so katin found it odd .
she eyed the miniature temple every time she passed it , and with only slight dismay realized that she ached to go in and pray at the altar of despair , with its tiny statue of a mouse , its snout pressed down close to the little plinth .
baron parvis was gone all that day .
again katin and liam were sent to the separate quarters for male and female servants .
despite everything , she missed his touch , holding close to him in the cold night , but sleeping in a warm manor house helped make up for it .
the baron returned the next evening , a smug smile plastered across his face .
katin glimpsed him in the hall when he returned , thick as thieves with alvin and the barons towering valo , who shed learned was named marten .
dinner came and went .
katin sat on the edge of her cot in the womens quarters , pulling tangles from her hair with a chipped old brush shed borrowed .
chelsea and the other girl , delia , were finishing with the dinnerware .

how could he not understand ?

in tyndam shed finally recognized the hole that had been growing within her .

katin , her best friend , her vala , could do nothing but watch while amira explored this ability on her own .

even her growing love for dardan had only filled the abyss a little .

she didnt believe edon would ever give up trying to find her , control her , possess her .

she couldnt fight him alone .

and she couldnt shout all this at dardan in the darkness .

hed never listened before anyway .

im going to the inn , she hissed at him , and stomped away .

she lay awake in bed for what felt like hours , eventually wondering if maybe dardan had gotten tired of her and fled the town .

she had just begun to drift off when the door creaked open and dardan came in .

she pretended to be asleep as he sat down on the bed beside her , and ran his fingers over her hair .

i love you , he murmured .

thats not enough .

chapter 25 katin katin blinked away sleep and sat up when the morning sun hit her eye .

the servants quarters were small and bare , low cots between brick walls .

the other two cots were both empty ; the barons maidservants had probably risen before dawn .

katin had been so exhausted from their flight , shed slept right through .

she found a chipped basin and pitcher and washed her face and hands .

proper bathing would have to wait .

where is liam ?

probably hiding from her .

no wonder hed avoided telling her where they were going .

baron parvis stanton was the one who had raped that farmgirl , though count asmus had found the man innocent .

well , nobles protected their own , didnt they ?

liam hadnt had any choice , hed said .

well , he was probably right , but that didnt make it better .

shed stayed with him , trusted him , even tried to offer herself to himno , you dont have toshut up she squeezed her eyes shut , trying not to cry , and made herself breathe deep , reaching for a calm that might not come .

hed rescued her .

rescued , like a hero out of legend , spiriting her away in the night !

but a hero did not brutally stab a harmless servant boy to death on his way out of the palace .

katin was not nave enough to believe in legends .

still , hed saved her .

so shed offered him the bed , but then he summoned gallantry like a magician pulling a handkerchief from thin air , something that should have been impossible .

even in the woods on those cold nights , theyd lain next to one another , and he did no more than curl his arm around her shoulders .

hed made the chase , caught the mouse , and then nothing .

why was he toying with her ?

she had thought about leaving , running away , going to hide where no one would ever find her .

as if she knew where that was .

but she would not leave him .

she owed him that much .

she owed him more .

that debt would hang over her like a cloud until it was repaid .

maybe i should i should give him she realized that tears were indeed leaking from her eyes .

she stood up and wiped them away , then took more breaths to prepare herself .

she went to the manors central hall , looking for liam , and found him standing before baron parvis .

her spine stiffened as liams eyes flicked over to her for a moment , but then he attended to the baron again .

we will be gone as soon as possible , mlord .

how thoughtful of you , parvis sneered .

he twisted around in his chair and saw katin .

i see your woman has deigned to rise , now that the morning chores are done .

katins face burned , but she curtseyed quickly and went over to liam .

im sorry , mlord .

she wanted to explain how tired shed been , but parvis did not look like he wanted excuses .

you two will work while youre here .

valai you might be , but a house is always in need of hands .

alvin will task you .

he stood up , brushing invisible lint from himself .

he was dressed properly now , trousers and vest and coat .

im off to town this morning , he announced , and an enormously tall man with black hair stepped out from a corner and handed a riding hat to the baron .

that must be his valo .

the huge mans stare made katin feel like a bug underfoot .

he said nothing and followed parvis out of the room .

she and liam were left alone .

he smiled and reached for her hand , but she snatched it away .

you had to bring us here ?

his smile wavered .

clearly hed been hoping she wouldnt bring it up .

well i didnt know of any other shelter nearby .

parvis hid us from the warden !

would a prison cell have been preferable ?

katin folded her arms .

of course not .

but now what are we going to do ?

liam paused .

im not sure .

i spoke with alvin this morning .

he has only gossip , as he rarely leaves here .

apparently ilya and calys went to thorncross to reaffirm his fealty to the duke and to have ilya declared the new count .

theres been no word of dardan or amira .

katin grimaced .

her hope drained away , a small warmth she hadnt even known was there , smothered by cold despair .

then theres little reason to stay here .

let us stay a day or three , at least .

we need the rest , after the journey , and last night .

and anyway , baron parvis commanded we not leave the grounds for the time being .

alvin sent liam out to the stables , and gave katin to a plump young maid named chelsea , who set katin at the laundry .

she let the mindlessness of it wash over her .

this scutwork was a long step down from serving as a vala , but it suited her mood .

in the rear of the manor , near the washing room , was a little nook with undersized replicas of the eight altars one would find in a niderine temple .

even nobles rarely had such rooms in their homes , and parvis did not seem the type to spend time wordlessly in prayer , so katin found it odd .

she eyed the miniature temple every time she passed it , and with only slight dismay realized that she ached to go in and pray at the altar of despair , with its tiny statue of a mouse , its snout pressed down close to the little plinth .

baron parvis was gone all that day .

again katin and liam were sent to the separate quarters for male and female servants .

despite everything , she missed his touch , holding close to him in the cold night , but sleeping in a warm manor house helped make up for it .

the baron returned the next evening , a smug smile plastered across his face .

katin glimpsed him in the hall when he returned , thick as thieves with alvin and the barons towering valo , who shed learned was named marten .

dinner came and went .

katin sat on the edge of her cot in the womens quarters , pulling tangles from her hair with a chipped old brush shed borrowed .

chelsea and the other girl , delia , were finishing with the dinnerware .