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Her voice reached me from the open doorway “Can I have more stones?”

“You’ll scald yourself”

“My frostbitten hands and feet sucked all the heat away…”

I dropped my quill and returned to the room The pot of stones was on the floor beside the tub, so I carried it back to the fireplace and hooked it in place I returned to the desk once more I worked as the stones heated, and after a couple minutes, I carried the pot back into the bathroom “Knees to your chest”

She moved at a snail’s pace, but she did it

I dumped the rocks on the opposite side of the tub, stea from the surface of the water like smoke off a fire

She closed her eyes “Ahh…that’s nice”

I returned the pot to the fireplace then sat in my chair once more

“Your mom’s a cunt, you know that?”

I stared at theat it

“A fucking cunt…”

The insult from somebody else would result in a bloody tub But I didn’t defend ht

“Good…you agree”

With a sigh, I pushed myself from the desk and returned to the bathroo better”

Her knees were still to her chest, her are of the tub Her head was slightly turned e of the tub, so”

I pulled up a chair and took a seat

“Haven’t eaten since yesterday …”

Which meant she’d refused to eat out of my mother’s chamber pot She’d rather starve than suffer the humiliation No surprise there “I’ll take care of it”

“You didn’t take care of it when your lass over h I’d just saved her fro cold and promised her food “You just sat there…that old look on your face”

“That was for your benefit”

Her eyes searched my face

“Because if she kne I felt—” I faltered because that was a poor choice of words “That our night was consensual, she would send in Geralt to do what I couldn’t If I don’t publicly despise you, there will be consequences”

That answer seemed sufficient because that betrayed look started to fade “Let uess… She asked hoas?”

Perhaps she was as observant as my mother “Yes”

“And what did you say?”

“I lied”

She gave a shake of her head “She’s sick…”