His Cure For Magic (Book 2) by M.R. Forbes Page B

good look. Dangerous, mysterious.
    She jutted out her hip and took one of the defensive stances Silas had taught her. She looked at herself and laughed.
    More than survive, mother. Grandfather and I will kill him , and avenge your senseless death.
    Her mind wandered back to Wilem. He was cute enough, she supposed, but despite his fawning she was sure she couldn't see him as more than a passing friend; someone to talk to and share a meal with, and that was all. She'd been interested in boys when her life had been simple. She didn't have time for them now. Besides, the only things she'd told him that had been true were so blatantly true that he'd never suspect they were intended as lies.
    When he's dead, I'll be able to marry. I'll find a man who makes my heart flutter, and whose heart flutters along with mine. I'll settle down, have children of my own, and help the entire Empire forget these years of tyranny.
    She blinked her eyes again, trying to make herself tired. Not satisfied, she stripped off the blue dress, remaining in her undergarments. She picked up the corner of her mattress and pulled out her ircidium blade. She backed into another of Silas' defensive positions, and started working her way through her exercises.  
    Within an hour, she was asleep.

    ###

    The days passed in a hurry, though it didn't take long for both Silas and Eryn to fall into a routine. They would rise early in the morning, before any of the other guests were awake. They would spend two hours practicing with wooden sticks in the stables, and then they would clean themselves, get dressed, and take turns going down to the common room for breakfast. Afterwards, they would meet with Andreaus in Silas' room, and Silas would lay out strategies for slowing his army's return from the other side of the Killorn mountains. At least once a day either Ames or Lance would drop in to report on Davin's preparations, and in the evening Silas would stay in his room, and Eryn would go downstairs to dine with Kelkin and Wilem.
    She had told Silas of the man and his son. He had been curious but unconcerned about either of them, and having seen them in passing in the morning, remarked that they were quite unremarkable. He did ask after her overall interest in Wilem, and she had told him he was just someone to spend time with while they were in the city.
    Which was unfortunate for Wilem, because it was the truth.  
    Eryn could tell that the boy was smitten with her. She could see how his face brightened whenever she came into the common room and sat with them. She could hear the excitement in his voice. He had loosened up since the first night they had eaten together, and he turned out to be both more intelligent and more confident than she had at first suspected. Even his relationship with his father seemed to have changed, and they spent an increasing amount of time laughing together and sharing stories with her and the other patrons of the inn.  
    She stood in front of her mirror, checking her hair, and making sure the dress Ames had brought her was sitting properly. It was made of red velvet and flowed down to her ankles, with a high neck and large cuffs. It was the finest cloth she had ever worn; much richer than a financier's daughter would typically be able to afford. She had already thought of a good lie should anyone mention that.  
    They would be rising before the sun tomorrow. They would travel to Davin's, and from Davin's to the Washfall mines. The preparations were complete. Now it was up to them to execute.
    That was why she had worn the dress. Maybe that was even why Davin had sent it for her. One last chance to wear such finery, in case she didn't survive. It was a morose thought, but she saw the kindness of the gesture, and she loved the way she looked in it.
    Wilem is going to spit out his ale.
    Just because she wasn't interested in any romance with him, that didn't mean she didn't enjoy making him blush. Straightening her cuffs one more time, she