Gilded Serpent by Danielle Jensen (top 10 novels txt) 📕

ears as she landed, and Teriana found herself staring at Marcus, whom she’d landed on. He blinked blearily at her, his eyes swollen and bloodshot, face smeared with soot. Then his gaze snapped into focus and he rolled her off, clambering to his feet, hoarse profanity spewing from his lips as he went to the stove. “The fire. We need to keep it going or—”

“Sun’s up.”

Marcus ceased loading wood onto the coals and slowly turned to the gap in the wall where sunlight streamed in. Despite her head aching like she’d been hit in the head with a brick, Teriana grinned and pointed a finger at him. “And we’re not dead.”

“Not dead,” he repeated blankly, as though she’d spoken in a language he didn’t quite understand.

“How much of that smoke did you breathe in?” she asked.

“Too much.” He gave a weary shake of his head, then braced one hand against the wall. “I must have fallen asleep. I’m sorry.”

Perhaps he had, but only recently, because the coals were still glowing, a few flames rising from the charred wood. Which meant he’d stayed awake long after she’d passed out, fueling the fire. Keeping her warm. Keeping her alive.

Crawling on her hands and knees, she wrapped her arms around Marcus’s neck, pressing her forehead against his. There was no part of her that didn’t hurt. No part of her that wasn’t exhausted. No part of her that didn’t fear the coming night. But together, she felt like they would survive this, no matter what came at them.

And as though he sensed her thoughts, Marcus rose to his feet, pulling her up with him. “We’ve work to do.”

Together, they righted the stove, using the leg shaft of her boot to hold the stovepipe in place once they’d fitted it back through the opening in the roof. Marcus worked on filling the hole in the floor with dirt while Teriana took the kettle outside to collect snow.

The wind had died down, but while no snow had fallen in the night, large drifts had formed, entirely altering the landscape from yesterday. The wolves had done a fine job of fouling up the area around the shack—scat and piss drove her to walk some distance to find some clean snow, her eyes peeled for any sign of motion.

But there was nothing.

And though she knew there must be animals about beyond the wolves, in that moment, it felt like they were utterly alone in this wild expanse of the world, the tiny wooden shack their only refuge. And tomorrow, they’d leave it. Would attempt to cross twenty miles of barren wilderness before dusk fell.

Warmth embraced her chilled body as she opened the door to the shack. Marcus had filled in the hole and replaced the board they’d pried off the wall. A cheery fire now burned in the stove. He had the stiff wolfskin spread on the floor, and on one of the plates sat what she could only presume was the same wolf’s brain. “If you think that’s what we are having for breakfast, you’re mistaken.”

“It’s not for eating.” He gave the brain a poke with his index finger. “It’s for the hide. Did you know that every animal possesses a brain large enough to tan its own hide?”

“I’ve met a few idiots in my day who’d put that theory to the test.” She set the kettle on the stove, noticing that he’d also retrieved some of the wolf meat from the icebox, which was currently thawing on a plate. “You read that in one of your books?”

He nodded.

“You know,” she said, “I find it interesting that you’ve apparently read so many books and yet I’ve never once seen you with one in hand.”

“Books are heavy. I don’t pack what I don’t feel inclined to carry.”

Smiling to herself, Teriana didn’t say anything, only set to tidying up the shack from the chaos of the prior night.

His sigh filled her ears. “Fine. I had the privilege of being taught to read prior to my move to Campus Lescendor. I was a sickly child, so I spent a lot of time in my father’s library, as well as the libraries of his friends.”

She’d never pressed him for details about his illness, sensing he didn’t want to talk about it. “Sickly…?”

He grimaced. “My attacks were a near-daily occurrence when I was young. The physicians advised my father to keep me indoors and away from strenuous activity. Obviously money was no object, so he indulged me with all the books and tutors I wanted.”

She knew from his admission to Magnius during the crossing that he’d been born to the Domitius family, but this was the first time he’d ever acknowledged it. It was a large family, with many branches, but the patriarch and holder of the family’s seat in the Senate lived in the villa neighboring that of Senator Valerius—Lydia’s father. Which meant it was possible Marcus had known Lydia prior to leaving for legion training.

“Lescendor has a vast library,” he continued. “Once I was past the stage of needing to sleep through our set liberty hours, I took to spending my free time there. When I began officer training at age ten, half my days were spent in the library, though of course most of the material I read at that point related to military matters.”

“All your liberty hours in a library,” Teriana murmured, inspecting the pads of her fingers, which had been scalded while she struggled with the stovepipe. “Who knew I had such a fondness for bookish people.”

Marcus lifted his head askance, but she only waved the comment away with one hand. She’d never spoken of Lydia to him, and she didn’t intend to. It was possible Cassius had divulged her friendship—that Marcus knew the details of her friend’s betrayal—but Teriana found herself not wanting to hear it. What was done was done.

He only shrugged. “I don’t get much chance to read for pleasure anymore. Servius picks up books for me when he sees something I might