She scoffed. “Don’t be stupid. Just because we don’t want to hurt you doesn’t mean we won’t. And you’re nothing special now. Just a normal girl. And him?” Her gray eyes flickered over to Brother Qown. “Hurting him is easy.”

“Don’t you dare—” I moved toward her, making her flinch.

Just for a moment, though. Then she grabbed my wrist and twisted, and I cried out because it hurt. I found myself too weak to push back. She forced me against the table’s edge.

“Any. Time. We. Want,” she whispered.

Senera walked out the door.

When I turned to Brother Qown, he began helping himself to breakfast.

“Eat,” he told me. “We’ll need our strength.”

The clothes Senera had brought were heavy, thick, and woolen. They included wool pants and a shirt trimmed with animal fur for Qown, and a long, red woolen dress for me. I stared at the dress with distaste.

“I wouldn’t want to fight in that,” I said.

“I suspect Yorans believe women shouldn’t fight,” Qown said.

“I’m not—” I paused and sighed. “I’m not going to be able to convince them to treat me as one of the men, am I?”

“I don’t … I don’t think so. No.”

I growled something unintelligible as I stripped off the nightgown. Paint flaked off my skin underneath.

“I need a bath,” I said. “But I very much doubt I’ll get one in Yor—wait.” I didn’t see a chamber pot anywhere. Either Senera had forgotten—which didn’t seem like her—or she was being cruel—which didn’t match her behavior.

I examined the walls. Black stone perfectly fitted without mortar. If I had a knife, I wouldn’t have been able to fit the blade between the blocks. The level of workmanship rivaled anything I’d ever seen in Jorat—except Atrine.

Which suggested …

I walked to a smaller door and discovered a bathroom, one with hot running water. I remembered some royal guild or another who handled such matters. The duke (or Hon) wasn’t afraid to hire magical services.

That’s the one thing I miss about Atrine every time I leave; running water on demand is glorious.

“You need to escape,” Brother Qown said, his voice echoing from the main room. “You can’t stay here. I’ve heard stories about how the women are treated.”

I paused while wiping the ink stains off my face. “I’ve heard those stories too. Anyone who tries anything with me is in for a rude surprise.”

“I don’t just mean that,” Brother Qown said. “Well, I do mean that, but also … I mean … I’ve never heard of an unmarried woman in Yor. Never. If you’re not married, they marry you. Women don’t have a choice.”

“Again, I’d like to see them try.”