Chapter 37: Staff Sergeant Keanna Neely

In one of the towers of the king’s vast palace, the man formerly known as Staff Sergeant Keanna Neely pulled one of the fur blankets more closely around her shoulders and snuggled down into the bed, trying to stay warm. She wished for Haggoz’s warmth behind her, but Haggoz had left before it got light. He rarely stayed with her all night, and on the rare occasions she did fall asleep after their lovemaking, he left as soon as he awoke. Keanna was lucky, she supposed, that her bed was heaped with furs and quilts.

Though Haggoz played the elaborate game of pretending he wanted hrr to suffer, he didn’t mean for her to go without creature comforts.

Her room, though isolated in a tower far away from the king’s quarters, was kept warm with braziers and a fire in the fireplace. She had an elderly male servant who brought her food to her each day, a man named Sung-la, who never said much of anything to her, just swapped out her food trays and cleaned her room.

She had learned a great deal