I sighed. “No. He’s probably in one of the big tents up
on that hill.” I gestured to the far side of the field. “You know, the one
with all the banners.”
Ibbe snorted. “You and Ville are depraved.”
I nodded. “Yep.”
I shifted back to wolf and crept around the field. Ibbe
stayed at the edge of the forest. If she came with me, I wouldn’t get very far
up that hill.
I was nearly engaged in the fighting a few times, as
Fallen soldiers saw me and thought me one of the enemy. I managed to twist and
lunge and avoid their attacks, then dash away. Once I was behind Shifter lines
it wasn’t a problem. The falling night dulled my red fur. Anyone who saw me
would just assume I was a Shifter soldier.
I crept up the steep hill toward the back of my father’s
tent. An odd smell reached my nose and I let out a low, rumbling growl. My
eyes darted around the area, though I knew I was being paranoid. No way would
a human be lingering around here. The wind shifted and I lost the scent,
dismissing it as an overreaction on my part. Just then, a voice called
challenge and I halted in my tracks.
I stood very still as the guards who watched over the encampment
approached. Carefully letting my shields down, I sent some of my power out to
them- just enough that they would recognize me.
There was some scrambling and my father emerged from the
tent, Winona hot on his heels. I moved away, a bit farther down the embankment
so we were shielded from view by the steep hill. “What are you doing here,
girl?” Dad’s voice was gruff.
I shifted and stood defiantly before him. “I came to ask
you to stop the fight. There are things we don’t know about the Fallen. Most
of what you’re fighting for is a lie.”
Winona tossed her heavy, honey colored braid over her
shoulder. “And you’re not just saying this because you’ve switched sides?” Her
tone was acid.
My father crossed his arms, and waited for an answer. I
caught a whiff of sulfur and, only now registering it, jerked my gaze up as his
tent exploded. Flames engulfed the structure where the king and his heir had
been only moments before. Dad’s shocked brown eyes met mine and his expression
was unreadable in the firelight.
Winona drew her dagger and stood facing me, her expression
livid. “You!”
She cast a glance over her shoulder toward the searching
guards. “Here! We’re here and we’ve got the traitor.”
I sucked in a breath when I realized how this must look to
them. Wasting no time, I slipped into my wolf form and fled. The soldiers
were hot on my trail as I careened down the rest of the hill and into the thick
woods. I zigzagged and leapt a fallen tree, but they were closing in. Without
really thinking it through, I made a sharp turn and headed straight for the
Fallen lines.
I ducked around the warriors who tried to engage me, leaving
them to deal with the erstwhile guards. I plunged on, tumbling into the edge
of the clearing. My shoulder slammed into Ibbe’s leather-clad leg as I slid to
a stop.
She grasped a nearby tree to keep her balance, then stood
looking down at me, a placid expression on her face. “Did you have a nice
chat?” she asked dryly.
I growled at her and stood, shaking my thick pelt to rid
myself of the leaves and sticks that clung to my fur. Then I glanced out at
the field. The explosion had rattled the Shifters, and they were pulling
away. Ville took advantage of their momentary distraction to pull his people
back. I knew he would be relieved at any excuse to shorten the ordeal.
Ibbe flexed her wings. “Well, I think we’d better get our
butts back home…unless you want to be caught?” The question in her voice
surprised me and I glanced up at her.
Her dark eyes were full of laughter. “I sort of thought
you enjoyed arguing.” I gave her a canine snort.
We made it home just ahead of the army. Ibbe was lounging
in the armchair where she had been when Ville left, leafing through a book. I
was stretched out at her feet, my eyes closed while I basked in the warmth of
the crackling fire. In reality, I was wondering just how I could make myself
look much worse in the eyes of my family. Now they thought I’d come with the
Fallen army and tried to murder them. Brilliant.
Ville strode into the room, with Marshall close on his
heels. I cracked one eyelid to watch him while I pretended to doze. He tossed
his helm and gloves aside and came to stand with his back to the fire, regarding
Ibbe and me with a murderous glare. “You ladies sure look like you’re getting
along better.”
Ibbe looked up from her magazine. “Hmm?”
He crossed his arms. His gaze landed on me and I felt a
shiver of electricity. “You, I expected to disobey me. But Ibbe?” He lifted
his gaze to her, looking betrayed.
She crossed her long legs and flipped another page in her
magazine. “I kept a very close eye on her the entire time.” She glanced at me.
“Most of the time anyway.”
Marshall laughed and Ville’s expression became even more
thunderous. I pushed myself up into a sitting position, hugging my knees. I
rested my chin on my knees and tilted my head to meet Ville’s gaze. “Did you
order your men to blow up the tent?”
I saw the clear and honest surprise crossed his features
before he answered. “No. Of course not.” He looked hurt. I returned my gaze
to the fire that danced merrily in the fireplace. It was really too warm for a
fire. But it felt good, heating my skin and pulling it tight.
Marshall cleared his throat. “Ibbe, I’m exhausted. Will
you help me find something to drink?” I didn’t think he was talking about
orange juice. She stood and stretched her wings, then followed him from the
room.
Ville stood staring down at me for a long time. “Did you
think that was the reason I told you to stay here?”
I took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. “No, not
really. It never even occurred to me until just now.” I met his eyes. “But I
have a really bad track record with people I trust lying to me about pretty
much everything.”
He sank down beside me and joined my silent contemplation
of the flames. “I’m sorry I left you behind. I didn’t really think of how terrible
it would be for you to be left out. I was only trying to keep you safe and spare
you some pain.”
I swallowed. Did he always know exactly what I was
thinking? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He took my hand, prying it away from my knee. “You were
scared when I left. But you won’t ever admit it.”
I took a breath to deny his accusations, but my eyes met
his and tears welled up. “I only have you,” I said quietly.
His thumb drew lazy circles over the back of my hand as I
spoke. “If something happened to you, I’d be… completely alone. Again.” My
voice was taking on a hysterical note and I clenched my teeth, hating the sound.
He bent and gently kissed the back of my hand. “I’m
sorry. I felt… uncomfortable being away from you too.” I thought there may be
more to this than we knew, maybe something to do with our blood bond.
I dashed the stupid tears away with the back of my hand. Whatever
the reason, I had felt anxious without him. “Don’t ever do that to me again,” I
demanded.
He sighed. “I won’t.” His movements stilled, and he
looked down at our linked hands. “Will you…” He took a deep breath, and I was
surprised at the hint of embarrassment in his voice. “Will you sleep in my
room?” He tilted his head and his clear eyes met mine.
I sucked in a breath, trying to make my heart stop
pounding so loud. “Just sleep?”
He chuckled. “Just sleep. I’m exhausted, but I want you
near me.”
I looked him over, ashamed that I had been so selfish,
yammering on about my neediness while he sat here filthy, bruised, and swaying
with fatigue. “Sure,” I said with a soft smile. I stood and drew him to his
feet. “I’ll get a bath going for you while you… um… eat.”
He gave me one of those wry, boyish grins that went right
through my heart. “I’ll be fine ‘til tomorrow. I just want to get clean and
rest.” He politely didn’t mention the fact that I could whip him up some
dinner any ‘ol time.
“Are you sure?” I had noticed that he didn’t make the
little disappearances that Marshall and Ibbe did. And I wondered if he needed
less help maintaining his energy level, or if he was just more discrete about
it.
He was watching me. “I don’t need to feed as often…since
you.” He gave a tired shrug. “I have no idea why.”
I refrained from comment. He was still holding my hand,
so I drew him after me to his room. The guard outside the door raised an
eyebrow at us, but didn’t say anything. Ville leaned against the door to pull
his boots off while I went to his wardrobe and got a few fluffy towels and a
pair of pajama pants.
He left his boots where they were and shucked off his
shirt. My eyes traveled over the healing bruises and nicks that marred his
perfect chest. His hands moved to his fly and I turned and headed to the
bathroom.
I filled the tub with hot water, and what turned out to be
some sort of herby bubble bath. I smiled at the thought of the warrior in the
bubbles, but he looked like he could use the soak. The door opened and he
paced in, a towel wrapped around his waist.
“Thank you for doing this,” his eyes were tired. He
turned toward the tub and my gaze fell on the raw, newly healed wound that
stretched across his back from one shoulder to his opposite hip.
I crossed to him and touched the spot lightly, seeing that
the wound had closed okay. It was just inflamed, probably caused by an
enchanted blade. “Get in the tub,” I said softly. “I’ll be right back.”
He quirked a dark eyebrow at me, but did as he was told as
I left the room. I slipped out of Ville’s suite and nodded to the guard in
passing. Once I reached the kitchen, one of the maids helped me gather up the
supplies I needed. Then I hurried back to Ville’s room, balancing a tray of
assorted kitchen items. The guard grinned at the sight of me and I gave him a
curt nod.
I knocked lightly, then pushed open the bathroom door. A
fragrant cloud of steam greeted me and I breathed it in, realizing I was pretty
tired myself. Ville was reclining in the gigantic tub, submerged to the
shoulders as he soaked his wound. I paced to the tub and pulled up a low stool
behind him. He sat up a bit and twisted to see what I was doing.
“This will help with the inflammation,” I said, eyes on my
work.
He sat up and leaned forward, spreading his wings over the
sides of the tub. They looked odd all soaking wet, trailing water onto the
tiled floor. I rolled up my sleeves reached for the sliver of soap sitting on
the side of the tub. “May I?”
At his nod, I slipped my hands beneath the water and
worked the bar of soap into a lather. Taking a deep breath, I slicked my hands
over his broad back. His muscles were rigid beneath my hands.
“I know it wasn’t you who tried to kill them,” I said
softly. Honestly, even if it had been him, I couldn’t blame him. It was a
war. I didn’t like the thought, but that’s how things were.
He relaxed slightly and I skimmed over the reddened area.
It had an abraded appearance and I wanted to make sure it was clean. Cupping
my hands, I scooped up water and drizzled it over his back, rinsing away the
soap. I almost told him about the human scent I had picked up at on the battlefield,
but I paused. He had enough to worry about for today. One more problem might
just be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
I rinsed my hands in the bath then scooped up a handful of
the gloppy mixture of sea salt and herbs in the bowl at my feet. I plopped it
on the wound, one section at a time, pausing to place my hands over the area
and carefully channel my alchemy. The salt and herbs helped with the
inflammation. My alchemy helped to draw out the magically charged metals that
made a Shifter weapon so deadly to his kind.
Ville sat quietly through all of this with nothing more
than a soft, “that tickles,” when I routed my magic through his skin. He was
hunched forward with his head bowed.
When I was done, I swiped a hand over his back, wiping
away what was left of the salt and herbs. Then I picked up the soap again to
wash off the last of the residue. Ville sighed softly under my ministrations
and I paused to dig my fingers into his hard shoulders and neck, and press my
knuckles into the solid ridges of muscle along the strong column of his back. Finally,
I patted his shoulder and he lay back, submerging himself again with a blissful
sigh of relief. “The wound feels much better,” he said.
His eyes closed as he leaned his head against the back of
the tub. His long, black lashes rested against his pale skin. He looked ridiculously
young for the weight that was on his shoulders. I had the urge to stroke his hair
back from his eyes, but I’d done enough touching tonight. I curled my fingers
inward and quelled the part of me that wished the bubbles would go away so I
could see under the water.
I stood and stretched. I was much more tired than I had
realized. I turned to go, but Ville sat up and caught my hand. His skin was
slick and warm from the scalding water. Little drops pattered onto the tiled
floor.
“Thank you,” he said softly. “I mean, for believing me,”
one corner of his mouth quirked up. “And for staying.” I could see the
loneliness in his eyes.
I studied his beautiful face, and my chest clenched at the
remembered fear that he might not come back. He tugged me closer, wrapping his
long arms around my waist and pressing his damp face to my chest. I sighed and
put my arms around his shoulders, resting my chin on his dark head. “Is there
anyone in the world sicker than we are?”
His shoulders shook and he let out a muffled laugh against
my chest. “Maybe it’s the rest of the world that’s sick.”