I’d sacrificed everything so my people could escape, and to realize that Kiryan had broken his word, had ended the eternal slumber he’d promised me… I couldn’t let that go unanswered. But of course, all I’d accomplished was making myself look like an asshole, and shoring up the wall I’d spent so much time trying to build between me and Adara.
A wall I desperately wanted to tear down.
But there was no time for that now, not when we were still so exposed. I was under no illusions that we were safe from Nox and General Slaugh, even if we were in water fae territory. Adara was the greatest threat to their plans; they couldn’t afford to allow her to roam free. They would try to eliminate her as quickly as possible.
“I… I’m not feeling so well,” Adara said. I glanced over my shoulder—we were walking single file, with Mavlyn bringing up the rear—to see her swaying on her feet, eyes glassy and face flushed. “I’m dizzy, and my leg hurts.”
Cursing, I spun around and grabbed her by the shoulders, then pressed the back of my hand to her forehead.
“You’re running a fever,” I said gruffly. I glanced down at Adara’s torn skirts, noting that she was favoring her left leg. “And you aren’t healing, are you?”
“I guess not,” Adara mumbled, her words slurring a little. She wobbled a little on her feet, and I had a feeling she would have toppled over if I wasn’t gripping her shoulders.
“Her magic is depleted,” Mavlyn said, coming up to stand by Adara’s side. She crouched down and parted the torn fabric, then pursed her lips as she studied the gash. “The wound isn’t healing, and worse, it looks like it’s becoming infected.”
“I-infected?” Adara asked, her eyes widening. “But—hey!” she protested as I swung her up into my arms. “What are you doing?”
“Taking you somewhere to lie down and rest,” I said. “You’re in no condition to be walking.”
“I don’t need you to carry me,” Adara said stiffly, but I ignored her, cradling her body against my chest. She held herself rigid for a few moments, but exhaustion eventually forced her to relax, a soft moan of pain escaping her lips as her head lolled against me. Her skin was scalding against mine, and I quickened my pace.
Eventually we happened upon a small clearing, tucked a ways away from the main path. It wasn’t my first choice—I would have preferred a cave, something away from prying eyes and more defensible. But it was the best we could do for now, so I stalked through the small opening between the trees and prepared to lay Adara down.
“Hang on,” Mavlyn said. She walked past me to a small patch of moss clustered at the roots of one of the trees, then knelt down and pressed her hand to it. Immediately, the moss began to multiply, thickening and spreading until it was roughly the same size as a single mattress. “There. You can lay her here.”
“Clever,” I murmured. I carefully set Adara down on the makeshift bed, then, out of sheer curiosity, pressed my hand against the moss to test it out. It was surprisingly plush, even a bit springy. Certainly more comfortable than any camp bed I’d ever made for myself.
Mavlyn pulled up Adara’s skirt again, and I winced at the sight of the gash in her leg. It was an angry red and very swollen, clear fluid leaking from the cut and dribbling down her pale skin.
“This needs to be treated right away,” Mavlyn said. She covered Adara’s leg again, then twisted around to face me. “I don’t have the herbs I need on hand, so I’m going to have to forage for them and find some water, too. Will you stay here and watch over her?”
“Of course.” I fisted my hands at my sides as I looked at Adara. Her eyes were closed, lashes fanning against her flushed cheeks, her full, normally sassy mouth bracketed with lines of pain. “Is there anything else I can do? Anything that will ease her pain?”
Mavlyn shook her head. “Sadly, no. But you can cut strips of her skirt to use as bandages. Just make sure they’re clean. I would ask you to make a fire, but we’ve no cookware to heat water in.” Sighing, she raked a hand through her hair, looking as frustrated as I felt. “Just keep watch until I get back.”
Mavlyn made herself scarce, and I sat down beside Adara, feeling utterly helpless. I wasn’t used to sitting around and doing nothing—as a soldier, I was used to being in action, using brains or brawn to either solve my problems or slaughter them. We’d had medics in the dragon army, of course, but I hadn’t been one of them. I knew nothing of the art of healing.
If the two of you were mated, you could have given her some of your life force.
I gritted my teeth against the snide voice in my head. Yes, if we were mated, it would solve many problems. But Adara was in no condition to complete the mating bond, and even if she were, I didn’t want her to make that decision out of desperation. I’d heard tales of forced matings before—they never ended well, usually resulting in infertility or chronic illness in one or both members of the couple.
Adara moaned softly, distracting me from my thoughts. I looked over to see her face was flushed, beads of sweat gathering at her temples and upper lip. Biting back a curse, I brushed a lock of hair back from her damp brow, which was scalding. I half-expected to see steam rising from her pores, she was that hot.
Her lashes fluttered open at my touch, and she looked up at me through hazy, cornflower-blue eyes. “Why… Einar…?” she whispered.
I leaned closer, my brows furrowing in confusion. “Why what?”
“Why do you hate me?”
“Hate you?” I echoed, aghast. “I could never hate you, Adara.”
“But you must,” she said, struggling up into a half-sitting position. I tried to make her lie down again, but she knocked my hands away with what little strength she had left. “Because after everything we’ve been through, all the trials we’ve faced together, you still wish we’d never met.” Tears shimmered in her lavender-blue eyes even as she scowled at me, and a spear of guilt stabbed straight through my heart at the pain I’d caused her. “And you know what? That’s fine. You helped me kill King Aolis—you don’t owe me anything else. You can go back to your tower, and once I’ve rescued my mother and turned her back to normal, I’ll—”
I grabbed Adara, and she squealed as I hauled her into my lap. Ignoring her protests, I wrapped her up in a fierce hug, tucking her head beneath my chin and burying a kiss into the crown of her lavender hair. My arms banded around her, hands splaying across the curves of her back, and I simply breathed, willing the tension in her muscles to flow away, to open and receive the love I wanted to give her.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled into her hair.
“… for what?”