“Sorry, sweetheart,” he murmured with an apologetic grimace when I bit down on my lip, trying not to yelp at the sting as he dabbed the laceration on my head with antiseptic solution. It began to fizzle audibly, making its way through the dirt in the wound. It was easy enough to distract myself from the subsequent burning sensation with some shameless self-indulgence.
Even when we trained together, it was rare that Kieran and I were everthisclose, his face mere inches from my own. I let myself take advantage of the view, studying the sharp angles of his jawline, his slightly crooked nose, and the brutal, pale scars that were slightly raised, slashing through the blind eye. I would never admit to him how much I actually loved the imperfection, and how much more attractive it made him to me… that scar, and those stupidly soft looking lips.
Continuing to feel emboldened by the fact that his focus was elsewhere, I studied his eyes. The cloudy whites of the left, blind eye had struck me when we first met—it was part of what made him so alluring, what with the scars cutting through his brow, making it clear the man was dangerous. Anyone who could survive a blow like that…
I’d been intrigued, of course, but then I had nearly cursed the godsdamned Fates when I saw the other eye, which was even more stunning, somehow. I had studied those hues over the last however many months it had been with every stolen glance, but up close? Gods. Under the frame of Kieran’s thick, dark lashes, I could see that glacial blue iris was speckled with shades of lilac and even a bit of yellow. The iris was ringed with a deeper shade of blue, which only served to contrast and intensify the beauty of the paler colors.
This close to his face, I could see that he had dark circles under his eyes, too. It was hard to tell from a distance, given how warm the tones of his skin were naturally, but here was the evidence of the last several nights being sleepless, like subtle little bruises beneath his—
“What are you thinking about?”
Kieran caught my eye as he began to unscrew a small tin of ointment.
“Mm, apologies. That’s classified information, Captain.”
“I’m fairly certain that I’ve earned my clearances in that regard,” he countered as he gingerly applied a dab of the salve from High Scholar Helvig to my head. The relief was almost immediate.
“Just because you’re playing nurse tonight doesn’t mean you get access to my innermost secrets, Kieran,” I replied.
A slight smirk began to curl on his lips.
“Do you often find yourself pondering over your innermost secrets while staring at me, Little Conduit? That’s rather… intimate.”
I flushed.
“It’s not really staring when you are quite literally right in front of my face. What else is there for me to look at?”
“Whatever you say,” he replied, the smirk spreading.
He had to know that, even for me, his smile was a deadly weapon. Hehadto know. He certainly wielded it like one.
“Okay, fine. You’re also, admittedly, the nicest thing to look at in here. I will give you that,” I reasoned.
“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment to my face, or an insult towards my taste in interior design.”
“Mm. A little bit of column a, little bit of column b,” I teased.
He ran one hand through his hair, rolling his eyes.
“Do you ever give straight answers, woman?”
“Only under duress.”
After such an intense twenty-four hours, my spirits were already lifting. This was one of my favorite elements of our friendship—the banter, the way Kieran could so effortlessly go toe-to-toe with me in snark. We could quite literally go back and forth for hours, volleying quips like it was a sporting event, just to pass the time. Sometimes, he even beat me at my own game.
There was a wicked gleam in his eyes now that suggested he was ready to play.
“Perhaps I should put you under duress, then,” he mused. “I am ever so curious about what secrets might be locked inside this pretty little banged-up head of yours.”
My pulse quickened. Surely, I was just imagining the genuine sensuality that had just slipped into his tone? That smirk remained as he began to put items from the medicine kit away with tidy precision.
“Hah,” I replied, voice calm. “Good luck with that, Vistarii.”
“It’s cute how you think I’d need luck to accomplish such things, Asher,” Kieran said, mocking my tone as he set aside the small pouch and soiled strips of cotton, turning his attention back to me. Those godsdamned eyes could pierce my soul, I swear.
Summoning as much false confidence as I could muster, I snorted and tossed my hair.
“Oh, you would need so much more than luck, my friend.”