If we go to the king, he’s liable to cut off all access to the well. I cannot be the cause of an entire village’s downfall as well as my own. “No,” I say again, stronger. More resolute.
“Kerris—”
“I saidno. The wolf wasn’t on our side of The Divide. It was on theirs. And it’s dead.” The Seelie are safe which means the king doesn’t need to know a blessed thing. Besides, there are four guards watching the bridge. They would kill any beast before it made landfall in Rosehill.
Trevor blinks at me for a moment, but then his eyes widen, followed by a slow nod.
I take another sip, willing my hands to stop trembling. How am I supposed to walk through town looking like I’ve been shredded to ribbons? Word is bound to reach the king, and I cannot have anyone else finding out what happened. “I know I have no right to ask you this, but will you help me? I need you to get Nia and ask her to bring me a change of clothes.”
He bobs his head. “Yes, of course. I’ll go straightaway.”
“Thank you.” Although it’ll do no good to put on a clean dress and still have blood on my hands. “Do you mind if I use your bathing room?”
“Not at all. Help yourself to what’s there. There are fresh towels in the closet.”
“Thank you, Trevor.”
His boots fall heavily against the wooden floor as he hurries toward the exit, leaving me in bitter silence, drowning in memories. Forcing myself to my feet, I drift toward the bathing room to fill the claw-foot tub. Such a simple convenience that I’ve always taken for granted. With a shuddering exhale, I shed my clothes and sink into the water, its healing properties doing nothing to save me from the images in my mind.
Of the wolf.
Ofhim.
My eyes sink closed, and I let my tears melt down my cheeks and disappear into the bath. Eventually, the water goes cold, but I cannot find it in me to rise.
Hinges creak, and Nia steps into the room, a colorful carpet bag slung over her shoulder. “Are you all right?” she whispers. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.” She steps closer. “Heavens above, Kerris. Is thatbloodon your forehead?”
I drag a hand across my brow. The dried blood turns pink in the water. “I’m…” I cannot bring myself to say I’m fine.
The bag clatters to the tiles, and Nia grabs a cloth from the sink, kneeling beside me to dip it into the water. Carefully, she smooths the soft terrycloth down my cheeks. Her brow furrows as she traces one of the scars on my neck. “Something bit you.”
So much for not crying. “Ever.” There’s no sense trying to hide the truth when it’s been painted in silver crescent moons upon my skin. My soul.
Nia’s hand finds mine beneath the water. “What happened?”
I shake my head, cursing these damn tears that refuse to stop falling. “His people abandoned him. He’s all alone in that forest and those wolves are…they’re monsters, Nia. I would’ve died if he hadn’t saved me.”
She braces her hands on my shoulders, giving me a little shake. “But you didn’t die. And neither will he. We’ll figure this out.”
What’s there to figure out? I cannot survive across The Divide and Ever refuses to live here. This situation is as hopeless as it always was; I just didn’t want to believe it.
Her mouth flattens as she shakes her head. “Stand up. You’re shaking like a leaf.” She grabs the towel from next to my dress and holds it open the way my mother used to.
Gripping the sides of the tub, I slide my feet beneath me before standing.
“Heavens, Kerris. They’reeverywhere.”
It takes me a moment to realize she means the scars. They cover my arms, my breasts, my stomach, and even my thighs.
“Your man was quite thorough, wasn’t he?” Clearing her throat, she envelopes me in the towel and tucks the end beneath my arm. “I’m not sure the dress I brought will cover them. I wonder if Trevor will mind you borrowing a shirt?”
“He told me to help myself to whatever I need.”
She bustles around the room, drawing the plug from the bath and spreading out the cloth on the edge to dry. “He’s a good man.”
“He is. But I can’t marry him.” Perhaps before, I might have been content with a safe match, but now that I’ve tasted true passion, the kind of connection you find only once in a lifetime, I will settle for nothing less.
Her shoulders fall with her sigh. “Your life would be so much easier if you did.”