“Your girlfriends.” She felt like an idiot, and yet she couldn’t help the words coming from her mouth. Jealousy over a man wasn’t something she’d experienced.
His face relaxed and he let out a sigh. “The women in my court aren’t allowed in my chambers. They have their own rooms.”
Was that where he visited them? She squeezed her eyes shut. It didn’t matter. She had bigger issues to deal with.
“I would like Zirel to heal you,” Garrin said gently. “You seemed to suffer great pain from Mertha’s power.”
“No,” she said, and stumbled toward a couch. Her head hurt like a bitch, but she didn’t want anything to happen to the information Mertha had given her. What if Zirel healed her and accidentally wiped her new-old memories—the ones she’d only just gotten back? Or the memories Mertha had entrusted to her? She couldn’t risk it.
Garrin looked at Zirel and notched up his chin. A signal the other Fae interpreted, because Zirel promptly left the room and closed the door behind him.
Lex was just about to sink onto the cozy-looking couch she’d perched against when Garrin caught her by the elbow. “This way.”
He led her into the bedroom, letting go of her arm briefly to pull back covers on the giant four-poster bed. “You must rest.”
It was probably the only command from Garrin she would gladly agree to, because her legs were about to give out.
Lex climbed onto the bed, and Garrin pulled off her boots and slid the heavy coat off her shoulders and down her arms.
He tucked her under the covers and sat beside her. Garrin’s bright blue eyes appeared warm in this light, his gaze filled with so much concern.
“I remember,” she said.
He studied her face. “Remember what?”
“Some of my past, here in Dark Kingdom. The memories I lost when they placed the spell on me and took away my magic.”
“Was that what happened when Mertha touched you? She gave you back memories?”
Lex nodded. “Along with something else. She gave mehermemories too.”
Garrin gripped her arm above the covers, his eyes wide. “You must tell me what they are. They could provide the information we need.”
“To accuse your father of betrayal?”
Garrin’s eyes closed briefly. “Yes. All signs point to my father having betrayed his people. Mertha’s knowledge could help free us.”
Lex sighed in frustration. “That’s the thing. I don’t know what the memories mean. They’re not a part of my past. They’re snippets of images from Mertha’s life, and it’s like trying to put together puzzle pieces that have no meaning on their own unless you see them together as a whole. I couldn’t describe them even if I tried.”
Garrin’s shoulders sank. “We must find a way, Lex. Mertha wouldn’t have given you the last bit of her life’s energy if it weren’t important.”
“I understand, but I’m so tired and my head is full to bursting.” Her face felt hot with fever, and her temples throbbed.
He let go of her arm as though it was fragile, and his expression softened. “Rest. I’ll make sure you aren’t disturbed.”
Lex slid her hand from the covers and quickly grabbed his sleeve. “Don’t leave me.”
Garrin was a womanizer. Maybe. She wasn’t sure. He’d taken her from the only home she’d known in order to use her. But he’d also saved her life, brought her back to her birthplace, and returned her to her mother. He’d cared for her all those days in the Land of Ice, offering her a warm shower out in the middle of nowhere and even his last food. He meant her no harm, even if he hadn’t said as much. And the way Garrin had kissed her earlier…
Lex wasn’t the most experienced in that department, but Garrin touched her with a care and passion that spoke of emotion. Emotion he never uttered but that came through just the same.
Whether it was convenient or not, they shared a connection, and there was no one Lex trusted more in Dark Kingdom than Garrin. Not even her mother.
Now that Lex had some of her memories back of Dark Kingdom, she realized Isle Meinrad hadn’t been the ideal mother. She’d often left Lex for long stretches of time in the care of Jas and his family. What her mother did during that time, Lex hadn’t a clue. But it had affected Lex. She’d often felt lonely and abandoned, no matter how hard Jas had tried to cheer her up.
No wonder Jas had been her guardian on Earth. They’d grown up together.
Garrin reached for her hand and squeezed it. “You have my word, Lex. I will not leave you.”
