"Don't be ridiculous. Let me see." I moved toward him, healer's instincts taking over.
"I said it's nothing, human."
"My name is Kalyndi, not 'human,' and you're bleeding all over the place." I pressed my hand against his uninjured side to guide him deeper into the cave. "Sit down before you fall down."
To my surprise, he complied, sinking awkwardly to the cave floor. His massive frame seemed somehow smaller now, hunched in pain.
I rummaged through my pack for my medical supplies. "I need to see the wound."
He stared at me for a long moment, then slowly peeled back the fur-lined vest he wore, revealing a deep gash across his ribs. Blood matted his russet fur, making it difficult to assess the damage.
"I need to clean this." I dampened a cloth with water from my skin. "This might hurt."
"Do what you must."
I knelt beside him, gently pressing the cloth to his wound. He hissed, but remained still. Working carefully, I cleaned away enough blood to see that while the cut was deep, it had missed anything vital.
"You were lucky," I murmured, preparing a poultice of herbs. "A little lower and this could have been much worse."
"Not luck," he grunted. "Skill."
Despite everything, I laughed. "Is that what you call getting slashed open? Skill?"
The corner of his mouth twitched. Almost a smile. "Better me than you."
My hands stilled on his side. "You did this protecting me."
"My duty."
"Is that all it was? Duty?" The question slipped out before I could stop it.
His eye met mine, something shifting in its depths. "What else would it be?"
I couldn't answer. Instead, I pressed the poultice against his wound, hyper-aware of the heat of his skin beneath my fingers, the steady rise and fall of his chest. This was the first time I'd touched him, really touched him, since our hasty mating ceremony.
"Thank you," I said finally. "For protecting me."
His large hand unexpectedly covered mine where it rested against his side. The contact sent a jolt through me that had nothing to do with fear.
"Your hands are gentle," he said, his voice lower than I'd ever heard it. "For someone so brave."
My breath caught in my throat. "I wasn't brave. I was terrified."
"You fought. When you could have run." His thumb moved slightly against my wrist. "That's brave."
I became intensely conscious of how close we were in the small cave, of the strange intimacy of tending his wounds. Of being alone together, truly alone, for the first time.
"We should rest," I said, though I made no move to pull my hand away. "At least until we're sure it's safe."
Redmon nodded, but his gaze remained fixed on my face, searching for something I wasn't sure I was ready for him to find.
Six
Redmon
Fire. My body was fire. Pain lanced through my side, pulsing with each heartbeat. I couldn't tell if my eyes were open or closed. The world swirled around me, a blur of shapes and shadows.
"Stay with me, Redmon."
