I’d rather not remove my clothing in her presence so unceremoniously, but she couldn’t step outside. I wouldn’t let her, not without me. Increasingly aware of moments continuing to pass in complete silence while Garris had meandered to the back section, I realized I was making this worse for myself. The longer I hesitated, the more awkward it would become.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, I worked off my pants, moving quickly to sit upon the questionably stained thin blanket and covering my manhood with my bunched pants.
Garris returned, balancing several jars between his knuckles. The glasses clinked together when he rested them beside me and angled the lantern closer. For days I hadn’t been in this form to check the healing progress, and as a tiger, my pain threshold was significantly greater. The sight of it now definitely held cause for concern.
Garris prepped a mortar and pestle, dumping portions from the jars and plucking leaves from plants growing from hanging planters in the tent. He ground the mixture, creating a sludgy green paste. “You’ll need to apply this four times a day until it runs out. If the wound hasn’t dried out by then, or your pain increases, come back and see me.” He applied a generous dollop directly onto the wound and I clenched my teeth to refrain from hissing.
“What did this?” he asked.
“I shot him with an arrow,” Ro said with far too much pride, her back still facing us.
Garris raised his brows and sighed, then collected his jars and retreated to the back. I’d never asked, and he never offered, but I assumed the man was not here of his own free will. His dark eyes portrayed increasing burden, a look I recognized as defeated resignation. I’d had the same look for quite some time.
Without care for how the fabric slapped against my seeping gash, I donned my pants with incredible speed. Once they were up, I swiped my ointment off the bed.
“Thanks!” Ro called when I placed my hand on her lower back, urging her from the tent. That drew Garris’s attention as he stared at the camp’s newest member. The way he regarded her reminded me that we had roles to play, and they didn’t include pleasantries.
Slipping back into my facade, I grabbed her upper arm with a tight grip before hauling her from the tent. “We’re going to have to work on your manners,” I muttered as we exited.
“You sure it’s mine we have to worry about?” She scowled, searing my hand with a resentful stare.
I let go, standing to my fullest height to track any eyes that might wander in our direction. No one seemed to be paying attention. “Follow me,” I said, voice low and authoritative.
We crossed the camp until we reached my tent. I pulled the flap to the side and waited for her to enter. She ducked beneath me and I performed one last scan before ducking in after her.
The sight of her sitting on my bed emptied any and all thoughts I’d carried from the healer’s tent. Through her lashes, she peered up at me. My heart stuttered a beat before I moved, retrieving a box of matches and sparking one to light the lantern on the lone dresser.
I turned back around, bewitched by the way her eyes glittered from the flame.
“So, what now?” she asked.
Right. Next steps. “If you tell me what you’re looking for, we can be quick. If I can sneak you out after dark, you’ll have a better chance of—”
She cut me off. “Tell me everything you know about the camp.”
I paused. Crafting a response that could benefit her while simultaneously protecting me would be crucial. “What are you using this information for?”
Her lips flattened, and I knew that was a question she wouldn’t answer, which had me sighing heavily.
I crouched despite my thigh telling me not to, so we were eye level. Or at least, close enough, since I found myself looking slightly upward at her. “Ro, I think we need to work on our communication skills. This camp is a death trap. You look at someone with authority the wrong way, you’re dead. You fail to immediately follow orders, you’re dead. You start snooping around and asking questions that raise suspicion? You’re in the ground before your next breath. This is a minefield to navigate, and you are not versed in the nuances at play here, but I am. It’s on record that I brought you in, and if you go down…” I took a moment to compose myself, shoving away the thoughts of the dire repercussions that would follow.
“You’ll go down too,” she whispered. That hadn’t been my primary concern, but at least she grasped the severity of our current conundrum. The soft expression in her twinkling hazel eyes choked my heart. It was evident she cared about that. About me.
Hyper-aware of the short distance between us, enough so that we could speak without being overheard, I became far too aware of the toll that a week of traveling had taken. “First things first, we should bathe.” I knew I was no treat to be around, but Ro…
Ro’s scent may as well have been opium. It blurred the walls of my reality, setting me on uneven ground. That, combined withthe sight of her on my bed… I rose swiftly, craning my neck to the side since I couldn’t stand up fully in here, and cleared my throat. “Then we’ll eat.”
Ro assessed herself and her days old clothes. “I don’t have anything else to change into after. Can I wash these?”
I swallowed when the thought of her undressing skirted across my mind. “Of course.” With rushed movements, I grabbed the singular towel I possessed, a metal bucket, a half-used bar of soap, and two sets of clean clothes. “You can wear these. Follow me. And don’t let your eyes get curious. Look as bored, uninterested, and disengaged as possible.”
She dipped her chin in determination, and we left.
41
Ro
Dae’s instructions were simple. Essentially, just blend in. But after traveling for a week in this gods forsaken kingdom, forced by a tyrannical ruler to extract information by way of threat to my people, I had no time to waste.
