“You trust them?” I asked quietly.
“Trust is a strong word.” He gave a hint of a smile. “I trust no one but my brothers. And now, you.” He lifted his hand then, his fingers coming to rest softly on the side of my jaw, and the corners of his mouth deepened. “Some would say I’m a fool for trusting someone I’ve only known for a couple of days. But call it a gut instinct.” His fingers drifted lightly along my skin, and his eyes were warm, inviting, and I felt the urge to turn my cheek into his touch.
Thisman could transform into a cruel, vicious beast? Even now, I wasn’t sure I believed it. I just couldn’t see him as some sort of mindless, feral creature—especially one who would hurt his friend.
But I also couldn’t see why Ary—and Talon, and the legends of Therador—would simply make up something like that, either. Ithadto be true, even if I could find no trace of the beast in the blue pools of his eyes.
“To answer your question,” Octavian went on, oblivious to the angsty debate happening inside me, “I believe that Talon is still a true friend, and that he and his crew might be our allies in the fight to come.”
“What fight?” I asked, startled.
He’d apparently revealed more than he intended, because he shook his head and flattened his hand against my cheek. The heat of his palm sent a ripple of pleasure across my skin.
“Don’t worry about that,” he said. “You’ll be safe, I promise.”
Right now, I wanted answers, not assurances. But then my eyes slipped past his shoulder to where Ary was standing. She was grinning, her eyes sparkling as she noted the way Octavian was caressing my cheek.
I stepped back, face going hot again. As much as I enjoyed Octavian’s touch, I wasn’t sure I felt comfortable doing this with an audience.
“Thank you,” I said, because that seemed like the right thing to say.
He nodded, but his azure eyes had darkened with concern.
If he’s so concerned about me, why won’t he give me the full story?I thought, following Ary away from the table and across the room.Why didn’t he tell me the truth about himself?Sure, I could get leaving out the whole manticore side of things, but these people—and most of Therador, apparently—saw him as some sort of legendaryhero. Why had he felt the need to keepthatfrom me? People he’d never even met knew more about him than I did.
Honestly, I’d gotten more answers about this world from Ary than I had from any of the brothers. I had to be careful about how I asked her my questions—the tired-and-confused act wouldn’t get me much farther without drawing suspicion—but she was still probably my best bet if I wanted to figure out what was really going on around here.
Ary led me down an unadorned stone corridor to a simple, unmarked door. The room beyond was just as plain, but there was a bed, and that was enough for me.
I sat down on the edge of the mattress and peeled off my too-small boots, wiggling my toes to get the blood flowing again.
“Oh, I didn’t even think of it before, but would you like a bath first?” Ary said.
Even exhausted as I was, a bath sounded heavenly—and I knew I‘d rest better once I’d scrubbed the last two days’ grime off myself.
“A bath would be amazing,” I told her.
“This way, then.”
She led me to a room down the corridor from mine. Inside, there was a large, square bath set into the ground like a pool, already filled with water. It bubbled slightly in one corner.
“It’s heated by an underground spring,” she said. “Trust me, you’ve never felt anything like it.” She walked over to a small shelf and picked up a couple of glass bottles. “When we passed through the capital last autumn, Fiona and I bought some bath oils. Just like the royals use. Ivo said we were wasting our money, but I caught him using some a couple of weeks ago. Now that he and Talon are lovers, he’s started to care about how he smells. Which is a gift to all of us, as you can imagine.” Grinning, she walked over to the corner of the bath where the water was bubbling and carefully knelt down. She removed the stopper from one of the bottles and poured a few drops of its contents into the moving water.
Almost instantly, the scent of lavender hit my nose. A few drops from the next bottle layered another scent on top of it—this one was sweet and warm, almost like vanilla, but with a spicy floral note.
The bubbling water was already starting to create suds, but Ary decided to help it along. She pushed her sleeves up to her elbows and reached into the bath, churning the water with her hands.
That’s when I saw the scars. They criss-crossed her skin from her wrists all the way up to where her sleeves were bunched around her elbows, and I suspected they went beyond that, too. Many had jagged edges.
What would cause marks like that?
She glanced up, and I quickly looked away, not wanting to be caught staring.
“It’s ready,” she said with her usual cheerfulness, rising. If she’d noticed me looking, she didn’t show it as she shook off her hands and rolled her sleeves back down.
“Thanks.” The surface of the water was now blanketed in fluffy, aromatic suds.
“Towel is here,” she said, pointing to another shelf. “And I assume you remember how to get back to your room when you’re done?”
