“Leave, Seir.”
He threw his hands up. “Fine, I’m going. But what about food? Do you need any supplies?”
“If I do, I’ll use the scrying mirror.”
“And if there’s an emergency?”
“Mirror.”
“And what about?—”
“Mirror.” I shoved him toward the doorway, urgency drawing my demon to the surface. My wings snapped out wide, and my tail snaked out along the floor by my feet, tapping anxiously. My brother had the audacity to just grin.
“Ooh, it’s serious then. Put your fangs away, I’m leaving. See you in a few days, I guess. Good luck?” He leaped for the portal as I moved to push him again, gone before I could make contact.
I hurried down the hall, disabling or diverting every last doorway, which I’d never once done before. It was eerily quiet when I was finished, the ambient hums all silenced, the chorus of noises the portals made that gave the impression the hall breathed unusually quiet.
My next stop was the kitchen. I collected what seemed like enough food and drink for a couple of days and delivered that to my room. Phin’s bed was still missing sheets, but I could fix that if she preferred it over mine.
When I got back to her, she was calm but had turned so that her face was settled on an arm that was draped over the side of the tub, discomfort etched into her face.
“Do you want some of Greta’s elixir? I have some of the regular pain remedy I gave you after the visit to the glade as well.”
“Can I have both?”
I collected them and brought them to her, feeding her the liquids right there in the tub. I scolded myself for the response my body had to her lifting her slender neck and opening hermouth. I was nearly undone when she flattened her tongue to accept the elixirs.
“Do you want to stay in there?”
“Just a few more minutes.” She sounded drowsy, but it seemed more likely she was just overwhelmed.
“Whatever you need. Shall I wash your hair?” Her gentle nod gave way to her body curling into itself, her face pressed to her knees until the wave passed. “I’m sorry,” I apologized, wishing I could take on the pain for her. After rolling up my sleeves, I cupped my hands and used them to pour water over her short curls as she did her best to lounge in the tub. One at a time, I scrubbed in the shampoo, rinsed, then layered in some fancy floral-scented conditioning cream that she’d picked up when she went shopping with my sisters-in-law. Once she was rinsed again and had soaped herself clean, I helped her out of the water and wrapped her in a towel.
“Mine or yours?” I asked.
“Yours.”
I scooped her up against me and carried her to my room, setting her down, towel and all, right in the middle of the large mattress.
“Clothes?”
“Do you have another shirt I could wear?” she asked, her expression bordering on embarrassed.
“You’re welcome to anything of mine you like, Feather.” I dug around in my wardrobe again, unearthing another old, soft shirt for her. She pulled it on and began arranging the pillows and blankets.
“Phin?” She looked up at me, sweat dotting her brow despite how cool her bath had been.
“Yes?”
“I’m here to help you, but I need to know what you need. I’ve never done anything like this before.” The confession that hadscratched along the edges of my mind for days lingered at the back of my tongue. “The night in the tattoo room, that was… You are the only lover I’ve ever had.” My voice dropped to a whisper. “The only one I’ll ever have.”
“I’ve never done this part either.” She shuffled around. “That night, it wasn’t my first time, but it’s the only one that matters.”
I shoved down a flare of jealousy. It didn’t matter who owned that part of her past as long as I was her future. “Then we’ll learn together.”
“Okay.” Her face scrunched, and despite her efforts at disguising it, she groaned and curled up.
I felt helpless, standing there discussing steps and expectations when her body was causing her pain.
