“Don’t, Seri.” Cas’ tone was icy, and I frowned at him in warning. “Don’t lie about an injury.”
“Remember what I said?” Zane chimed in as he wrestled with Brumous. “First rule of wound care, no suffering in silence. You’re never gonna get a gold star at this rate, sunshine.”
Her bottom lip rolled out in a pout. Not because she wanted a gold star, but because she thought she’ddisappointedhim.
I shot him a glare, and he sighed as he stood and helped her lie down as a silent apology. After rolling up her pant leg, though, he retreated to the far corner of the room, Brumous attached to his hip.
Guy could tuck his own intestines back in and sew himself together, had once splinted a compound fracture in his leg withfrozen fishand went right back to laying down cover fire as it healed, but seeing our girl in pain?
That gutted him.
Hell, it guttedallof us.
“How did it happen, baby?” I set her papa’s fishing reel on the dresser near the shrine Cas had built from the rest of his things. “And when? Was it recently?”
“When I got here,” she hedged, twisting her fingers into knots that hurt my soul.
Sitting next to her on the bed, I stroked the back of my knuckles down her cheek, drawing her attention to me.
“Did you try to run from your stepsisters?” I guessed, knowing she had before she even nodded.
“Without my magic, I had no defense,” she mumbled. “I thought if I could make it to the house, I could lock them out.”
The rage that filled the room emanated from three predators whose fangs dropped instantly, mercilessly stabbing our own tongues.
Then Cas’ fingers skimmed over her swollen ankle, and she flinched. Not much. Just a tiny hitch in her breath, but I caught it. I caughteverything.
“Relax, Seri,” Cas murmured, his tone more clinical than comforting. “I don’t bite.”
Liar.
I forced my fists to unclench, keeping my breathing slow, even. She’d twisted her ankle trying tosurvive, and now she had to endure Cas poking at it like a damn science experiment.
“You’re hurting her,” I said, my voice coming out rougher than I intended.
He didn’t even look at me.
“I have to,” he replied. “I need to know how bad it is before I fix it.”
Seri’s lips pressed together like she was trying not to make a sound, but I saw the way she curled her fingers into the blanket. She didn’t want to be a burden.
Didn’t want tobotherus.
Zane, once more sprawled on the floor beside Brumous, sent a glance our way before flicking a strip of leather into the air. Remnants of an old dagger sheath, by the looks of it. The pup pounced, ears flopping, paws too big for his body, and gnawed happily.
“Maybe let her heal first before you start poking at her?” he suggested, and I found myself nodding along.
“You mean, let it swell worse? Yeah,greatplan.” Cas turned back to Seri. “Tell me if this hurts—”
She let out a sharp breath when he pressed down.
I exhaled slowly through my nose, forcing my shoulders to stay relaxed. I looked around for something,anything, to distract her and spotted a volume of Rumi’s poetry amid the thick volumes of imperial Russian history on her bookshelf.
Perfect.
“Dislocated.” Cas went into doctor mode again. “This will be painful, Seri.”
“Beloved,” I murmured, “focus on me. Listen to my voice.”
