“You’re good on this side.” Orelia crawled over his lap and started near the tip of his left wing. Vade winced but didn’t complain as he watched her hands.
“If you hadn’t killed the eagle, I probably wouldn’t even have wings left,” he said. “Fucker got me good.”
“Honestly, I’m surprised I landed the hit. I didn’t think, I just acted.”
Vade grinned, and the sight was far too tantalizing. “The lamb is slowly becoming a wolf. I’m so proud.”
She moved closer to him, working on closing the largest tear in the middle of his wing. “You’re the wolf, fae. The wolf who would have been dead if not for the lamb.”
He chuckled. “Fair enough.” His brows bunched as he looked around. “Where is Bute?”
That was the first time he’d used his name instead of calling him ‘that damn frog’ or something of the sort.
“I left him at the temple. Thought he’d like it there.”
Vade looked surprised. “Didn’t think you were ever going to give him up.”
She made her way to where his wing attached to his shoulder blade. “Had to let him go eventually, and what better place than a druidic temple built on caring for nature?”
He nodded, carefully looking her over. “I didn’t mean to be such an ass in Dorsey. I just couldn’t believe we came all this way and didn’t get a solution.”
Orelia focused on healing his last tear. “I get that you don’t want to be tied to me, but you didn’t have to be so cruel in your ire.”
Vade was quiet for a few moments. “It’s not your company I hate, it’s . . .” His voice trailed off.
Her glow disappeared as the final wound sealed, and Orelia sat back on her heels. “It’s what?”
He let out a long breath. “I don’t mind paying for my sins. I made my choices in life. But I don’t want someone else to be at risk because of the path I’ve chosen.”
“I’m the one that put us in this position, so technically, you’re paying formysins,” she said, surprised by his concern.
“What you did wasn’t a sin.” Vade surveyed both wings, seeming satisfied with her work. “You did good, witch.”
She blushed. “Thanks.”
He went to push up off the ground and winced, sitting back down, eyes going to a blood-soaked section of his pants near his groin that blended in with his dark leathers. “Must have snagged it on something when that damned bird was dragging us,” he said.
“Is it okay if I put my hand on your thigh to heal it?”
“You’re asking permission now after you already did my wings?”
“Well, the wound is near a private area, so I wanted to make sure you were okay with it. I always ask the girls back home before I heal them in intimate places.”
His brows furrowed. “Why? If they’re coming to you, they already know you’re going to touch them.”
His words dredged up the sorrow she was so used to experiencing while healing the pain of others. “They don’t get a say in who touches them, or where. I like to give them the opportunity to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ because no one else will.”
The line between his brows disappeared, his face softening. “Go ahead.”
She covered the length of the bleeding cut and called on her light.
He watched her glowing hands with something like admiration. “It’s very noble of you to offer the people you help a choice first.”
“It’s not noble. It’s just the right thing to do.”
Vade nodded like he understood, but aside from their current binding, he would never truly understand what it was like not to have a say in what happened to his own body.
When she was done, Orelia turned her attention to the cut above his right eyebrow and the longer one on his cheek. “May I heal these two on your face?”
