Lucenna held onto his hips so she could inspect the wound better. It seemed deep. Tearing off her sleeve, she pressed the cloth against it. “Hold here. Apply pressure.” Picking up the bloody stick again, she frowned at it. “It’s bigger than I expected.”
“Thank you.” He smirked down at her. “I am pleased to exceed your expectations.”
Lucenna then realized her face was inches from his groin. Groaning with disgust, she tossed the stick at him, and it bounced off his head.
“Ow.” He sat back on the boulder.
“Another word, and you will reach the bottom of this mountain quicker than it took you to climb it.”
Klyde rubbed the pink welt on his forehead. “That is what I like about you, lass. Your boundless sense of empathy.”
She threw the stick into the fire. “That thing was about eight inches long and at least half of them were inside of you.”
He snickered.
“This is a serious matter, Klyde.” Lucenna punched his arm, and he ducked for cover, still snickering. “Can you stop enjoying this so much? Why are you laughing?”
“Because I find you rather adorable when you’re cross with me.”
Lucenna rolled her eyes. “Well, let’s get on with this. I will be beyond cross if we are caught without the escort before we ever reach Evos.”
Klyde drew back the bloodied cloth and Lucenna’s stomach roiled again at the sight of the dark hole in his leg. Blood steadily leaked out.
“I don’t know where to start.”
“I’ll hold here.” He pushed the skin around the wound together, forcing it shut. More blood and other substances spewed out. “You seal it with a bit of fire and give me a new scar. Simple.”
She balked. Why was this so difficult? Looking at the wound, it made her sick … and angry.
“You need a distraction, lass. Talk to me. Tell me about your mother.”
“What? Why her?”
Klyde canted his head. “She’s part of what made you. To know her is to know you.”
That knocked the breath out of Lucenna, and she stood, moving back. “No, we’re not doing this.”
“Do what?”
“I won’t tell you my sad story simply because you told me yours,” she snapped. “I don’t need a shoulder to cry on, and I certainly don’t need a man to jump to my aid every time I’m in danger.”
He stared at her for a moment, and his mouth thinned. “If I didn’t jump after you, you would have drowned, Lucenna. You can’t swim, need I remind you. Are you that confident in your magic?”
“I am confident in myself! I would have made it out. Now you have this horrid hole in you because you cannot cease to play the gallant knight.”
Klyde’s chest expanded with a heavy sigh, and he applied the cloth over his wound again. “I thought we discussed this already. It’s all right to need help.”
She clenched her teeth. “I don’tneedanyone.”
He fell quiet for a long moment, his deep blue eyes observing her, seeing through her glare, throughher. Always understanding more than she wanted him to.
“It’s not that you don’t need them,” he murmured. “You’re afraid to need them.” Lucenna froze, her chest shaking. “Because the people you relied on let you down?”
Her fists clenched. “No...”
“Then why?”
Lucenna looked away from him to the fire. She stared into the flames until the heat dried her misted eyes. “Everyone who has ever helped me …”
