“No.” All the pain relievers that worked on shifters did so by incapacitating them, and he needed to keep his head right now. “Who ambushed us?”
“Odds are that it was the last group we were hunting,” she replied. “Especially given the way they knew to target Deyvid. Brannan is looking for evidence to back that up, of course.”
Even if he didn’t find it directly, Petur thought they were on the right track. “Mmm … you could …”
“Make you rest? Good idea,” Lise said dryly. “Let your body take what it needs to heal. We can handle everything else for now.”
He trusted that she could and drifted off into a light doze that made ignoring the pain of his injury easier. He floated there, ignoring the activity around him, until a touch to his shoulder brought him out of it instantly. Petur opened his eyes to see Deyvid crouched beside him, hand slightly raised like he’d thought he was being sneaky.
“Put it back,” Petur said sleepily. “I like when you touch me.”
Deyvid shook his head. “I should have known better than to try and slip anything by you.”
“Yes,” Petur agreed. “And I suggest you spare both of us when it comes to trying to say anything about what happened here tonight except, ‘Thank you, Petur,’ because I won’t accept any apologies.”
“Bold of you to think I was going to apologize.” They locked gazes for a moment before Deyvid admitted, “Fine, I was.”
Ha, now I have you where I want you.“Well, if you insist on making it up to me,” Petur said, “you can do so by coming back to Delomar with us.”
“Petur …”
“Not as some sort of charity case,” he emphasized, “and not just because I want you there. I want you to come back specifically for the purpose of training my people.”
Deyvid shook his head, but there was a little smile playing about his lips. “They don’t need my training.”
“Ha!” Petur laughed or tried to. The wound in his back was still aggravating enough, despite his advanced healing, that he couldn’t be quite as forceful as he wanted to be. “You can’t tell me that you haven’t been holding back a wince every time you watch us on horseback.”
“Well …”
“Not to mention you’re far better at the ‘creeping and sneaking around in human form’ kind of stuff.”
“You mean not blundering through the woods like an idiot? I suppose I am,” Deyvid mused.
“And don’t even try to pretend that you wouldn’t have plenty to say when it comes to the security,” Petur went on. “You worked as an assassin for your people, but I sincerely doubt that the only ones you assassinatedwereyour people.”
“So you’re basically asking for all of my secrets,” Deyvid said. “And what do I get in return?”
“My eternal love and devotion,” Petur replied immediately.
“Be honest with me.”
I am, he wanted to say, but it was too soon to say that to Deyvid. Petur felt it, though. He felt sure about it in a way that he’d never experienced before. This man—this strange, wonderful, dangerous man—was going to be a huge part of Petur’s future and, he hoped, a necessary part of his happiness. He’d never been so certain of something in his life.
“I can give you a home base,” he said instead. “A place you can always return to and where you won’t be turned away. I can’t replace your family, and I would never try, but you deserve better than wandering around making ends meet by handling Riyale’s problems for us. Let me take care of some problems for you. Please.”
Deyvid’s face was absolutely blank, terrifyingly so, in fact. Petur’s heart sank; he was losing him, he hadn’t made a good enough argument. How could he salvage this?
He opened his mouth to try again when Deyvid suddenly said, “Fine, but on a temporary basis only. I’m not going to stay where I’m not wanted.”
“Things will work out,” Petur assured him with a grin on his face as every muscle in his body seemed to relax. “I’ll speak to my sister about it, but I’m sure she’ll be fine with you. Besides, the training of the royal guards and our spy corps is under my purview and has been since before she was queen. I get the final say.”
“She rules the country,” Deyvid pointed out. “I expect that means she gets the final say ineverything.”
“You underestimate just how annoying I can be when there’s something I want,” Petur told him, and Deyvid burst into laughter.
“I certainly won’t underestimate you again.”
“See that you don’t,” Petur said, pure joy tugging up the corners of his mouth. His heart seemed as light as air in his chest, and in that moment, he knew that he had found something he was going to treasure for the rest of his life.
