Yet he seems calmer and happier than he has since Lanlin carried him back to our Blood nest last night, a bloody fucking mess, so I don’t want to disturb him.
I smile, softly.
Only my Bandit King could open his exhausted eyes, as Lanlin pretended not to panic while rushing to grab water, cloth, and bandages (keeping up the pretense that he didn’t care), and brighten when he saw me.
Daire grabbed my hand, rasping through his blood-stained teeth, “Missed you, love. Do you like my bad boy look?”
“You looked fucked up.” I frowned.
The half of Daire’s face that could be seen under the mask was a bruised mess. His lips and jaw were pulverized. His right palm and the soles of his feet were cut to ribbons.
It worried me that his wrists were ringed with bruises like he’d been held down.
Did Sobek do that?Or Lanlin?
Daire tried to smirk, which pulled on his busted lip.
He hissed with pain, as his lip started to trickle blood again. “Pfft, you should see the other guy.”
“I believe that it wasmewho beat Sobek until he choked on his own poisonous blood for daring to lay his hands — and fangs — on my Blood Lover.” Lanlin’s face was inscrutable.
He passed me a wet cloth.
He was hovering, pushing the bedding over Daire but keeping his distance.
I glanced between them but then back at the savage bite on Daire’s neck. “Yourfangs only bit with permission, right? Otherwise, I’ll cut off your balls with my new Night Sky Blade.”
Lanlin looked far more delighted than I would have expected from that threat. “You are learning, dearheart, how to be the perfect Shadow Vampire Queen. If I ever bite either of you without consent, then please do castrate me. I gave you that weapon to keep you safe.”
Huh, I never thought any man would ask for castration.
I guess everyone has their kink.
I bit my lip, carefully running the cloth through the blood that stained Daire’s beautiful white feathers red.
I leaned closer, inspecting him for injuries.
Where was all the blood coming from?
“It’s not mine,” Daire said, softly. “It’s Antler’s.”
Confused, I glanced at him.
Daire was no longer looking at me. His eyes were misted with tears.
He turned to the side, dragging the blankets over himself.
“Dove’s friend,” Lanlin explained, climbing onto the bed and simply lying next to Daire but not touching him. “He died in the Hunt.”
My heart hurt.
I lay down next to Daire on the other side, not caring that blood and dirt was staining my dress. Daire and I could bathe properly in the morning.
We needed to sleep. But we needed time alone to talk more.
I didn’t expect that Lanlin would understand that. Yet he hadn’t slept. Instead, he’d fetched fresh linen robes for Daire and me, which he’d silently laid on the end of the bed.
He hadn’t been in our nest, when we had awoken in the afternoon. He’d given us the space that we’d needed. But I discovered a tray next to the clothes with a beautifully arranged breakfast of round barley loaves, sweet dates, sticky figs, and grapes, along with a single blue lotus flower.
