I looked around the small space. “We did not get very far.”
“Not yet,” she said with a grin. “And we escaped from a guarded prison, which I honestly didn’t think we could do.”
“You didn’t?”
She shook her head. “Nope. There were a million things that could have gone wrong. Some of them did, but we’re still here and we haven’t been found yet.”
“Now we must get through the city without being spotted and find a way off the planet so we can warn the Vandar not to fly into the Zagrath trap.”
“Once you’re in better shape.” She arranged the supplies on the floor next to the wall, pulled the door shut to close us in, and jerked her head toward the bed. “And that means you need to take the bed and sleep.”
“I am fine on the floor.”
She huffed out a breath. “This again? You gave me the bench in the cell. This time, you get the bed. Besides, you’re injured and in no state to argue with me.”
The thought of her sleeping on the hard floor made me scowl. “I am in every state to argue.”
Now she laughed. “You really are night season mad, you know that?” She hooked one arm under mine and heaved. “If you like, we can continue arguing once you’re in bed.”
She was right that I was too weak to put up much of a fight, as loath as I was to admit it. And the bed felt better than the floor. Once she’d gingerly lifted my leg so that it was slightly elevated on the bottom bed post, the throbbing in my thigh became barely noticeable.
I shifted myself as close to the wall as I could, grabbing her arm before she could pull away. “Thank you for risking yourself for me. Truly. You did not have to do what you did to save me.”
She met my eyes, her own softening. “Yes, I did. We’re in this together, and you would have done the same for me.”
That was true. I pulled her closer. “But now that you have returned safely, I am not letting you go again.”
Chapter
Twenty-Four
Skye
My heart tripped in my chest. His grip on my arm was gentle, but his dark eyes were molten.
It would be so easy to fall for the hot Vandar. He was, after all, tall and muscular with handsome features and enough scruff and long, untamed hair to make my pulse flutter. But he was also injured and not totally aware of who he was. Sure, he was remembering bits and pieces, but so far, he hadn’t recalled that he hadn’t been my biggest fan at first. The first version of Kolt barely tolerated me because I was a human female.
I pulled my arm from his grasp. “I’m fine. Venturing into the theatre wasn’t dangerous, and the footsteps I thought might be Zagrath were only theatre people. Now that you aren’t losing blood or at risk of infection, you need to sleep.”
Emphasis on sleep.
I stepped deftly away from him and reached up for the light pull.
“Stop.” Kolt sat up on one elbow, his expression pleading. “I won’t be able to sleep knowing you’re on the floor. In fact, I will refuse.”
This made me laugh despite my irritation. “You’ll refuse?”
Even now, exhaustion radiated from him. The injury and escape had drained him, not to mention being literally depleted of blood. I suspected he wouldn’t be able to stay awake if he did try.
He lifted his chin. “I will. But I also promise not to make any advances on you.” He held up a flat pillow. “I will even put this between us.”
Ah, a pillow wall. Made of a single, flimsy pillow. Impressive protection indeed. But from the looks of Kolt, he would be asleep before he could even contemplate making a move on me. And for some crazy reason, I believed his promise. I wouldn’t have believed the old Kolt, but I believed this one. Also, it would save me time and breath to agree and then slip out of bed as soon as he was asleep.
“Fine,” I said. “Scoot.”
He gaped at me for a beat, clearly shocked that I’d agreed so quickly.
“You had more convincing arguments?” I asked, smirking at him.
