“Then keep them to yourself and off my mate.”
I whirl around to face him. “And don’t you start that mate stuff with me. You know as well as I do that you want nothing to do with any of that. So don’t bother pretending now just because another male looked in my direction.”
I stride right past him, more than ready to end this incredibly long day and get some sleep. I jog up the stairs and make my way to the room I share with Auri. She’s sitting on the edge of the bed. “Hey, you okay? What are you doing?” There’s a knock on the door. “Come in,” I call out over my shoulder from where I’m kneeling in front of Auri. The door opens, and Rauk steps into the room, suddenly making it feel much smaller. I lift my eyebrows. “Did you need something?” I ask pointedly.
“I’m just here to help her get ready for bed.”
“Harper can do it,” Auri says, surprising me. “Right?” she asks me.
“Of course.” I glance over at him. “I’ve got it.”
He frowns. “What about lifting her in and out of the tub?”
“Harper can do it,” Auri says easily.
I smile up at her. “Yeah.” When I look back at Rauk, he looks between the two of us. “We’ve got it.” I work at keeping the smile on my face when in reality, I am exhausted. But I don’t dare let Auri know.
“Okay, but I’ll carry you to and from the bathroom,” Rauk says to Auri. His voice is gentle but with a hint of authority, and it takes me by surprise. It always does; I don’t think I’ll ever getused to how he treats his sister and Elowen for that matter. I don’t argue with him because I’m secretly glad for the help.
“All right. Let me get the water started.” I make my way into the bathroom and get everything set out that we’re going to need. Then the door to the bathroom opens, and Rauk strides inside carrying Auri. I stand up to make room for him, but it’s incredibly small with his large frame in here now. He carefully sets Auri on the side of the tub.
“All right. I’m out; let me know when you need me again.” He says the words to me, and I nod. I make quick work of getting Auri undressed and putting a towel over her and then proceed to try to get her into the tub. It's a lot wetter than the last time. I end up getting soaked, but she gets a good laugh out of that. So, I’ll take it. After she finishes washing her body and hair and rinses, it’s time to get her back out. I lean over to get her, but I just can’t get a good grip on her. I don’t know if it’s because I’m tired, but I just can’t do it and I don’t want to do something awful like drop her.
“Hey, Rauk, are you still out there?” I call out.
There’s a knock on the bathroom door a moment later. “You good?”
“Can you help us?” I hate asking, but I just can’t do it tonight. I make sure the towel covers Auri as Rauk opens the door and steps into the bathroom. He walks over to us. “Do you want a towel so you don’t get all wet?” I ask.
“I’m fine.” He bends over and picks up Auri as if she’s as light as a feather.
“Show off,” I mutter, annoyed at my own weakness. He carriesher over to the bed and I put the extra towel on the bed so he can set her down.
“Now leave,” she tells him promptly.
He turns and looks at me. I shrug and point to the door. He disappears, and I go to work getting her ready for bed. Once she’s in her nightclothes and her hair is braided, I help her get settled in the bed for the night. “What did you think about Solace and Shade?” I ask as I sit next to her on the bed.
Her face lights up. “They’re wonderful. That was so incredible.”
“They’re pretty special; I’m really glad you got to meet them and spend time with them. We’ll have to tell Farrah tomorrow. Tonight, you have to sleep.”
I start to stand up, but she puts her hand on mine, stopping me. “Did you really go fight guivres today?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I stare down at her as I try to put my thoughts into words. “I guess because my friend lives in the Jaguar Kingdom, and they’re being overrun by guivres. And since Red can kill guivres, I thought why not?”
Her eyes stay on me. “Weren’t you scared?”
I don’t hesitate to answer honestly. “Yes, but being scared can’t stop us from doing what we know is right or from what we really want to do.” She stares at me so intently, I can almost see the gears turning in her head. “What are you thinking?”
“There’s something I really want to do, but I’m scared,” she finally admits.
“Being scared isn’t a bad thing; it’s what makes us human.” I watch her curiously. “What is it you want to do? Is it something you can tell me?”
She stares at me with those big, dark eyes that are so somber, just like her older brother’s. She seems to make up her mind because she gives me a tiny nod. “I want to walk.”
