“Lora and I were having a riveting conversation about your honest intentions.”
“What now?” Eyden asked, eyebrows raised in curiosity.
Elyssa glanced at Lora. “It can wait. I’m gonna go have a shower.” She picked up a pile of clothes, then scampered off to somewhere Lora couldn’t see before the door flap fell back into place.
“Okay, then,” Eyden said as he moved to kneel next to the couch. “I got this healing paste. It doesn’t work for…”
“Viruses,” Lora concluded. Heavy unspoken words hung between them.
Eyden sighed quietly. “No, it doesn’t. But it will help with bruises and such.”
“Like scraped knees?”
“Yes, for example. Can I see your head wound?”
Lora nodded and turned to her side to give Eyden better access to the back of her head. Since she had woken up, her wound hadn’t been bothering her as much anymore.
She felt his fingers move her hair, stiff with blood, out of the way to reveal the spot where her head had hit the wall.
“It’s not as bad as I feared,” Eyden said as he gently applied something to the wound. It felt cool on her skin and she instantly felt lighter.
“What about your wound?” Lora asked, remembering the attack in the alley.
Eyden moved away and Lora sat up so she could look at him and keep herself from leaning against the cushions. “I heal fast. Don’t worry about me.”
He removed the already warmed ice pack from her ankle. “That was a good idea, by the way. The WiFi cube. Saved me from convincing El not to run off unprepared.”
Lora mock gasped. “Did you just admit I’m smart? Again?”
Eyden laughed and the sound filled the emptiness in her heart, temporarily washing away the sadness she’d been carrying for the last day. Or longer. “I never admitted such a thing. All I said was the idea didn’t suck.”
“No, you said it was good,” Lora corrected.
“Even with a head wound, nothing much escapes you,” Eyden replied, the start of a grin lifting the corner of his mouth. He applied gel to her swollen ankle. The pressure hurt but not like it had felt earlier.
“I’m keeping count of your compliments,” Lora said before a yawn escaped her and her head fell against the cushion again.
Eyden started to back away. “The medicine will make you really tired. You should rest.”
“Wait. I have so many questions,” Lora mumbled even as her eyes fell closed.
“We’ll have time to talk tomorrow.”
She assumed he’d left her, but when she heard Eyden’s voice again, he was still close by. “I’m glad you’re okay, special one. You can take that as a compliment.”
Chapter36
Amira
The morning had been slow. For once, no one had come to snatch Amira away from her room. She had stayed in to finish reading her book. The ending was a bit disappointing, but there was a sequel.
As she put the novel aside, she wondered if Rhay had the second book. If he didn’t, maybe she could convince him to buy it for her at the black market.
As the sun stood high in the sky, she decided to go see Rhay to talk about the book. She was a bit unsure about how he’d react given what had happened the night before. Due to Rhay’s strong cocktails, her memory of the evening was incomplete, but the fragments she had were pretty embarrassing. She couldn’t believe that she had mentioned her past love to Rhay. Hopefully, he had been as drunk as her last night and wouldn’t remember much either.
After a few moments of hesitation, Amira opened her door, leaving the peaceful room.
A flaw in her plan quickly appeared. The palace was huge and she still had no idea where Rhay’s room was. She wandered around the palace, trying to find a servant to ask for directions. But the corridors were deceptively empty. She was ready to give up when she encountered Nouis, a heavy pile of documents in his hands.
