“You were careless.”
“I was outnumbered.”
“I’ve been outnumbered plenty of times. If—”
“If you’re just here to insult me, feel free to leave.” Talon didn’t mean the words, nor did he mean the bite behind them. He was just so tired. Tired of all the bullshit headed their way. Tired of longing for this female when she clearly held no feelings for him. Maybe Arianna was right. Maybe the bondwasa cage.
Raevina didn’t move. Talon ran a hand through his hair. “Why are you here?”
She remained silent for a long while before finally admitting, “I don’t know.”
He glanced over, studying the female. Raevina was someone who always knew what she wanted. She always had a direction. She never second-guessed herself. But he saw the difference in her now. The tension in her jaw and shoulders. The way she’d shifted her arms and cradled one elbow.
Talon walked past her, grabbed a cloth from the table, and wrapped it around his injured hand before pouring amber liquid into two separate glasses. He offered her one. She eyed his bandaged palm before accepting and downing the contents with nothing more than a slight grimace. Talon promptly refilled it.
“Can’t you use a rune to fix that?” she asked, gesturing to the white cloth that was already turning red.
“Probably.” He sipped from his glass.
“Why don’t you?”
“I thought you didn’t like runes.” He still didn’t know how she felt about his Weaver blood. It wasn’t as though Fiadh hid their disgust of humans and half-breeds. Maybe a half-breed was all he was to her now.
“Indulge me.”
Talon paused, then slowly set his glass to the side before removing the cloth. Glass shards were still embedded in his palm. He sighed, stepped around her, then plopped onto the sofa. Damn his carelessness.
Raevina headed for the bathroom. The doors banged open, and she returned moments later with a little metal object in her hands. Talon nearly forgot how to breathe when she knelt before him. Raevina didn’t bother asking before she took his palm. She leaned her body against his leg, then began pulling out each piece of glass with surgical precision.
His heart rate spiked. His lungs forgot how to function. She was far more intoxicating than the strongest of alcohols. The warmth sinking through his clothes was electrifying. She couldn’t have chosen a worse night to care for him. Raevina was … caring for him. She kept pulling out the shards and setting them on the table behind her. Each movement sent another surge of adrenaline through his body.
“You should really clean this up before you get them in your foot, too.”
Talon glanced down to the glass pieces spread across the rug, each glittering in the candlelight. The world stilled while she worked.
Raevina sat back once finished, still on her knees. “Now close it.”
Talon’s throat bobbed. He leaned forward, and using his own blood, drew a rune across the deep cuts. His skin itched terribly, just like it did whenever Arianna healed him. Talon watched as the largest gash closed, but the skin had barely knit itself together. A single movement would have it tearing all over again.
“Again,” Raevina said.
Talon obeyed, his attention solely on her now.
“Again,” she commanded.
Talon drew another, studying the emotion swimming in her eyes. Where was her mind? What was she imagining in this moment?
Silence followed. Both sat there, unmoving. Pink lines covered Talon’s palm. He’d be able to hold a weapon tomorrow.
“I thought you liked to be alone before a battle,” he whispered.
“There’s still plenty of time.” More silence. Her fingertips grazed his palm, running over the pink lines. “I prepare by imagining the upcoming fight. I focus on how my enemies move, what decisions they’ll make, and how I can counter them and emerge victorious.”
“So what’s different tonight?”
A mirthless laugh escaped that had Talon’s heart aching. “I can’t find our victory.”
“Neither can I.”
