“I do know you,” he said, tugging free the last bit of ribbon. “At your core, you are someone fiercely passionate, unyieldingly loyal, and inherently good-natured. Someone who has endured far more than she should have had to—and still persevered. You are relentless. Unbreakable.” His last word was whispered against my ear, “powerful.”
A shiver traveled down my spine, and my words left me. I turned to look at him, holding my dress and my last thread of willpower—the one keeping me mistrusting him in place. My head and heart were at odds, not knowing whether the Alandris standing in front of me now was the true Alandris, or was it the one who’d kidnapped me, threatened me, and entrapped me?
Would it be so bad to let myself trust him, only a little? I felt so helpless.
I looked up into his eyes, searching for the answers as though I’d find them there swimming in the blue of his irises, like tiny notes I could grab hold of—hiding all of his secrets. “Will you tell me why that man attacked me? Why? He knew you?”
I could see it in his eyes as he weighed his options, debating between honesty or lying, because I’d done it many times myself. “As much as I can. After.”
It wasn’t the answer I’d hoped for. It was a half-truth at best, but I clung to it, regardless. “Fine.”
I let my dress fall to my ankles and kicked it to the side, using my long hair to cover my bare chest as much as possible. The thought of standing near naked before him had not bothered me until he’d said all of those things. Now I was back rememberingthe dream I’d had, the one full of heated touches and tangled limbs—the one with him.
The sound of Alandris sucking his teeth brought me back to reality. “It’s bad.”
I looked down at the wound. It was not a lovely sight, but it wasn’t too deep, as I’d initially predicted. Depending on Alandris’ skills with a needle, the scar wouldn’t be too awful either. “It is not bad. Do you need me to do it?” I half hoped he’d say yes so I wouldn’t have to endure his hands on me. Because yes, even the thought of him stitching me with those hands had me flustered. I had serious issues, and all of them were his fault.
“I’ve got it,” he assured me. “I trained a bit in healing after...” He reached for something to sterilize the area, not finishing his train of thought.
Alandris worked in silence with a precision and expertise that was honestly impressive. He looked up at me often, constantly checking if I was in pain, but I’d experienced worse, and the drink was helping. He’d make a decent ship doctor if he ever decided to give up his life’s work at the Consortium and travel the seas. I snorted at the thought, and he glanced back up at me in confusion before finishing tying off the last stitch.
He stood from his knelt position and darted his eyes away from me. “I will go to the healer’s quarters and grab some poultices. I’ll grab you some clothes, as well. You can bathe while I’m gone. It will take me some time to return.”
“Here?” I turned towards his bathing room.
“Yes, here.”
“I don’t want to impose.”
“I believe we are beyond that, Nairu. I cleaned the scene of a murder for you.”
I didn’t have an argument against that fact, so I nodded in agreement and waited for him to leave the room, before I pulledoff the last measly scrap of fabric left on my body and tossed it to the side next to my dress.
I threw some oils I knew were good for healing into the hot water and stepped inside, scrubbing the blood from my body, carefully avoiding my fresh stitches. I soaked my hair in the water, letting the heat soothe my irritated scalp, where Rivel had damn near ripped a chunk of hair out. Wrinkled and weary from the steam, I stepped from the bath, wrapped myself in a nearby robe, and waited, knowing full well none of this was normal.
Alandris returned moments later, knocking on the door and awaiting my response before entering, as if he hadn’t just seen nearly every inch of me bare. Had he forgotten? I hadn’t.
“I brought you something to sleep in. You can take my bed for the night. It will be more comfortable than the cot in the spare room down the hall.” He set my clothes and a jar of ointment on his desk and turned to leave without another word.
“Wait!” I reached for his hand, stopping him. “You promised to explain things to me… after. It’s now after.”
He frowned. “It can wait until morning. You need rest.”
“I will toss and turn in wonder.” I forced him to face me, tugging his hand. “Please. I need to know why my life is in danger. I need to understand. I hate not knowing.”
“I know.” He sighed, running his hand down his jaw. “I am going to regret this without a doubt. Will never hear the end of it from Kaz and Zorinna. But fine. Sit. I will explain to the best of my ability.”
I obliged and sat on the couch at the side of the room, and he followed, sitting at the other end.
“It is true. I am a part of an organization called the Divine Council,” he began. “However, I joined them as a way of uncovering their secrets. I have no intention of helping them succeed in their goals. My plan is to keep tabs on them, to keep them focused elsewhere, away from the Consortium. It is easierto control their moves from within. There are some extremely influential players in their midst. Leaders from all over Lustria.”
“What are they after?”
“The abolition of all ungodly powers, other than their own Holy Goddess of Light—Alessiantha.”
I’d heard the name before. Alessiantha was a Goddess—once unknown—whose worship had recently begun spreading like wildfire through all the seedy undersides of Lustria. Her highly dedicated followers, though few, were incredibly powerful, that a council of leaders from across the realm led them made sense.
I pressed my lips together. “So, what—they want me dead because my people worship their own god?”
