He nodded, shooting me a wink. “It’s a shame, really. There’s a spark in you I like, Norah. I could have seen us doing well together. In fact, I could have sworn I felt a...” He shook his head and squeezed his fingers tight around the chair. “Nevermind that. Clearly, I was wrong. The Winter Court will be lucky to haveyou.”
I swallowed hard at the look in his eye. What had he been about to say? He’d felt...something. What? And he liked the spark he saw within me? Most people I’d met saw nothing in the world when they looked at me. The fact he’d seen something he liked, and a spark atthat...
I wanted to ask him to explain, but he clearly didn’t want to talk aboutit.
“So, do you think I should be reading up on the strengths of the Summerfae?”
His smile was so bright, it was almost blinding. “You’ve had a hard past few days. I’ll make it easy on you.” He leaned forward and whispered into my ear, sending a swarm of goosebumps storming down my neck. “Summer fae are known for their healingpowers.”
I pushed myself up higher on the pillows, wincing when a new blast of pain went through my leg. “Well, that would sure come in handy right about now.” A pause. “The nurse is a Summer fae, right? Why didn’t she heal me,then?”
“Technically,” he began as he shifted closer to the bed, “we’re not to use our healing gifts unless absolutely necessary. It can drain us, yousee.”
“Drain you how?” Iasked.
He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “It can make us tired and weak, particularly if the injury is serious. We then need time to recover, which isn’t ideal when we have foes to fight or academies torun.”
“Right.” I sighed and leaned back onto the pillows. “That makessense.”
He grinned and slid a hand onto the bed, resting it a mere inch from where my thighs were covered by the thin white sheet. “That said, I’m feeling inclined to help you, Norah. You’ve had a tough first week, and it’d be a shame for you to miss any of your classes. Why don’t you and I make a deal? I’ll heal your leg, and you can give me something inexchange.”
Both his words and the tone of his voice sounded full of danger. A flashing red light blazed in my head, blinking furiously in an attempt to stop me from making a very stupid move. Liam didn’t unnerve me as much as Rourke and Kael did, and he certainly hadn’t used me as bait or abandoned me on a cliff to face a Redcap on myown.
Yet.
He was his own kind of dangerous. One that I should probably run far, far awayfrom.
But this damnleg...
I winced at thepain.
And then I gave Liam a nod with my breath held tight in my throat. “Alright. What do you want inreturn?”
His smile widened. “Goodchoice.”
Before I knew what was happening, Liam slid his hand underneath the sheet. His fingers whispered across my bare thigh, tracing lazy circles around the bandages that had been wrapped around my wound. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t even blink. Blood roared in my ears as every single part of me focused on where his skin metmine.
“So, would you like me to heal you then?” he said in a teasing voice. “Or shall I remove myhand?”
My breath shuddered from my lungs. “Healing,please.”
It was all I could say, and even those words sounded strained and whispered, like the sound of the wind rattling through thetrees.
“Very well,” he murmured. He dragged his fingers from my skin and onto my bandage where he continued to caress my leg. I tensed at the expectation of pain, but none came. Instead, a soothing warmth flooded through me. It felt as though the sun had risen from behind the clouds, beating down on my skin as I soaked up the summer rays. My whole body felt alive and electric. Warm and soothed and free ofpain.
When he finally slid his hands out from under the covers, my chest was heaving. I could feel the imprint of his hand still on myskin.
“How are you feeling now, Norah?” he asked with a lazygrin.
“Yep.” I swallowed hard, cheeks flaming. “Pretty sure that fixedit.”
“Good.” He winked, leaned forward, and dropped his voice to a hush. “Now, if anyone asks, I wasn’t the one who healed you. You’re going to make sure I don’t get in trouble for helpingyou.”
I nodded my head vigorously and tried to find my voice. “I guess I owe you a favor or something, right? What do youwant?”
He chuckled. “I have an errand to run that requires a trip to the Autumn Court. I’d like you to accompany me, but you’ll need to pretend as though you’re mycompanion.”
“Your companion?” My face drained of all feeling, except for the heat that dotted my cheeks. “You mean you want me to pretend I’m your mate? But won’t they know I’m a new recruit at theschool?”
