“How long you can be conscious before rattling off more incessant questions. It seems the answer is less than five minutes.” He crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair. It creaked beneath his weight.
That only made me flush even more. Clearly, he hadn’t noticed me the way I’d noticed him. But then again, I was drowning in a sea of blankets and pillows, my hair all askew. And he was…well, he was half-naked.
“You are so rude,” I shot back.
“Am I really the rude one in this situation?” Grinning, he stood from the chair and leaned against the bedpost, staring down at me through half-lidded eyes. “Because last I checked, I rescued you, bandaged your wound, and fed you herbs in your sleep so that you might quickly heal.”
My jaw dropped open. “Youbandaged my wound? Not one of your little friends?”
“My ‘little friends’ have been busy fortifying the castle for the impending attack.”
Alarm rattled in my chest. I sat a little higher on the bed, frowning up at Yuto. “What do you mean the impending attack?”
He sighed, motioning at the chair. “It’s a long story, and I believe it’s time I filled you in, as long as you agree to listen without comment.”
I mashed my lips together. Listenwithoutcomment? He was kidding, right?
“Well?” he asked.
It seemed I didn’t have a choice.
Rolling my eyes, I gave a slight nod. “Fine. I don’t want to talk anyway. My throat hurts.”
With a victorious smile, Yuto settled back into the chair. It shuddered beneath him as he leaned back and propped an ankle on his knee. The thin material of his tunic strained against his biceps, highlighting the chiseled curve of his muscles. I swallowed hard, glancing away.
I really needed to get a handle on myself. I’d never been so easily distracted by a dumb male before. Of course, none of the men I’d ever met back in Eretia had ever looked, smelled, or acted like Yuto. He demanded attention in everything he said and did. My eyes flicked back to his biceps.
And then I shook my head at myself.
Stop it, Aradia. He’s the enemy. Heabductedyou.
What exactly was in that herbal remedy he gave me? Some kind of mind-altering substance, obviously.
Yuto cleared his throat. At some point, he’d begun speaking, and I hadn’t even noticed. “Did you hear what I said? The male you met in the forest, the one who attacked you, his name is Panos. He’s a prisoner of Inishfall, sent here long ago by the fae of Tir Na Nog.”
“A prisoner like you.”
He gave me a dark look. “You agreed to listen without comment. It took you less than a minute to break that promise. Shall I go now?”
He made a move to stand, but I quickly grabbed his arm to stop him. “Sorry. Old habits die hard…I won’t interrupt you again.”
Only because I was desperate to know more about this Panos creature.
“Hmm.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “As I was saying, the fae sent him here as a prisoner. His sentence has no end, and he has no hope of ever leaving Inishfall. He’s to be a prisoner for life here. As he’s immortal…well, Inishfall is his home for eternity.”
Unless he finds a mortal who can take him through, I finished the sentence for him, albeit only in my own mind. If I spoke up again, I didn’t doubt he’d angrily storm out without telling me a damn thing.
“So, you likely have an idea of why he was eager to get his hands on you?” Yuto asked.
I nodded.
“Well, you’d be wrong.” At that, he leaned over, elbows on knees, eyes locked on mine. “Panos was sentenced to life in Inishfall because he is a cannibal.”
I blinked, and then a shiver stormed down my spine. A million words threatened to spill from my lips, but I kept them pressed shut. A cannibal? So, when he’d bit me, he’dactuallyplanned on eating me? My stomach roiled as my heart raged in fear. This explained all the bodies, all the chunks taken from their skin.
And he was still out there. He’d escaped.
From the sound of it, he planned to come here.
