“I don’t want to rush you, but it would be good for us to know if the cut has fully healed.”
Cut.Such a simple little word for what it was. Andromeda had sliced my neck open. I’d lost so much blood so fast that it had killed me almost instantly. There were no more games, no more trials and tests. She’d ripped away my life without hesitation.
Kalen frowned at the look on my face. “It’s all right. It can wait.”
I gripped his hand. “No. We need to know, so you can get back to being king.”
He sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. “That can wait.”
“No, it can’t. Your people—and mine—need someone to lead them through whatever comes next. Andromeda insisted she didn’t care about the fae. Destroying them is not her main goal. The humans are. Talaven is. But there are humans here, too. And when she and the others have finished with Talaven, they’ll turn their sights on the humans here. They’ll come back.”
Kalen didn’t need to tell me the gods had vanished after Andromeda had killed me. I could feel it in my gut. They’d gotten what they came here for, and now they’d moved on. They had all their gemstones. Their greatest threat was gone. Nothing could stand in their way now. They would take their fight to Talaven.
“Tessa,” Kalen said with a sigh. “You need to focus on healing, not everyone else.”
“Just help me check my throat. That’s all I’m asking.”
He nodded. With gentle fingers, he carefully unwound the bandage from my neck. As he pulled it away, I saw silver crescent moons embroidered on the blood-drenched fabric. It was then I realized I was still in my fighting leathers, but the cloak was gone.
“Your cloak,” I whispered, staring at the ruined material.
“It was all we had to staunch the bleeding, although it was too late for that. I’m afraid the cloak is ruined. I’ll find someone to make you another.”
It pained me, saying goodbye to that cloak. To some, it might seem like any other garment, a way to keep me warm or hidden amongst the shadows if I didn’t want to be seen. And it had done both of those things. But it was so much more than that, too. That cloak had been the first thing Kalen had ever given me. I’d carried it with me from the beginning. And now it was gone.
“Does this hurt?” He paused, noting the pain in my eyes.
“No, I just…well, I very much liked that cloak. It felt like you.”
Half-smiling, he pulled the rest of the fabric away from my skin. When he saw my wound, he sighed, sagging against the chair in relief. “It’s practically healed. You still have a scar, but the wound has closed completely.”
I carefully touched my neck. Pain hissed through me, though it was nothing compared to before.
Kalen frowned. “Would you like me to wrap it back up again?”
“What I would really like is a bath, some dry clothes, and a moment in bed with my husband.” I winked at him.
“Tessa,” he said.
“I’m fine.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t.” I reached up and wrapped my hand around the front of his leathers, tugging him toward me. “Want me to heal? Take me to bed. I need you to make me forget what happened.”
Forty
Tessa
Islept while the others prepared my bath. Nellie came in a few times to fuss over me between showing Kalen our tub and explaining to him how we heated the lake water in the hearth. It would take a while for them to prepare it for me, but I was content to wait. As eager as I was to get out of this bed, I still needed time to heal.
When Kalen returned to my side hours later, he threw back the covers and lifted me into his arms. He smelled like firewood and smoke, and a muddy, briny scent clung to his leathers.
“Have you been fishing at the lake?” I asked as he carried me down the hallway.
“Yes. I fished while Nellie and Fenella took care of the water buckets for your bath. Toryn went up the hill to Albyria to check on things, and Gaven stood watch by your door.”
“Gaven stood watch?”
