Arrogant, infuriating, unfairly gorgeous.
The cuts looked minor, thank the goddess of compassion. A few slashes marred the bronzed skin of his arms, thin lines of crimson against muscle and sinew. One cut ran across his chest, just shallow enough to avoid real concern. Nothing that would need stitches, but enough to make my stomach tighten. He had been battling a horde of rebels and demons, and he was mostly unharmed. Was he even human?
“Sit down,” I said gruffly. “Those wounds need to be disinfected.” My voice was steady, but my insides weren’t.
I dipped a clean cloth in the hot bowl of water and herbs and started wiping the blood away. The air smelled of lavender.
“I saw you once, you know. Before. In the Arena during the Judgment. That was mercy killing, wasn’t it?”
His eyes closed, jaw tightened, grief washing over his face.
“I had no choice,” he whispered. “It was kinder than letting them be ripped apart by tygers. Any who do manage to survive being thrown to the tygers are tortured, then executed in secret.”
I nodded. “You did a good thing, Blake.”
“I’m never sure,” he sighed, but his lips turned up just barely. “But thank you, Rubi.”
Humming low under my breath, I cleansed another deep cut.
“You had a number of thundervein weapons that day. Now you’re walking around with one miserable blade while demons are loose?”
“Most of our thundervein has been sent to the troops that need it at the border. It’s incredibly rare. Mages need a powerful storm to channel the thunder for it and very few have the ability to forge it. And now our Anchor is leaking demons as well.” His voice was grim.
I did my best to keep my voice nonchalant. “Speaking of the royal family, why don’t you just marry Princess Malissa? You could rule then and make all the changes you wanted. Not to mention that she’s beautiful.”
He snorted, shaking his head. “Any king is bound by the Octagon and all these rusted rules as much as anyone else. No, the only option is to burn the whole system down. It’s too broken.”
“You would sacrifice all you have?” I asked, both voice and heart breaking for him. He was willing to give up all the luxury and power he’d been born into for what was right.
He nodded, eyes bleak. “There’s no future for me, Rubi.”
I said softly, “Well, you’re talking to a woman with no past, so I understand.”
Then he suddenly peeked up at me, that dimple flashing in his cheek. “And by the way, Malissa isn’t my type.”
I had nothing to say to that, feeling a blush rush up my neck.
My hands pressed gently into the muscles of his bicep and forearm as I finished my work on his right side. He was breathing more slowly now, almost as if he were under a spell.
I focused on the wounds, dabbing ointment carefully onto the cleaned skin. His body was warm under my fingertips, the heat of him rising up into the small space between us. His skin was impossibly smooth, like polished stone, every muscle drawn tight beneath it.
The ointment had a sharp, sweet scent, almost addictive. Icaught myself leaning closer, breathing it in without meaning to. Or maybe it was him. Something about his scent that was making my heartbeat faster. Making the air feel thicker and charged.
“Are any of these bites?” I asked softly, looking over the left side of his body. My neck itched, a reminder of what lay beneath my hair. “Do you know if these demons are poisonous?”
Blake didn’t answer right away. His eyes were half closed, his breathing steady.
“Blake?”
He blinked and shook his head. “The Thirst demons aren’t, as far as we know. But no one’s been able to stop them once they latch on.”
Except for me.
I bit my lip and tried to keep the worry off my face.
Blake’s eyes sharpened, suddenly wide awake, before locking onto the side of my neck. His entire body went still. “Youwere bitten.”
Before I could react, he was on his feet, hands gripping my shoulders as he pushed me firmly down into the chair again. The sudden shift left me breathless.
