He looks at me through his thick lashes. “Sometimes I wish I could just snatch you away. We could run away together and forget all about this curse-breaking business. Is that terrible?”
“No.” I shake my head slowly, studying his features. “You wouldn’t be able to live with yourself, though. Knowing the solution was within your grasp and you just… ran away. Every shifter that died too early, every species that continued to suffer or go extinct, your mom and your sister…”
He nods his head, a somber look crossing his face. “Could you?”
“What?”
“Live with yourself.”
“No.”
“I know,” he whispers. “Get some more rest, okay? I’ll be here. I promise.”
Chapter 64
Four days have passed, and I’m finally starting to feel almost back to normal again. After another afternoon of sleeping at the healer’s, we had to move. I woke that evening to Daegan seated beside me as usual. He was asleep at first, slumped in his same chair, and I watched him quietly for a while, careful not to move or make a sound. He needed that rest. He was already tired before I got stabbed, and I assumed he didn’t sleep much while he sat at my side for two days either.
Once I could stay awake and move around more, we realized it was best to leave. Stay on the move. I finally met the healer on the way out, and I thanked him profusely. All the times he tended to me I had been asleep, I guess. He was a small, fragile elf with kind eyes, and he lived alone. He told me a tale of his late wife who was his entire world. They never had any children. It didn’t take me long to decide that I trusted him.
We found a rundown, shabby place to stay that seemed as secluded as we could hope for. The male elf running it only had eyes for our coin, barely paying us any mind.
We’ve all been getting antsy, though. Well, except for Daegan. He insists I need to rest some more, but I’m tired of lying in bed while he waits on me all day and night. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a dream getting to spend all this time with him, but I feel guilty. And the longer we stay in one spot, the more chances we have of being spotted.
My wound was deep, but it didn’t hit anything essential. And, luckily, there was no venom. I thought I was doomed for a moment there. Not this time, though.
“We need Kezra,” I say.
We’re all sitting around mine and Daegan’s room, discussing our next step. It’s a special kind of torture having slept beside him these past few nights when he won’t touch me the way I want him to. He says he’s afraid of hurting me, but I’m getting very frustrated and feeling like I want to crawl out of my skin.
Every time our eyes meet—which is all the time—or he touches me in any sort of way—which is also all the time—all I can think about is how I want him to ravish me.
Suddenly, Kezra appears. “You called?”
“You heard that? Where were you?”
“Not far, but far enough that I wasn’t able to eavesdrop on this conversation.”
“Then how—”
“The bond. I can always sense when you need me.”
“Oh.” I tilt my head and pinch my brows. “What else can you do?”
“Well, as you’ve recently learned, you’re healing faster than a normal elf. Also, the imbuing your weapons with my essence thing, and… oh yes, the hearing—no—sensing thing.”
“Is that all?” I say sarcastically.
“So unfair,” Raef mutters, shaking his head.
“I believe that might be all. But one never knows one’s true limits if they’ve never taken full opportunity to test such limits. You know?”
“Yes, actually… I do.”
“Anyways…” Raef interjects, facing me. “You know that castle better than anyone.”
“I do,” I agree.
“So our best option is that you, Kezra, and Daegan sneak in tonight, use Kezra to scout ahead, and get to your father’s private quarters. We can’t sit here and waste any more time. We need to just fucking do it.”
