“I haven’t been really.” He tipped his head to the side. “That chair mostly.”
Something curled in her belly. She couldn’t tell if it was pleasure or nausea. She noticed the bruises under his eyes for the first time. The tightness around his mouth.
“Why?”
His brows twitched up. “Why what?”
“Why would you give up your room for me?”
“I would give up everything for you.”
She looked up too sharply and a jolt of pain shot through her head. She had to close her eyes until it receded to a throbbing ache.
When she opened her eyes, Casrian had already turned away.
He poured a glass of water from the pitcher on the table at her bedside and then pressed it into her hands.
“Drink this,” he murmured. “You’re not well. I shouldn’t have… We’ll talk later.”
She very much wanted to talk now.
“You can’t just say that and?—”
The door swung open. Her mother called her name as Asher guided her to the bed. A familiar yellow cat slipped in behind them, darted across the room and leapt onto the bed. Atten bumped his head against her bandaged hand and began to purr, his sharp claws piercing the blankets as he kneaded at her legs. “How did you get here?”
“He came with your mother,” Casrian said, watching as she ran her unbandaged fingers over Atten’s notched ear. “I don’t think he enjoyed the trip. Atten? You named your cat after the crown prince?”
“He is a prince among cats.”
Atten demonstrated how princely he was by settling down on the blanket and beginning to lick himself.
“I see that.”
She shrugged. “I liked the sound of it when I was young.”
“He’s settled right in,” her mother said as she joined them.
The captain stepped aside and her mother sat down on the edge of the bed and swept Rowan up in a trembling embrace. The smell of her wrapped Rowan up in comfort. Lavender and yarrow, marigold and sunshine. She’d been working on a salve for the burn. Of course, she had.
She looked over her mother’s shaking shoulders. Casrian was watching them. A soft smile curved his mouth. It just barely touched his eyes.
“I’m glad you made it,” he said quietly and turned to leave the room.
Her mother was so happy.Rowan didn’t remember her ever being so happy, not even when they lived in Jarn before their lives had gone so terribly wrong. She supposed, for her mother, things had gone terribly wrong years before Rowan’s memories began.
She looked healthy, her skin flushed and her hands steady.
“Have they been treating you well?”
Her mother swiped at the tears on her cheeks. “The captain’s gardens are in very poor shape. The rose bushes have run wild and the herbal beds are overgrown. The only thing the staff cares about maintaining are the plots that provide food for the kitchens.”
“Food is important too.”
Her mother sniffed. “I’m glad I brought my supplies from home. The captain’s man, Daris, didn’t want to bother with it, but I insisted. I suppose I shouldn’t call him the captain any longer. He’s a baron.”
“So I’ve been told.”
“He won’t let me address him properly, so I guess it’s captain for now.” She reached out and touched Rowan’s cheek, her fingertips tracing gently to her jaw. “He’s been kind.”
