“Of course,” Evelina promised. Once Keir and Brielle left, she bandaged the wound while Gloriana cleaned.
“We’ll need to get him to drink the replenishing brew as soon as he wakes,” Gloriana said from across the room. “But he needs rest for now.”
Evelina hummed her agreement and pulled a chair up beside Daimon’s cot. Gloriana bustled over and examined the wound. She focused her light on the deepest parts of the cut. Even withthe strength of her light being able to heal most wounds, it barely made a difference with this one.
“It’s too deep, but I’ll try again in a few hours.” She frowned, her brows knitting together as she tried one last time. When the wound didn’t heal, she added, “I can wait with him. You should get some sleep after the day you’ve had.”
Evelina shook her head. “I want to stay. He’s my patient.”
She couldn’t sleep if she wanted to. Adrenaline was still pumping through her veins, her mind racing with thoughts of how the arrow had stopped before it touched her, her ears still ringing with Daimon’s screams.
Gloriana moved about the cabin, checking in on Evelina every few hours. Evelina kept a bowl of room-temperature water at her side, dipping a cloth in and pressing it to Daimon’s face often. He was sweating, but his body was shivering. She laid the back of her hand against his forehead, finding it warm to the touch. It wouldn’t be good if he caught a fever with a wound like this.
She grabbed a cooling mixture and poured it into a bowl of clean water, then stayed by his side throughout the night, wiping his head and neck until his skin was no longer burning with heat. Her eyes began to grow heavy, her head bobbing as she fought against sleep now that the adrenaline was wearing off. It wasn’t often she prayed to Eurydice anymore, but the moon goddess had answered her prayers. Daimon had made it back to the cabin alive.
“Thank you for saving him,” she whispered.
It wasn’t until then that she realized she didn’t want to lose him again.
Daimon was in and out for the next few days, slowly waking more and more each day. He wasn’t lucid enough to make any sense, but he was slowly getting there. At first, he only woke long enough to drink the blood-replenishing tea Evelina or Gloriana brewed. They took turns watching over him, and the other Riders visited him often.
Evelina met the rest of the crew during their visits—Aster, the only Undine of the group and soulbonded to Willow; Elias, one of the quietest Aegis she had ever met; and Ranick, another Aegis who was usually only around when Elias was.
She found herself struggling to leave Daimon’s side. She just needed him to heal so she could go back to focusing on bonding with the Alpha Fleet and working with Gloriana.
She climbed out of bed that morning stiff and still tired. Gloriana had taken the night shift with Daimon and Evelina was to take the day. She heard voices echo down the hallway as she slipped into leather pants and a linen shirt.
“No, don’t get up!” Gloriana nearly shouted, followed by the sound of a chair scraping across floorboards. “You mayfeelbetter, but you need to take it slow.”
A frustrated grunt answered her.
Evelina peered around the end of the hall into the main room, finding Daimon propped up on several cushions and holding a steaming cup of tea. She sniffed the air, finding the minty scent of the replenishing brew.
“You’re awake,” Evelina said softly.
Daimon lifted his gaze to her, his eyes red with the heaviness of sleep. “This one won’t let me get up yet.” He jutted his chin out at Gloriana, who smiled.
She got up from her chair, stretching her back out. “He’s all yours. I’m riding with Elias today.”
Daimon’s eyes dropped down to his tea as if it were the most interesting thing in the world as Gloriana left them alone. Evelina walked over and fiddled with jars on the wall, notknowing what to say now that Daimon was fully lucid and awake.
“Thank you,” he whispered, his voice hoarse from hardly speaking the last few days. “Gloriana told me what you did when they brought me back to the cabin.”
She swallowed thickly, hoping he couldn’t hear her heart pounding. Even in the state he was in, she was still frustrated with him from their last conversation in the forest. But when she turned to face him and took his appearance in, it slowly dissolved.
His hair was messy, sticking in all directions. He hadn’t worn a shirt in days, but it was different with him awake, with him staring at her the way he was. His eyes were open—vulnerable.
She took in the rigid lines of his abdomen, the bandage that covered his wound. She cleared her throat and walked over to the side of the table. “I need to check the wound—likely clean it, too.”
He nodded his head and brought the cup to his mouth, taking a deep swig of the tea. She took the cup from him so he could lie down.
“How badly does it hurt on a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst?” She lifted the bandage and he hissed.
“Around a three,” he said through a clenched jaw. She raised a brow. He sighed. “Maybe a five and a half.”
She shook her head and huffed a short laugh. “You have to be honest with your healer.” She pulled the bandage off and examined it, finding it healing nicely but in need of a debridement.
“I’ll try my best to be,” he whispered. His voice was so much deeper now. He had grown in more ways than one, his body toned and taller, his eyes harder and face unreadable.
