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She doesn’t say anything for a while. Then she lifts my hand and kisses the back of it, between the claws.
“I’m glad I heard them.”
So am I. I lean my head against hers. We sit there under the shelves until my legs are cold, and she doesn’t ask me anything else.
Chapter 27
Rauk holds a bow out to me.
“For you.”
I take it from him with both hands. The wood’s pale where he’s cut it, smooth all the way down to the narrow tips, and there’s a strip of soft leather around the grip. It’s the right size for my hand.
“Try it.”
I turn it over instead, running my thumb along the wood. The old bow’s still beside my pallet.
Is this…
This is mine?
He made me a bow.
My eyes sting, and I blink hard at the string. Oh, fuck. He’ll think there’s something wrong with it. “You made this for me?”
“Yes.”
A tear drops onto the back of my hand. I wipe my face on my sleeve, still holding the bow.
He looks at my hand. “Does it hurt?”
“I haven’t even pulled it yet.”
He looks at my face, then at the bow.
“I love it, Rauk. That’s what’s wrong with me.” I choke out a laugh and get my sleeve under the other eye.
He keeps watching while I put my left hand around the grip. I pull the string a little with my right, holding the bow low enough that my shoulder only tugs. It bends easily, and I ease it straight again. Oh, I like that.
“You did all this yesterday?”
“Yes.”
I spent yesterday telling him to sit down and let me look after him.
And he sat down and made me a bow. I saw him scraping at a length of wood with his talons after breakfast. It was gone the next time I looked, and I thought he’d got tired.
He’s sitting there with his sleeves shoved up and his hand still out, waiting for me to give it back so he can fix whatever’s wrong with it.
I get up and kiss him instead.
His hand comes to my waist.
I keep my mouth on his until he tips his face up for more, then kiss him once beside the fang. “Thank you.”
He lowers his hand, but he’s kept a bit of my shirt hooked over one blunt finger.
He gets his feet under him. “Let’s go fishing.”
