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She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. He held her close and wrapped her in his wings.

Riley clung to Rath until he set her on her feet in the bathing chamber of his stateroom. He stroked her back. “Do you want help bathing?”

“Yeah. Then a trip to medical to seal the wounds. I have enough scarring for a lifetime.”

Rath was carefully removing the different layers that had sealed to her skin with blood. “I wish I could kill them again.”

She blushed as he moved down her body, removing the shreds. Rath helped her into the solar bath and set it low so she could rotate slowly to get the grime and blood off her body.

When she was done, he set it to high and baked off the results of him using his wing edges as a guillotine.

“I promise I will be my normal glib self when I am healed and dressed.”

“So, the key to keeping you soft and pliable is to keep you undressed?”

“Lord Rath, please.” She looked away and covered herself, swaying.

He muttered a soft apology and carried her to the bedroom, wrapping her in one of his tunics before pulling on his standard leather pants and boots. He picked her up, kissed her forehead again, and said, “I will save our normal commentary for when you are whole again.”

She nodded, the scent of her blood coming back to her. He walked swiftly through the halls to the medical bay, which had a lot of women filling the space.

A doctor rushed up. “I have kept the regen unit open. Oh, Miss Riley, you must be in pain.”

“Yes, thank you, Doctor Morriger. You are your charming self.”

The doctor froze, and Rath wrapped his wings around her to protect her as they walked through the med beds and to the private space with the regen unit.

Rath set her on her feet, removed his now bloody shirt, and tucked her into the unit. “Rest and heal.”

“You are not the boss of me.” She didn’t look at him.

“Not yet. Give it an hour.”

She stared at him with her eyes wide while he closed the unit with a slight smile.

The machine lightly sedated her, and the injectors began their work to increase her clotting factors and repair skin, tendons, and muscles.

She dozed for what felt like five minutes. She was woken up, and the unit opened to show Rath there with a familiar pile of clothing for her. She swallowed over the lump in her throat and got dressed in her favourite clothing. “Ranna got this for me.”

“She did. Horib drove their emergency unit to get it to me before we launched. The bastard led us on quite the chase, but having me on his tail changed his plans, and he dumped you here.”

She was wearing a loose blouse with tight sleeves and a set of trousers with a skirt attached, like a full-leg skort. Both were in a soft fabric in a dark grey. The underwear confirmed that nothing else had gone on yet. She was still allowed her choice.

The soft boots that finished the outfit made her smile. “Thanks for bringing all this.”

“To feel the change in your mind, it is worth it.” He held his hand out to her. “We need to get you to a com unit so you can contact Ranna. She’s out of her mind with worry, and now Nizzen understands why you are so necessary for her.”

She put her hand in his as she had been doing at events for the six months that Ranna had been dating.

He wrapped his wing around her back, and she relaxed as they left the privacy space and walked through the med bay. Sam was on a bed and getting bruises, and something internal was going on. Riley could tell by her face.

Sam looked at Rath and blinked. “So, you were right. He came for you.”

Riley blushed. “Rephrase, please.”

Rath pulled Riley in close. “Any time she needs me, I will come.”

Sam blinked slowly as Rath’s rich, low tones washed over her. “Right. Got it.”