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Alder reached out and combed his hand through her hair, brushed it back from her face. It was such a sweet gesture, but his ministrations only made her tears come faster.

She rubbed at her cheeks, feeling embarrassed, but also too overcome to do anything about it. “I’m sorry.”

“Why on earth are you sorry?”

Seph couldn’t answer. She wiped at her face, trying to dry away her sorrow.

“Would you prefer I leave you?” Alder asked. He pulled his hand from her hair, but Seph caught it and squeezed.

“No, please, I…” She stopped herself and realized she was physically holding him there. She released her vise-like grip on his hand. “That is, please don’t feel obligated to stay, but you don’t have to?—”

“I want to stay.”

Her vision blurred through tears as she looked at him. His hair was in elegant disarray, and a mixture of exhaustion and tenderness pulled at his eyes. Seph’s chest squeezed.

“Mind if I check the wound?” he asked after a moment.

Seph nodded, wiping her cheeks again.

She turned a little as Alder scooted closer. One of his knees touched her leg, and his other leg stretched behind her.

“I need to lift your undershirt.” His words were so close now.

Seph swallowed hard and nodded once, fixing her eyes ahead.

Alder brushed her hair aside first.

“Sorry…” she said softly. “My hair…it gets everywhere.”

“It’s beautiful. It’s like starlight.”

His compliment spoken so simply, so sincerely, made her cheeks warm, especially as he grabbed the hem of her tunic, and—very slowly—lifted. His fingertips brushed her back, and Seph’s breath hitched. She’d never been seen by a man before. And even though Alder was focused strictly on making sure she wasn’t going to die, Seph’s pulse quickened.

“Did that hurt just now?” he whispered.

His voice was so low, sonear, that it took Seph a moment to register his question. “No.”

He raised her undershirt the rest of the way—just the back, letting it mostly fall over her front. Cool air kissed her bare skin before his warm fingers slipped beneath the bandage. The cloth pulled tight around her chest, and Alder sat quiet.

“Is it so terrible?” Seph asked, breaking the silence.

“I had to cut out the arrow.”

She wanted to look at him, but he was stillright there, and he was touching her. “You tended to me?” she asked just above a whisper.

“Yes.” A beat. “I am sorry about your bodice, but I was in a bit of a hurry.”

The silence stretched, and Seph’s heartbeat drummed in her ears, especially as Alder’s fingers pressed lightly around the wound.

“It’s hard to keep the infection at bay,” Alder said after a moment. “Sienne will be able to heal this completely, but until then, you’ll need to rest, and I’ll probably need to change this a few more times.”

Alder adjusted the bandage back over the wound, his fingertips grazing her spine as he carefully pulled her undershirt back into place.

“It was you, in the woods. You were the stag.”

A breath passed, and then he pulled his hand away. “Yes.”

“You carried my brother too, when you escaped…didn’t you?” she asked.