Page 120 of Lady of the Drowned Empire

“I could have sat at the table, you know,” he said, his good eyebrow lifted.

“You are sitting at the table.” I pushed the edge over his lap.

“I mean I could have walked to it—it didn’t need to come to me. It’s like ten feet away.”

“Well, it’s ten feet more than I wanted you to walk before you had to.”

“Lyr, it’s just a cut.”

“It’s multiple cuts and having had to carry me and our bags across the country plus everything else. Rhyan, you’ve done so much. You need to rest now and heal. I don’t want you on your feet tonight.”

He huffed but rolled his shoulders back and uncovered his tray. Steam rose from a large bowl of hearty stew, beside which were several thick pieces of pita bread, a mug of something that smelled sweet but alcoholic—possibly mead—chickpea salad, a side of hummus, a bowl of apples and mixed berries, and a honey-glazed cake.

It looked delicious, and my muscles relaxed as Rhyan took a spoonful of stew and sighed.

“Good?” I asked.

“Very; you should eat, too. You’d like it. Plus, you need to keep your strength up.”

“I had dinner before the habibellum. And I’m not sure how much I can eat now, not knowing if they’re alright.” Not knowing if after all of this, I could return to Bamaria, or if I was going to be whisked away to Korteria the moment I did. Not knowing what would happen to Rhyan. Even just being out of the country—away from Cresthavan, my escorts, all I’d ever known, it was leaving knots in my stomach.

Everything was happening so quickly, I hadn’t had time to sit with my fears. And they were starting to catch up with me.

“Try to eat,” he said, reaching forward to lift up my dinner cover. A matching meal lay before me, but instead of digging in, I watched him take another bite, realizing he’d had this before—when he was forsworn, when he was on the run and had had nowhere to go. Unbidden, images plagued my mind of Rhyan on the run. Rhyan with nowhere to go, nowhere to stay. No safety. All because of his fucking father.

“What’s that look?” he asked. “Is it because you’ve finally realized how ridiculous it is for me to be sitting on the bed and at the table at the same time?”

I bit my lip.

“Lyr.”

Tears brimmed my eyes.

He put down his spoon. “Come here to me.”

I sat beside him and let him wrap his arm around my shoulder.

“Hey,” he said gently. “I know a lot’s going on, but we’re okay. We’re together.”

I rested my head against the crook of his neck. I had to be strong. For him. For them.

I swallowed, and sat up.

“How do you like it?” he asked. “Sitting on the bed-chair with the table?”

“Hmmm. I think we should get rid of chairs. Only use beds.”

There was another knock on the door.

“Probably all the supplies I asked for,” I said, getting back up. Holding my dagger again, I unlocked the door and found all of the medical supplies I needed for Rhyan.

He continued to eat while I arranged everything on the nightstand, urging him to drink the full contents of his mug and mine as well. Both were filled with strong mead. As he devoured his bread and drank, I poured the moonleaves into a burning bowl and allowed them to smoke and fill the tiny room with their soothing scent.

When Rhyan had cleaned out his bowl, looking full and a tiny bit drunk, I couldn’t let his injuries go untreated any longer. I tugged off his tunic then had him ease back onto the bed, where he helped me slide his riding pants down his legs until he was in nothing but a pair of short-pants. My breath caught for a second at his nearly naked body. He was just so beautiful—every inch of him. The wings of his gryphon tattoo splayed across his shoulders and collarbone were the perfect adornments for his figure. He’d have been breathtaking without them, but Gods, he was fucking beautiful with them. I swallowed, imagining a later time when I could boldly touch the entire tattoo. But this was not the time for that or any of those thoughts.

I went to work carefully cleaning and disinfecting every cut. Then I applied the sunleaf paste to his leg, stomach, hand, and cheek, gently massaging it into the wounds.

He breathed evenly as I worked, seemingly relaxed under my ministrations. I continued massaging, crawling behind him to get the tension in his neck and shoulders. He closed his eyes, his head rolling forward.