Page 17 of The Demon’s Delight (The Demon Princes #3)

Chapter 16

Hailon

C oming out of the fog in my mind was like swimming through Aunt Sal’s split pea soup. My ears popped and gave a high-pitched ringing noise as whatever had been clogging them cleared away.

“Easy.” Seir frowned at me as I sat up from where I’d been pillowed in his lap on our cloaks. He clutched my sleeve in an effort to ensure I’d stay upright. “If you faint again, we’ll be even, but I’d really rather you didn’t.”

“I’m okay. It’s almost done. I just need…” I left the thought half-formed, scrunched my eyes shut, and sewed the last several invisible stitches.

His voice was tight and pitched low, as though trying not to alarm me while being very concerned. “Leave it. You’ve done plenty. We can work more tomorrow if need be, but for now, I need you to?—”

I raised my hands to prove I’d stopped and opened my eyes, the night now fully dark as the fire burned low. Seir visibly relaxed as I sat back, resting my weight on my elbows.

He drew up his leg, bending and straightening it again, testing it out. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yes,” I said stubbornly. “I’m fine.” But my irritated tone couldn’t cover the way my muscles failed me when I tried to get up.

Seir scrambled to his knees, scooping his arms under mine while sliding me toward the wall. He gazed down into my eyes, his thumb smoothing across my cheekbone. “That was dangerous, Hailon. I was afraid you pushed too far. Perhaps you did.” The ring around the pupil in his eyes was extra green, the little wrinkles in the space between his eyebrows deep as he frowned down at me. His eyes dropped to my mouth, then he pulled away, taking my breath with him.

“I’m fine,” I repeated, as though doing so would make it true. I was well and truly worn out, though I didn’t think I was in any danger.

He propped me up with a pack on either side of my body before shuffling over to add logs to the dying fire. I inhaled greedily, desperate to fill my lungs with the air I’d been unknowingly depriving them of while he was so intimately close.

“You do incredible work, I must say. I’m good as new.” He paused to probe at his stomach with his fingers as he walked around near the fire, flashing me a wide expanse of tan skin. “Thank you. You honor me with such a generous use of your gift.” He bowed low, one arm over his chest, reminding me of the day we first met as the tips of his hair brushed the dirt on the ground.

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s the furthest thing from nothing,” he huffed, offering me some water. “I’m going to make you something to eat, you need to replenish your strength.”

I shook my head. “Not hungry.”

He scoffed. “I don’t see how, after all that. We haven’t eaten much of anything since we stopped midday. You’re surely starving by now.” As if to agree, my stomach gave a whine. “See? It will only take a moment.”

“What about you?”

“I snacked from our packs while you were working. I offered you something several times, but it was like you couldn’t hear me.”

That sounded right. His injuries had pulled me in deep. Had I not been in a safe environment, anything could have happened, and I wouldn’t have noticed until I came out of the trance.

“Sorry.”

He gestured wildly with his hands as he spoke. “No need to apologize for that. We have some dried meat still. I could make a quick stew. There’s cake, but they’re getting rather stale and don’t taste right without some tea. But I can make tea too! That’s fine. That’s a good idea, actually. Or?—”

“Don’t bother with any of that on my account. I just need sleep. I’m too tired to eat.”

Seir blew out another rough breath. “Are you truly going to refuse me the honor of taking care of you after what you just did for me?” His hands were on his hips, his normally jovial expression pulled into a frown, eyes strangely sad. “It took you hours , Hailon. Several, in fact. And my leg might be better than it was before. Still, you would deny me reciprocation?”

Something in my exhausted brain found his indignant tone amusing. Confusion pulled his brows even further together as I laughed. “Just for now, demon, not forever. Can we discuss this after I rest?”

He capitulated with a heavy sigh. “Fine. I’ll give you the terms of my repayment tomorrow. I’ll have you know I rarely make deals. They are so much work and for what? That’s more my brother Rylan’s thing, he’s always loved the art of crafting a good contract. I simply don’t have the patience most of the time, but this? This seems like an appropriate situation on which to put conditions in writing.” He pounded his fist into his open palm, so unusually serious I laughed out loud again. His mouth dropped open, then twisted into a grin. “You are a truly perplexing creature, Hailon Derne.”

“I know.” I resisted the urge to throw his words back at him, no matter how true they might be. Knowing him, he’d take it as a compliment. He embraced his mercurial nature more than anyone I’d ever met. “What?” I asked, seeing his lopsided smile as he continued to openly stare at me.

“I deeply enjoy hearing you laugh. It’s a truly beautiful sound.” As I sat there with my mouth partially open at his admission, Seir shook his head and set to organizing our little camp so we could go to sleep like he hadn’t said anything of such significance that I was sure I’d remember it for the rest of my life.

After arranging the logs in the fire to his liking, he approached me again, face far too close for several heartbeats. His eyes searched mine and blood pounded in my ears. He was close enough his breath feathered against my skin, his hair grazed my own. He’d done several things since tumbling down the hill that I should have been far more offended by than I was. He was behaving like we knew one another far better than we did. Like he was preparing to kiss me.

What was more, I wanted him to.

I had time to inhale, the weak protest I’d half-formed stuck in my throat. Then thoughts fled as I found myself lifted against his body. He’d slid one arm under my thighs and the other across my back with his fingers splayed wide, palm cradling the back of my head. The overwhelming desire to cry passed through me with shocking urgency. A lump clogged my throat and tears burned my eyes. The care and comfort in the way Seir held me struck some part deep down inside me I hadn’t known was so desperate for such a gentle touch. He lowered himself to his knees and laid me down with my head resting on one of the packs. He made a pillow for himself with the other, then pulled me against him again, my shoulder pressed into his chest. Tossing our cloaks wide, he spread them over us both as makeshift blankets. Seir snuggled in then, his nose in my hair and his arm loosely draped across my waist, hand palming my hip.

My pulse spiked, his spicy scent filling my nose. But the weight of my exhaustion was too heavy to do anything but relax into him.

“There’s no need for this.” I wiggled, turning onto my side so I could crawl a respectable distance away. “I can?—”

“Shh.” He clucked his tongue and pulled my back snug against his chest, our legs nested, and his arm banded even tighter across my hips. His tail loosely curled around my ankle for good measure. His breath moved the hair along the back of my neck as he spoke, and I barely managed to keep myself from shivering at the sensation. “Sleep. I promise I have no untoward motivations tonight. Let me keep you warm. Let me protect you while we rest.”

Even half asleep, my eyebrow raised. I hadn’t missed the careful way he’d qualified that his motivations were pure tonight . He was getting bolder and taking any chance to touch me he could get. But… he also never failed to respect my boundaries. And more often than not, my chest felt hollow when he pulled away.

Besides, I did honestly feel safer with the barrier of his body between me and the dark forest. He was pleasantly warm too. “Fine. For tonight.”

“Thank you.” His deep exhale betrayed significant relief. “Sleep, Hailon. You’ve more than earned it.” I felt the briefest little kiss against the back of my head, then his fingertips dragged through the tangled mess of my hair, making my scalp tingle and my body relax into a puddle. My heart throbbed behind my ribs, heavy and hot. I fleetingly worried I’d done some kind of damage to myself healing him after all. Maybe the orange, red, and black magic was dangerous. Only time would tell.

As I blinked heavily, hardly able to hold my eyes open any longer, I saw that the moon had risen, nearly full and silvery over the trees. Through the open side of our stone shelter, the moonlight made an arrangement of shadows that was oddly distinct. I squinted, trying to clear my vision. My exhaustion left me wondering if I was really seeing broken columns and other remnants of a structure, not just odd piles of rocks and sticks.

I realized once my eyes closed for the final time that we hadn’t taken the wrong road after all; the map was plainly incorrect. With my energy totally depleted, I couldn’t even tell Seir what I was seeing, and it was too late to leave. The best I could do was wrap my fingers around the forearm draped over my hips and squeeze.

I was about to find out firsthand if any of the stories were true after all.

We were in the ruins.