CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Samuel was correct about the food and clothes, though judging by what was left, the skirts were for him and the dresses for me. I laughed and exchanged my towel for a camel-colored sheath with a high neck and long sleeves. I pulled on warm ivory stockings and slipped my feet into a lovely pair of brown leather boots left by the door. Standing before the mirror I stared at myself.
I had never worn something so fitted. The cut of the dress highlighted the volume of my breasts, my slender waist and pretty much every female curve I possessed.
Galan would hate it. I loved it.
No longer would anyone call me Lia girl or little one. This dress made it clear I was no longer a youth.
I broke a warm pastry in half and moaned at the sweet succulence. “Samuel, you must needs join me soon, or I am liable to eat everything myself.”
A deep
-
throated laugh rumbled in the bathroom. “Eat
'
til
l
ye burst, Luv. It’s been too long since ye filled yer belly. Ye must be famished.”
He shuffled out of the bathroom, a towel loosely wrapped around his hips and fisted in his hand.
Yes. I was famished.
The gash on his side looked better with the blood and filth cleaned away but there were still a dozen bruises appearing and pooling dark at an alarming rate. Verily, it would be days before they began to heal.
Turning to the bed, I gestured for him to sit on the edge and handed him one of the other pastries. “Let me bind your ribs and help you dress.”
After retrieving the medical supplies, I
tended
survey
ed
his ribs. I judged them to be intact but tender and bruised. “What will we do now?”
He hissed as I wound the strips of cloth around his chest, but soon enough they were tied and I eased his arms into a crisp, white dress
-
shirt. “We’ll spend a few days here, while I get my strength back and smooth things over with the Order and yer place here. Then we’ll find out where we stand with yer case in the Fae courts.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing productive came to mind. Neither of those options appealed to me. “Why should you smooth things over? You did nothing wrong. They chained you to a wall and—”
Two fingers pressed to my lips. “Don’t think too harshly of them, Lia. Rheagan and your ancestors almost wiped out the races living in this part of the realm. Hatred runs deep. The last thing anyone expected was for me to suddenly appear a decade after I abandoned the Order, with a Highborne at my side, claiming her to be their Queen and the woman they need to protect with their lives.”
I tossed the medical supplies back into the basket. “They despise me. What about that will change?”
“They dinnae know you.”
I glared at him. “You despised me and my family for almost a year. Mayhap the Talon should protect me.”
He scowled back, shuffling over to his wardrobe, his hand pressed against his ribs as he walked. “That wasna all my fault. Yer brother had a hand in it too. Like it or no, the Order is the protector of the throne. As long as Abaddon wants to take hold of it, these men will protect ye.”
I straightened the bedding and yanked the golden coverlet back into place. “I have no interest in being protected by the people who tortured you.”
“Well, birthright trumps yer interests on that score.”
“And have I naught to say about this either? Is that it?”
He glanced over his shoulder and cocked a brow. “Not much I’m afraid.”
I clenched my hands into fists. “You have no idea how infuriating it is to have no voice in your own future. To have the Fates decide who you are and where your life is headed, for the God of gods to tell you where your destiny lies regardless of any feeling you have to the contrary.”
He dropped the towel and wrapped a plaid skirt around his waist. He must have heard my intake of breath because he glared over his shoulder, his lip curled. “No idea, eh? Did ye honestly just say that to me? I think I have a fair recollection of how that feels. I’ve had my guts ripped out by the Fates too, if ye remember.”
The bitter mixture of fury and betrayal stung my sinuses. I swallowed and unclenched my fists. “
O
f
course
.
Apologies
, of
course
.”
Samuel continued to dress, first shoving his shirttails under the waistband of his skirt and then easing his arms into a leather vest as he cursed.
I gently hugged him from behind and laid my cheek against his back. “Forgive me, please. That was a thoughtless thing to say.”
After a moment, his shoulders relaxed. Turning in my arms, he kissed the top of my head and hugged me back. “Forgiven, lass. I’m sorry too.”
My mind tumbled with all the things I had no control over while he struggled to finish dressing. His stockings and shoes presented a true challenge, unable to reach down with his ribs bound and bruised.
I knelt on the floor to aid him. “I cannot imagine anyone less suited to be Queen of a realm. The idea strikes me cold to my bones. I am grateful you are here and would be lost without your counsel. Verily, I hold no skills, no strengths for leading, no . . . anything.”
He lifted me to stand before him and rose to his feet. Two fingers gently chucked my chin to meet his gaze. “Dinnae panic yet, Luv. There will be plenty of time for worrying later. For now, let’s take things one disaster at a time. I’m sure the next will hit us soon enough.”
He finished his outfit by buckling a small pouch and dagger across his hip. He was sheathing the blade when a soft knock drew our attention to the door.
“Come in,” Samuel said. The door swung open and he cursed. “Aye, just as I predicted.”