“What were you thinking, changing into a man to take a blow that you knew would be poisoned? Were you trying to find a way out of this life and your duty?”
“You’d rather I let you take the blow and surely die? As I said, we have an antiserum at the castle, but it was made before the curse. I had very little hope that it would still work, and less hope that I could mix the plants in the right way to cure you. You would’ve died.”
“What I mean is, why didn’t you stay in your dragon form, since the scales would thwart the attack?”
I took the clay pitcher from the shelf and poured water on the soapy part of his side before moving to the other side. I wasn’t ready for the front of him any more than the wounds on his back.
“Dragons aren’t incredibly dexterous on the ground, and I had almost no time. With how tightly they were gathered around you and the angle I was coming in, I would’ve either stomped on you accidentally or the Fah Rahlen’s blow would’ve landed before I could intercede. Shielding you was the only thing I could think of.”
“Except you were putting the kingdom in peril to save one commoner.”
“And I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
My heart constricted. I struggled to hold on to my anger as I soaped up his side and moved for the pitcher. “I don’t know why you came for me at all. You’re trying to stay away from me. You want me to stay away from you. And yet you follow me instead of just letting me be free.”
“I was worried about your safety. It was the worst night of the month to travel that wood. And also…”
He waited as I poured water over his soaped-up skin. He breathed out through his nose as though suddenly frustrated about something.
“I think we can help each other, Finley,” he finally said.
I soaped up the sponge and hesitated. Gross wound or beguiling golden eyes, delicious, kissable lips, one hell of a torso, and a cock that was slowly gaining momentum in its quest to be the biggest thing in this room.
I stepped around to his back.
“I can supply you with knowledge about working with everlass that you probably don’t already have. For example, the crowded plants do have more uses than what you know.”
“Ah yes, the crowded everlass. We still need to talk about how you refused to give me that info so I could help save your life. We’ll get to that, but I want you to be healthy first so I can give you a solid thumping.”
“I look forward to it.” I could hear the mischievousness in his voice. “Maybe we can devise something together that will help people like your dad.”
“We can do that with me living here instead of the castle, though.”
His shoulders hunched, and I couldn’t tell if it was because I’d scrubbed across the claw marks or something else. I kept scrubbing regardless. It had to be done.
“Yes. We can. And maybe we should. You’ll be safer here, I think. I can meet you and escort you to the everlass field in the Royal Wood. You can take all you require and come back here. I’ll guarantee your safety.”
“If I use the crowded plant, I might not need to go at night.”
“And then you can stop seeing me entirely.”
I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat, not sure what to say. That had been the plan when I left, right? To get away. To get some freedom. So why did I suddenly feel panicky and nervous about that idea?
My animal rolled through my chest, trying to force her way to the surface. Given Nyfain’s sudden tenseness, I had a feeling he was fighting his animal as well. Forcing him back down.
I wanted to ask if everyone’s animals acted liked sex-starved lunatics around alphas. Under different circumstances, would he have all the lady animals fighting for his attention?
But if things were normal, he wouldn’t be here now. He wouldn’t lower himself to bathing in a shed or sleeping in a crowded room. He wouldn’t give me the time of day, that was for sure. He’d have a lot more options than a rogue chick running around in boys’ clothing in the Forbidden Wood. So I didn’t bother asking. I didn’t want him to lie to placate me, and I definitely didn’t want the truth.
“Your dad isn’t well,” Nyfain said into the silence.
I cleaned his back and waist before reaching for the pitcher. “No. He’s taken a turn for the worse. He doesn’t have long. This will hurt.” After washing off the wounds, I rubbed in the salve that would help him heal and greatly reduce the chances of scarring. He sucked a breath through his teeth, and his muscles rippled.