Except, it was hardly a campsite.
My brows arched curiously as I leaned a little farther out from behind the tree.This is bizarre...The fire was located under a rocky overhang that formed a shallow opening in the side of the mountain. Directly beside the fire was a short stack of wood, a worn cloak propped up on a stick to dry, and pair of soggy boots. At the back of the opening, lay a still man. His face was turned away from me so I couldn’t tell if he looked malicious or not, but despite lying down, his breaths appeared to be severely labored. I took a tentative step out from the tree, quietly moving closer so I could get a better look.
The man appeared to be shaking, too.Is he ill? Has he been stuck out in the rain since last week?Once I had moved as close as I could without being noticed, I allowed my eyes to scan over the man a little more meticulously. My hands swiftly pressed against my lips to suppress a gasp.
A deep crimson stain ran down the back of the man’s shirt. It was then that I noticed the winces he made between his quivers. My body tensed as I debated between running to Minerva for help or approaching the man myself.It’s possible he’s dangerous, but...
I shook the nerves off and stepped out from my cover. This man needed help, and I already avoided him once. After taking a few steps, the man slowly shifted toward the sound, groaning as he did so. When he moved, the light from the fire glinted against something on his hip. My eyes widened as I instantly recognized the familiar glare.
That’s my dagger...
My muscles stiffened, freezing me a mere ten paces away from the injured man. My heart pounded viciously in my ears as I watched the dark-haired man roll onto his other side and his steel-gray eyes met with mine. I couldn’t stop the gasp from spilling out of me as the man’s eyes widened.
“Kian...”
chapter eleven
Kian’s eyes gripped mine with unfathomable intensity. He looked as if he had seen a ghost. His previously glowing features looked haggard and pale. If it wasn’t for the unmistakable injury and his familiar gaze, I might not have recognized him. We both remained frozen, just as we had when we first met, drinking in each other’s shocking presence before uttering any words. As I stood motionless, a gust of wind blew through the thin trees alerting my senses and spurring me out of my paralysis.
My gaze flew to his bleeding shoulder. “You’re hurt.” I rushed forward, closing the distance between us and crouching to his level. When I kneeled beside him, I noticed that a thin layer of sweat coated his ashen skin. I pressed a hand to his forehead, not even considering if the action was brash. My palm instantly warmed as I brushed it against his dampened skin. “And you have a fever. How long have you been like this? How did you get here? When is the last time you ate? Can you sit up? I thought you were dead...how did you make it out alive!?” The questions tumbled off my tongue while keeping up with the rate of my pulsing heart.It’s Kian, he’s alive. All this time, he’s been so close...
Kian blinked rapidly for a moment, processing my sudden interrogation. “I can sit up fine, but you’ll need to let go of me first.” He raised a teasing eyebrow as he cast a subtle glare toward his shoulder where I had been apparently gripping him.
I retracted the limb swiftly, unaware of the hand’s traitorous action. “Sorry, you’ve had me worrying for days. I thought you drowned after I had explicitly told you not to.” I moved back a few inches, allowing Kian enough space to gradually rise into a seated position.
“It takes more than a river to snuff me out.” He chuckled weakly. His voice was a lot raspier than I had remembered it. “A nasty infection though... that one is still a toss-up.” His breath hissed as an apparent sharp pain caused him to wince from the movements.
I bit my lip as I watched him struggle.Infection?If that was the case, then it was no wonder he had such a high fever.Has he been out here on his own ever since we parted?My mind wandered back to the first time I had noticed his fire. That had been over a week ago... He’s been here all along, alone, and suffering because of me. Without proper medical care, he would die...If he dies...it will be my fault.I couldn’t let that happen.
“Let me see your shoulder.” I motioned for him to shift once more.
Kian cocked his head playfully. “Well, aren’t we being forward today?” he teased with an impish grin. “If you wanted me to take my shirt off, all you had to do was ask.”
Without warning, I smacked his good arm. He still winced, but it was well-deserved. “You know what I meant! Show me your injury. You probably haven’t been able to keep it clean since it’s in a place you can’t reach. At least allow me to redress it for you.” I focused my stern expression on him, and he nodded in compliance, still with a hint of jest in his eyes.
“As you wish, nurse Nixie,” he said coyly. He tugged his shirt off just in time to miss my eye roll. However, as soon as his shirt was removed, I found my eyes fixated on him for longer than I had intended.Curse him for being so obnoxiously attractive...
Despite being a sickly off-color, his tanned skin cleanly defined each of his chiseled muscles. I only looked for a brief second, but I could already feel a blush rising in my cheeks. The smug look on Kian’s face told me he had noticed my embarrassment, but he turned his back to me too quickly for me to tell him off. Once I was facing his shoulder, my distraction faded as I stared at the hideous wound. The cut itself hadn’t been very big since the blade was thin and shallow, but the entire surrounding area was horribly swollen and as red as my blushing cheeks.
“You look terrible,” I said remorsefully, a rush of guilt pouring through me as I inspected the surrounding bruising.
“Wow, Nixie, you really know how to make a man feel good about himself, don’t you?” he quipped with a pained chuckle.
“Well, you already knew I was honest, or did your birdbrain already forget?” I jeered back, placing a tender hand just above the wound.
He took in a sharp breath at the touch. “I’m not so sure about honest. I think you’re holding back on me. Only a princess could take my breath away so easily,” he remarked through gritted teeth.
“You know perfectly well that I’m no princess,” I snapped, tearing off a corner of my cloak to dip in a clear puddle. “If you thought I was the princess then you would have turned me into the rebels the moment we met.” I gently touched the cool fabric to his shoulder, earning another hiss from him.
“Maybe you are, maybe you’re not. Either way, you shouldn’t have to be forced into the role if you don’t want it,” he rasped between labored breaths.
I paused my movements, allowing him a moment to relax while my thoughts collected.So, he still believes I might be the princess?I suppose it was an easy theory to believe in, but it also meant that he didn’t trust I was being truthful. For a brief moment, I awaited the familiar feeling of rising anger to greet me, but it never came. I felt no frustration toward Kian for still holding onto the possibility that I might be a royal, but I wasn’t entirely certain why.Is it because he had helped me? Because he believed that I should be allowed to choose my own fate? Or is it because I’m beginning to think that it might be more than just a theory?
I turned my attention back to the wound and continued to clean it as well as I could. “Where did you learn how to swim so well?” I questioned calmly, attempting to change the topic of conversation.
For a short instance, I noticed Kian’s body tense as I asked, and I wondered if I had touched a sore area. His shoulders relaxed once more. “I swam a lot as a child,” he said vaguely, casting his head toward the ground as he spoke.
I couldn’t see his face with his back turned, but it was clear that his previous light-heartedness had vanished. “I see... So, you live around the river, then? Is that why you were lingering outside the rebel’s camp?” I tried to feign a bored disinterest as I lured the information from him, but my overwhelming curiosity made it nearly impossible. His motives for rescuing me had puzzled me from the start, and now that he was in front of me, I wanted all the answers I could get.