“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.
“Is that why you were crying?” he asked in a growl, clearly fighting off the pain.
“Yes. I was thinking through options for changing up the elixir. That was a side effect.”
“I will help you as much as I can,” he said softly as I continued to apply the salve.
“When it isn’t your life in the balance, you’ll be more forthcoming, is that it?”
It was meant as a joke, but it came out an accusation.
I took a deep breath, readied the sponge, and moved to his front. His cock had softened, likely a result of the pain. That helped a little. But those beautiful sunburst eyes, filled with sympathy and support, were almost my undoing. He knew exactly what I was going through, and he was trying to ease the blow.
“With regards to last night, I underestimated you,” he said.
I washed his neck and down to his pecs, my movements slowing, my eyes feasting on all that glorious muscle. I didn’t care about the scarring anymore. It didn’t detract. The swirls of ink, some of which looked like ancient scrawls, I rather liked.
I stepped a little closer, my breathing shallower. His palms found the outsides of my legs.
“I don’t know how to work with everlass like you do. I don’t have the touch that my mother had. That you have. I only know the basics. I have never worked with a crowded everlass plant because it would likely mean death to whoever drank the concoction. As such, I couldn’t really tell you about the antiserum recipe, could I? And if I told you it could work, you might’ve created something too powerful and killed me. That would’ve left a mark on you, I knew it would’ve. And now I have proof, seeing how your father’s failing health torments you even though it is not even remotely your fault. I didn’t want my death on your conscience. There was simply no need for it. So I didn’t mention it.”
“So that thing about your mother…”
“I lied. You’re very gullible.”
“But you underestimated me.”
“Obviously. I could’ve mentioned it and cautioned you and saved you ten minutes of thought.” He laughed, mostly to himself, it seemed like. “You’re sharper with the plants than anyone I’ve ever known. And I’ve known the best. Your ability to not only reason out the answers, but to feel out the answers is remarkable. In the old days, it wouldn’t have mattered where you came from—with that skill, you would’ve stood out. You would’ve elevated the standing of your entire family.”