“Good. Then turn around and let me see your shoulder.”
“It’s fine.”
“It wasn’t fine when I touched it. Let me see for myself.”
She sighed and turned.
He brushed her hair aside. Three claw marks ran down the top of her shoulder. “What the… I thought you said it was a rock.”
“I knew you’d make a big deal, like when I saw your talisman light.”
He leaned forward and sniffed. Sulfur. The smell was faint. A human wouldn’t even notice it. “You’ve been marked by a demon.”
She whirled around to face him, clutching her towel. “What does that mean?”
“They like marking their prey. Their claws are like poison.”
“Poison?”
“Not deadly, but it can make you sick.” So sick she’d wish it had been deadly.
“I’m sure you’ve had them before, and you’re fine.”
“I’m a warrior.” His body had been built to withstand things that would kill an ordinary person. “Does it burn?”
“Only when you touch it.”
It should be stinging.
“I didn’t expect we’d spend the night bandaging each other’s wounds,” Bree said, when he was done.
“If you’d left, like I asked…”
“If you’d told me why you wanted to leave, I would have.” She glanced at the blanket and pillow on the floor. “You take the bed.”
“No.” He’d never sleep, anyway, knowing she was so near.
Her chin lifted. “We’ll both take the bed. It’s big. And we both need sleep.” Her words held more conviction than her eyes. She opened a drawer and pulled out something white. “Choose a side of the bed while I put on a gown.” She went back into the bathroom, closing the door.
He grabbed his pillow, sighed, and lay down, awkwardly waiting for her to join him. No good wishing this was something it could never be. Clan law had to be followed. They were too tired to do more than sleep anyway, and if he needed a distraction from his lust, he’d think about what other lies she might have told, like pictures on mantels and keys and books that shouldn’t be.
***
“Are you asleep?”
Faelan rolled over. The mattress shifted under his weight. “No.” His throbbing arm didn’t help, but mostly he was dying from the warm scent drifting across the bed.
Bree lay on her side facing him, her hand curled under her chin. “I can’t sleep, either.”
“Does your shoulder hurt?” It should be on fire by now.
“Not really, but I’m too tense to relax.”
He had a solution, but it wouldn’t be wise. “Sometimes I have trouble sleeping after a battle.” Especially if a warrior died.
“I’ve been thinking about all this. I think Isabel’s visitor, McGowan, was searching for you. I told you about the riddle on the map, but there was also a name at the bottom.
“I don’t scream. It’s a known fact.” Tavis had considered it a personal challenge.
“Pardon me. Your manly roar scared ten years off my life.”
That cooled his loins. She was lucky she’d only gotten a fright. He rarely missed with his dirk. Never at close range.
“He could’ve been hiding the time vault,” Faelan said. “Demons can’t go into graveyards. Druan would’ve had a minion or halfling do it for him.”
“Isabel said McGowan acted peculiar. Would Druan kill his minion or halfling?”
“Druan kills as easily as you and I breathe.”
“Another possibility is that McGowan was looking for the book.”
“Or hiding it. McGowan could’ve stolen it for Druan. There was some concern over its safety before I left Scotland.” Druan might have planned to steal it, which would explain why Michael had warned Faelan, and not the Keeper, that the book was in danger. That meant the responsibility for the
“And Druan would get rid of any witnesses.”
“For a human, you understand the demon mind very well.”
“Thank Russell. He introduced me to the dark side.”
