“There is a way for you to regain your face.”
She looked back at him, her eyes still full of tears. “There is?”
He slowly stood up and bowed. “I would be more than willing to help you achieve your aim.”
Hope blossomed in her eyes. “Thank you.”
He nodded. “Perhaps after you’ve rested for a while, we can discuss how we mean to go on.”
She woke up feeling warm, for once, and slowly opened her eyes to discover she was in a sleeping bag with a proper pillow under her head. Trust Vadim to have all the right camping gear. Despite the fact that she was out in the middle of nowhere with a no-good shape-shifting Fae prince, she felt remarkably safe. The clearing was in darkness, only the light from a small fire breaking the gloom. She sat up and scanned the area. The high peaks of mountains and pine trees surrounded them, and the air had an icy freshness to it that literally caught at her breath.
Behind her, in the forest, she could pick up the presence of smaller woodland Fae and other species. Nothing approached the fire or the solitary male who sat facing it. She’d never thought of herself as a coward, but part of her wanted to turn over, go back to sleep and pretend none of this had really happened. Something about the rigid set of his shoulders made her get up and walk toward him.
He spoke before she reached him.
“There’s coffee keeping warm by the fire.”
“Cool.” She went forward and poured herself a cup of the fragrant brew. “Thanks.” She stood and looked out over the clearing. “You should’ve woken me earlier.”
“There was no need. It is too late to start back for the palace. Adam will not find us here.”
“Did you ward the clearing?”
“It is always like this. Only those of the Royal blood can get through the shields. It’s a place of refuge.”
She got the sense that he’d been there a lot. She looked down at her boot and kicked a stone. “Thanks for the sleeping bag. That’s the first decent nap I’ve had since I got here.”
“You are welcome.”
She kicked another stone, which thunked against the log he was sitting on. God, this was awkward. Why the hell was she feeling sorry for him?
“Did you think I’d come to save you?”
She caught a hint of a smile. “No one needs to save me, Ms. Walsh. I’m Death Bringer.”
“So your father said.”
His expression went blank. “Do you want something to eat?”
So he didn’t want to talk about that. What a surprise. “Of course I do.” She held up her hand. “But I know how to do that stuff myself now.” She concentrated on the image of a triple cheeseburger and fries, but nothing happened. “Damn, I had it the other day.”
“It’s not your fault. The wards around this space are extremely powerful.”
“Can’t you get through them, either?”
“Not unless I want to bring my entire family down on us, but I have something better.” He held up her backpack.
“Where did you get that?”
“Adam gave it to me.”
“Why?” She took it from his outstretched hand.
“To mess with my head?”
She sat down beside him and rummaged in the backpack. “I have a couple of juice boxes if you want one, and some protein bars.”
“That would be wonderful.”
He was being terribly polite, which meant that underneath he was as pissed off as she was. When she handed over his share, she risked a joke. “How the mighty have fallen.”
“Needs must, Ms. Walsh.”
“Why are you calling me that?”
He ripped open his protein bar using his teeth. “I thought you’d prefer it.”
“Would you like me to start calling you Death?”
“Not really.”
“Then Ella will do nicely.” She struggled to open the foil packaging of her bar. Vadim reached across and slashed through the foil with one long claw. “Thanks. Since when did swans have talons?”
“In Otherworld I can become anything I choose.”
“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”
“Most of them unpleasant, as you’ve no doubt discovered.” He finished his bar and started on his juice. “I noticed you were limping earlier. Is there something wrong with your ankle?”
“I was bitten by a dragon.”
His head snapped round. “What kind?”
“Does it really matter? Aren’t they supposed to be extinct?” He continued to stare at her, and she sighed. “Fine. It was small and black, with red eyes and sharp teeth. Does that help?”
“You got as far as the trophy room?”
“I got as far as reaching for my face, and then that damned dragon closed his jaws around my ankle, and I lost it.”
“May I see your ankle?”
She stuck out her booted foot. “Someone bandaged it up for me while I was out of it. I was going to try that cleanup spell you gave me on it, but I didn’t get a chance.”
“Let me see.”
He gently maneuvered her foot onto his thigh and removed her boot and striped orange sock. She winced as he folded back her jeans to reveal her bandaged ankle.
“Is a dragon’s bite poisonous?”
“It can be, but if someone went to the bother of treating the wound for you, I suspect they wanted to keep you alive.”
“To use as bait.”
He looked up into her eyes, his own faintly amused. “I was already caught.”
“You were?”
“I have to thank you, actually.” He started to unwrap the bandage. “My rage at your capture allowed me to slough off the effect of my shackles with greater speed than my enemies expected.”
“Well that’s cool, because your rage woke
“I can see the tooth marks, but there isn’t any infection. Is it still sore?”
“A little.”
“I can fix that.” Warmth flowed from his fingers into her skin, and slowly the ache disappeared. “Is that better?”
“Much.” She had to get his hands off her before she launched herself into his lap and covered him in kisses. Being close to him was so confusing. She was never sure if she wanted to slap him or fuck him. God forbid she ever got up the nerve to do both. In his current form he’d probably love it. “Thanks.”
He hesitated, his broad shoulders blocking out the light from the fire. “There is something else hurting you.”
There was no point in prevaricating. She touched her upper arm. “My shoulder. When I was trying to find my way in the main entrance earlier, I got caught by some sort of magic pulse rebound.”
“You broke into the palace?”
“Yeah, did you think Adam dragged me in by the hair?”
“I
“Well, we all know what that makes you, don’t we? I broke in by myself.” She glared at him. Yeah. It was so much easier to feel mad than sorry for him. She did mad
