“I’ll leave the ladder up,” the farmer’s wife said. “In case you need to visit the toilet during the night.”
“Thank you,” Hazel said.
The farmer’s wife smiled kindly and descended the ladder.
“This was a stroke of luck, huh?” Hazel said.
She spread the fresh sheet the farmer’s wife had given us over the pallet. She did the same with the thick blanket and placed both pillows on the bed.
Evidently, she expected us to sleep together again.
At least there was one positive thing about this whole situation.
“Are you okay?” she said.
She looked at me pensively.
“I’m fine,” I said.
“You seem a little… distracted.”
What should I tell her? How much should I reveal?
Did I trust her?
Yes, entirely. She was the last person in the world who would run off to tell somebody about who I was. She didn’t even know anybody, for a start.
She placed her hands on my shoulders and worked at my tense muscles.
It felt good, and I groaned with satisfaction
“We should use that Healer’s Touch medicine on your skin,” she said. “With any luck, it’ll be fully healed by tomorrow. I can’t wait to see what you look like.”
What I look like.
Every Titan in the Empire knew what I looked like. One glance at my face and they would know who I was. Even dressed in my rags.
But I could not face them.
Not yet.
Not when I knew so many innocent lives rested on my shoulders.
And Hazel…
How could I face her after she knew what I had caused?
Hazel fetched the package of flowers and opened it.
“How do we prepare them?” she said. “Do I need to mash up the petals or something?”
“No,” I said. “The ointment is already inside the flower. You just need to reach inside and apply it to the affected area.”
Hazel did, beginning with my back, arms, and legs.
When she reached for my face, I pulled back.
“Just a little more,” she said.
It wasn’t the stinging sensation of the ointment as it was placed on my skin that bothered me. I didn’t want Titans to know who I was.
“Maybe you shouldn’t put it on my face,” I said.
“Why not?” she said. “I’ve been dying to see what you look like under there.”
“Maybe you won’t like what you see.”
“And maybe I will. Don’t be such a baby.”
She dabbed a little more ointment on her fingers and leaned forward.
I pulled back.
She searched my eyes and frowned.
“You really don’t want me to put it on your face, do you?” she said.
I couldn’t answer her. If I did, she would ask the obvious question: Why?
And what would I tell her?
What would make sense?
Who didn’t want to recover from their burn wounds?
I decided to change the subject.
“I didn’t know Changelings had attacked us for so many years,” I said. “They’ve been attacking us forever, making us their slaves and killing us. What sort of emperor lets that happen?”
Hazel sat back on her heels.
“A bad one, I guess,” she said. “But maybe he didn’t do it on purpose.”
“How could he not know?” I said. “It’s his responsibility to know.”
“Sometimes people make the wrong decisions. It’s not his fault the Changelings attacked. Maybe he could have arranged better defenses. But it’s not his fault the Changelings decided to take over the empire. At least, I don’t blame him.”
She had an innocent look in her eye. She really didn’t know I was the one we were talking about.
And was she right? Was it not my fault?
I hadn’t intentionally attacked the empire or allowed for it to be taken over. I would never do anything like that. The advisors were the real traitors. They must have worked with the Changelings, making it easier for them to overthrow the empire.
I was guilty of negligence, nothing more.
My lips quirked into a smile. Hazel was right.
And if I was going to get a shot at a second chance, I was going to need to show my face. The Titans would need to know their emperor was still alive.
I nodded to her.
“Give me the ointment, please,” I said.
Hazel leaned forward and smeared it over my injured face. Once she had covered every inch, she leaned back.
“There,” she said. “All done.”
She yawned, and it took up her entire face.
“Let’s go to bed,” she said. “With any luck, we’ll arrive at the Fallen Temple tomorrow.”
Hazel stripped off her clothes, folded them up, and placed them on a rickety wooden chair. I watched as her naked form slipped underneath the blankets.
I removed my clothes and joined her.
There was still a chill in the loft, but enough for us to have to sleep together naked again?
I didn’t think so.
What did that mean?
Did it mean anything?
Hazel turned her back to me as she had the previous night.
I wrapped my arms around her, once again rock hard and probing at her soft thighs.
My nostrils were full of her scent. She was intoxicating, overpowering.
I needed to taste her. Just a little.
Maybe if I did it without her knowing?
I lowered my face to her back as if I was only getting comfortable. I pressed my lips to the soft skin of her shoulders. I gently caressed her and watched how she reacted.
She didn’t. Perhaps she was already asleep.
So, I tasted her again.
She tasted sweet—of desire and longing. I was probably only tasting myself.
I gently caressed her with my tongue.
A single prod.
The taste of her turned my brain to goo.
Goosebumps popped up over her back. The epicenter was right where my tongue had touched her.
I cuddled up closer to her.
She surprised me when she ran her fingers through mine.
She wasn’t asleep.
She was still awake.
Hazel took my hand and placed it on her stomach. Then, with my mouth turning dry, she raised my hand up her body to her breast.
Just as she had probably done last night, except I’d been fast asleep.
I felt the hardness of her nipple and squeezed it between my thumb and forefinger.
Her breath hitched in her throat and she let out a little moan. She ran
