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Though he was the only one other than Rand who stayed in sight, Cai backed off as well. Rand suspected the vampire wanted the cleansing touch of that water like he wanted air, but in that odd way of his, he'd cede the honor to Dovia first.
It made Rand think of how pups were allowed to eat from a kill first, no matter the adult pecking order, because their need was greater. Cai took a seat on a rock across the creek, probably figuring the boundary might increase her comfort zone.
Rand came to Dovia first as human, moving with his makeshift crutch. He did expect the leg would heal up better after he had some of the vampire's blood, but there was a fiery ache to the injury different from wounds he'd experienced before. Even when the hunter had shot him in the haunch, it hadn't had this deep throb that seemed to vibrate with the pumping of his heart.
He was fine for now, though. He really wanted Cai to recuperate some more before taking any more of his blood. However, as he sensed the vampire's eyes on him, he expected the stubborn bastard was going to insist before long. Rand knew Cai was worried that his magic had done something irreparable. Rand wasn't worried about that. The most important thing had been accomplished. She was here. Someone had been saved from evil. It was possible. That thought alone dulled pain.
Plus, though today was a victory, there was still much tending to do for others who were wounded...in both body and mind.
Fane had provided him a pair of loose shorts that could be worked over the splint and hung loose over it. While modesty wasn't usually a big concern, they were all sensitive to how Dovia might be feeling about fully grown naked men around her.
She was a slim figure in the blanket, but her back was straight. Her gaze clung to the moving waters as if she wished she could melt into their flow. Rand took a seat next to her, a little surprised when she immediately moved, wrapping her arms around and burrowing against him. He bent his head over hers protectively.
You have that effect on those who need to feel safe.
He glanced toward Cai, but the vampire was also staring at the water. A different look from Dovia's, harder to interpret.
"They killed Petra," she said. "She tried to stop them. Even knowing she had no chance...she tried. She gave her life to protect me. If she hadn't fought so hard, maybe they would have brought her...but she was so fierce."
Rand had to search his memory, but Cai remembered. Her second mark servant.
"I'm sorry," Rand murmured. She nodded against his chest.
"I smell bad," Dovia whispered. "I'm sorry."
Shock. It could keep the mind shifting drunkenly from topic to topic, no order to it. He remembered that. Rand rubbed his head along her crown, her temple.
"Thank you for coming for me," she said. "All of you. I...I want to thank Cai, but...he smells like them. Blood and earth. I'm afraid."
"He smells like earth, but not like them. Like me. He belongs to the forest. That's how he and I came together. He saved me. He's not like those others. He's not even like a lot of vampires, I think. He's hard to classify. A long time ago, he belonged to Goddard. Or Goddard thought he did. But Cai got away from him. Yet he came back to help you. Why don't you have him come sit on the other side of you? We'll both keep you warm. And I'll become a wolf, like you wanted."
He felt Cai's attention rise and rest on him as he spoke. Come closer, vampire. Trust me. She needs you, too.
"He might smell a little bit bad, too," Rand admitted. "But he usually smells bad."
Uncertain humor passed over her face. "You're not very respectful to your vampire." Her voice, while still low, had gained enough steadiness to reveal an appealing hint of Southern accent.
"The two of us aren't really like the vampires and servants you know." Rand ran a hand down her back. "Do you want to wash off some in the pool? There'll be a hot shower back at the house, but I know Cai wants to rinse off, too. Wash it all away."
After a long moment, she nodded. "Can you..." She was too well-raised to badger or insist, but when she started trembling, he didn't think anyone with a heart could say no to her. Rand squeezed her, and straightened. He removed the splint first, and her gaze cleared, as if she'd just put together how a shift would affect that.
"Oh...you probably shouldn't..."
He made a dismissive gesture. "It will be fine."
Brain cloud aside, Rand hadn't been feeding Cai a load of crap. Not really. The wound where the bone had punched through was knitting, and he could feel a tentative bond happening at the broken part. This probably was going to set him back, but he'd recover the ground. She was more important.
She already looked as if she thought she'd asked too much and was going to argue again, that little set to her chin, but he slid himself across the ground, far enough away to give him the necessary room. Pulling off his clothes, he shifted.
Yeah, it hurt like a son of a bitch, but the wolf's leg bone held, basically in the same state as the human version. Which meant he couldn't put any weight on it, but he could move. When he padded back to her, her arms were already lifting. She pressed against him again. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
He made a whuffing noise and put his head over hers.
Cai. Come. Needs both.
I truly doubt that. But the vampire complied, maybe because he needed them. Not that he'd ever admit such a thing. But Rand suspected it. Felt it. Scented it.
When Cai sat down on the other side of her, he left an inch or two of space, probably expecting that she wouldn't want the same proximity she had with Rand. But Rand saw surprise flash across his face when, after a few moments, she tentatively ventured a hand toward Cai, though she kept her face in Rand's fur. Rand wasn't sure what Cai would do with such a gesture, but fortunately, the vampire wasn't as emotionally clueless as he sometimes pretended to be. He took her hand, closed his fingers carefully over it, and held it on his knee.
She shuddered, but she gripped him harder. Cai adjusted closer, stroked her hair, and she let out a little sigh. They sat that way for some time. The creek sang its rushing song, the moonlight touched them, and the trees rustled in the easy breeze. It was the kind of night when a wolf would run for the joy of running, but Rand was content to be here.
If Cai's mind was as quiet as his, then the vampire felt it when he did, the shift in Dovia's emotions. They were still a tangled mix, but one rose to the top. Resolve.
Straightening up, Dovia rose. She swayed on unsteady legs, the two males watching her closely, ready to catch her. But she let the blanket slip off her shoulders, and she moved toward the water. Her hair was hacked and burned; her body was bruised and dirty. The water would wash it away; blood nourishment would help the bruising fade and the hair grow back. Even so, Rand expected Cai felt the same way Rand did looking at those marks; a lethal desire to kill them all over again.
But Dovia's mind was on something else. Slowly, she turned and looked at Cai. From her solemn look, Rand wondered if she was remembering what he had told her about Cai belonging to Goddard. She extended a quivering hand to the vampire. "Let's go get clean," she said.
Again, Cai surprised Rand, with simple acquiescence. Rising, he stripped off his jeans, and took her hand. Together, they moved to the bank. Though a wolf didn't cry like a human, Rand felt an odd stinging in his eyes, watching them steady each other.
At the edge, she hesitated. His threat of tears became a poignant mental smile as he recognized a typical girl's hesitance about the water temperature--and likely a vampire's regarding the depth, since they had no buoyancy. Rand had learned that during one of the random, idle conversations he and Cai had shared on their hike deeper into the mountains.
"Allow me," Cai said. He jumped into the water with a quiet sploosh. When he broke the surface and stood, the water came up to his chest where he was standing. As he stroked closer to her again, it came to his waist. He extended a hand. "It's chilly, but it's not bad. The water held on to the day's heat. It was a pretty hot day."
His lips twitched as his gaze shifted briefly t
o Rand, reminding him the vampire had had firsthand experience of it.
"My lady?" Cai prompted gently.
The formality helped. Dovia wet her lips, and leaned down to graze his fingertips with her own. He caught her on the jump, easing her down and away from him before she could stiffen at the physical intimacy. Cai stayed close enough though, since he and Rand shared a concern about her strength. Rand would give her more blood soon, for nourishment as much as to heal the wounds.
You're going to get fed first.
She needs it more. So do you.
The vampire scowled his way. He wanted Rand to feed before feeding anyone else, but the plain truth was Dovia wasn't likely to let any other shifter near her yet. Or at least without it making her uncomfortable or nervous, and neither of them wanted to inflict that upon her.
