“So did I.” The words came out so quietly that I was not sure if he heard them over the trickling water. “But I didn't.”
Water dripped off his lips as he blew out a deep breath. “No. You didn't.” His hand slid from my hair, down to the middle of my back where he clasped it with his other. I looked up into his face. He looked so somber. Broken.
“I’m okay,” I assured him and myself, the statement not feeling true until I said it out loud.
“Thank the gods.” Sebastian held onto me tightly, as if he was worried I'd slip from his grasp if he let go.
I welcomed the comfort and stretched my arms out to embrace him back, my heart swollen with love for him.
“What do you remember?” His chin rested on top of my head, water dribbling down the front of his face and on to mine as he waited for an answer.
“Mostly everything until I blacked out. Then I remember waking up in my bed, but only for a moment.” I racked my brain, trying to recall all of the details. “I had a strange dream, too, while I was out. I think it may have been another vision.”
Sebastian’s jaw tightened.
“What?”
His voice lowered. “You were muttering right before you woke up—something about death.”
“Yeah…that was it.”
Heartbeats passed before either of us spoke again.
Pulling my chest from his, I stared up at him. “Lucan found my journal entries. Calvin had been breaking into my room. He read them all,” I blurted out. “When we found him in your father’s study, he was planning to plant information on me. He was going to give away how weak my magic makes me in hopes that King Hawthorne would hand me over to Draemor.”
Sebastian's jaw ticked, and I could tell that he was fighting his anger in order to keep me calm.
“We should probably get out. Get you dressed and fed. Then we can talk aboutthis.” He reached around me to turn the water off, and I shivered with the sudden lack of heat.
He wrapped me in a towel, warm from the humidity of the washroom, then he scooped me in his arms. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror when he walked by, and a gasp escaped me. Bruises and scabs covered a good portion of my skin. The pad of my finger grazed my forehead, recalling how it felt to have my face scraped against concrete.
“It looks way better than it was.” Sebastian noticed my shock. “Pia healed most of it.”
Fuck. I lookedworse?
Sebastian carried me to my bed, placing me gently down on it. I pulled the towel tightly around myself, using it as a replacement for the warmth of his body.
“Give me two minutes. I'm going to run down to my room and change into some dry clothes, then I’ll be right back.” His eyes shot me a warning. “Don't try and get up.”
My eyes rolled back in my head at his bossiness in a moment like this, but in this situation, he was probably right. I was far too weak to walk.
His clothes left a trail of water as he left, and while I waited for him to return, I took inventory of my injuries. Moving the towel to see my knees, my mouth clamped shut to see black and purple from where Calvin slammed me down onto them.
I palmed my elbow, wincing at the scab that had replaced the exposed bone. I’d no doubt have a scar there—just like Sebastian. I almost smirked at the thought of our matching scar tissue, but the stories behind them were nothing to smile about.
The sun rose over the cliffside outside my window. “How long was I out?” I asked as soon as Sebastian reappeared in dry clothing.
He marched straight for my wardrobe, rummaging through it. “I dunno. Lost track of time. At least half a day,”he said, holding out a pair of lounge pants and a shirt. “Would have been longer if it weren't for Pia.”
“Yeah. Like, forever,” I quipped.
He glared at me.
“Is she okay? Pia? That must have taken a lot out of her.”
“She's resting now. We want to keep a close eye on you for a while in case there's anything internally she missed, but she thinks she fixed most of the damage.”
I raised my arms, letting him slide a shirt over my head ever so carefully. “Have you slept?”
