The annoying ass smiled in return. “It will be fine.”
She didn’t reply as she helped him remove his tunic and tossed it aside. She unwrapped the blood-soaked bandages to reveal the wounds beneath. Thankfully, the puncture through his lungs still looked good and hadn’t bled, but he’d irritated the wounds in his chest and back.
“It’s healing well,” Niall remarked. When Lexi turned her glower on him, he hastily added. “But you need more rest.”
“I know,” Cole said. “But going out there today will buy me some time.”
“And a lot of admiration,” Niall agreed. Then he glanced pointedly at Lexi. “For both of you.”
“Great. He reopened his injuries for admiration,” she muttered.
“No,” Cole said. “I did it to secure my throne and keep them in line. My father was a good, powerful leader, but they’ve never been led by a king as powerful as me, and now they all know it.”
Those words must have cost him dearly to utter, as his father was his hero, but they were true. King Tove did a lot of good for this realm, and he was a powerful man; Cole was stronger.
Niall and Cole exchanged a smile that set Lexi’s teeth on edge. Rising, she returned to Cole’s bedroom and gathered the pitcher and some fresh towels to clean him again. She filled the pitcher with warm water and returned to find them talking about their strategy for the rebels.
“You’re in no condition to go after them,” Lexi said.
“Not yet,” Cole replied. “But more than ten men will be required to hunt them. Unfortunately, with the injured and the fact we have to start rebuilding the homes here immediately, we cannot afford to send any more of the king’s guard after them. They’re needed here.”
“So are you.”
“They’ll expect me to hunt down my enemies.”
Lexi bit her tongue; he was right, but she still didn’t like it. She knelt before him and gently started to clean the injury on his chest again.
“You don’t have to do that,” he said. “I’ll take care of it.”
With tender fingers, he brushed back a strand of her hair that had fallen free of its knot. He tucked it behind her ear, and Lexi melted a little beneath his touch.
Then she recalled she was annoyed with the stubborn ass and went back to scowling at him. He had the nerve tochuckle.
“If you weren’t already hurt, I’d stab you myself,” she told him.
Those words only caused him and Niall to laugh harder. Then Cole winced when it irritated his wounds, and his laughter faded.
“Serves you right, jackass,” she muttered, and he laughed again but not as loudly.
“She will make a fine queen, milord,” Niall said.
And she realized she’d earned more than the respect of the dark fae in the courtyard; she’d also earned his.
“That she will,” Cole agreed as he caressed her cheek.
She desperately wanted to melt into his touch, but he was still bleeding, and she couldn’t do it.
“You should rest,” she said.
He cupped her cheek before focusing on Niall again. They continued to discuss their next move as she cleaned the blood from him and started to wrap a bandage around his chest and back again. She didn’t bother to dress the wound in his side; it didn’t need the attention.
As she worked, she tried not to let her apprehension show. She’d known being in a relationship with this stubborn, powerful man would be difficult, but she hadn’t realized how difficult.
She tried to keep her hands from trembling as she cleaned wounds. These were going to be the first of the many injuries she’d clean of his in her lifetime.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Brokk studiedthe beautiful woman who stood on the other side of the lodge as Sahira settled onto the ground and crossed her legs. Kaylia emanated disgust and hatred as she scanned them. Brokk considered giving her the finger.
