“Not my place to say a word,” I answer lightly.
Opening a cupboard, he changes the subject. “I don’t have any other clothes for you, so I left one of my shirts on the bed. You can sleep in that.”
“Thanks. What time is it?”
“Almost nine.”
“Seriously? It feels like the middle of the damn night.”
“I mean, a lot’s happened today. You survived a journey through the Blacklands. Reunited with your favorite person—talking about myself, obviously. Met your dead uncle’s twin brother. It’s been eventful.”
“Quite,” I agree.
“Do you want a drink? There’s a man in the valley who makes the most ridiculously potent wine.” He holds up a black bottle.
“Wine?” I echo in surprise. Wine is such a rare luxury in the wards. I heard it’s difficult for the Company scientists to produce a synthetic version that doesn’t taste sour. “I’d love some.”
“Go get changed while I pour.”
I duck into his bedroom, where I find a neatly folded white T-shirt on the edge of the bed. I strip out of my clothes and set them on a nearby chair. His shirt hangs to my knees, thankfully covering the bloodmark that’s no longer safely hidden beneath burn tissue. I spent so many years feeling self-conscious about my burns, and now I find myself longing for them.
When I return, Gray’s green eyes travel up my bare legs, and my first thought is how I doubt very much that Cross would like this. No, he’d get all primal and growly. Tell me how he wants to rip Gray’s eyeballs out of the sockets for daring to look at me.
I’m not sure what it says about me, but I love that dominant, possessive side of him. No one’s ever growled over me before.
Gray’s gaze lingers, and I can see the question there.
“What?” I say, shifting awkwardly.
“Can I see it? The bloodmark?”
After a beat of hesitation, I lift the hem of the shirt, exposing my left thigh. He steps closer, taking in the perfect red circle that sits just below my hip.
He whistles softly. “It’s big.”
“Not that big,” I protest.
“Have you seen Ellis’s?”
“Yeah.” Ellis’s bloodmark was on the center of his palm, maybe an inch or so in diameter.
“He’s one of the most powerful healers on the Continent, and your mark is twice the size of his. Hell, yours is as big as Jayde Valence’s.” Gray pauses. “I heard she killed herself after Travis Redden started rounding up all the loyalists.”
He’s handing me a glass of red wine as he says that, and I’m caught so off guard that it nearly slips through my fingers. He doesn’t miss the reaction, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.
“Do you know anything about that, cowgirl?”
I secure my grip on the wineglass and head for the couch. I’m so tired after walking for days. I lift my knees and pull the T-shirt over them, trying to decide how much to share.
Realizing I’m going to have to tell him everything tomorrow anyway, I sigh and opt for the truth. “It wasn’t her choice.”
“We were told she shot herself in the head. How was that not her choice?”
I bite my lip.
“Darlington.”
“I incited her to do it,” I blurt out.
