Page 75 of On Brutal Thrones

Fenric sits on the other side of the flames, his copper curls practically glowing in the firelight as he turns several rabbits over the heat. When we reached this spot, the guys refused to let me do anything. I tried to help twice. The first time, Thorian pushed me gently back down by the shoulder. The second, Talon simply picked up my legs and settled them across his lap as if that ended the discussion.

Apparently, it did.

“I can help with dinner,” I say, making another halfhearted attempt to sit up.

Three sets of eyes immediately turn toward me.

“No,” Thorian says.

“I’m fully capable of turning a rabbit on a stick.”

“No,” Fenric says.

“I can sit beside a fire...”

“You’re doing that now,” Talon points out.

I glare at him.

He pats my ankle. “And you’re doing a remarkable job.”

“Asshole.”

“There she is.”

His smile makes it impossible to stay annoyed, and I sink back against Thorian with a sigh.

Thorian and Talon had gathered firewood while Fenric hunted, then Fenric worked his usual magic finding mushrooms and nuts to go with the meat. They’ve barely let me lift a finger since. Part of me wants to protest. A much larger part of me is too tired to care.

Thorian’s fingers move slowly through my loose hair, his thumb brushing across my scalp in a steady rhythm that makes my eyes want to close. My hair is still damp from the quick bath we took before the sun disappeared. This time, the men let me go barely far enough for privacy, and even then I had to make all three of them turn around.

Talon had complained bitterly about the indignity of it.

“You realize I’ve seen you naked,” he’d called over his shoulder.

“That doesn’t mean you get to watch me bathe.”

“I fail to see the distinction.”

“You were the one who wanted a bathtub big enough for all four of us. This isn’t it.”

“Then I’d like to lodge a formal complaint about our accommodations.”

“Turn around.”

“I am turned around.”

Fenric had laughed. “She means stop trying to look over your shoulder.”

“I was checking for danger.”

“Of course you were.”

Even Thorian had laughed at that.

The memory warms me almost as much as the fire.

The water had felt incredible. Mud, pollen, sweat, and dried blood washed from my skin in cloudy streaks until I finally felt like myself again. Almost.