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Kherra finished by wrapping my shoulder in a soft cloth sling, her movements efficient and practiced. "Keep the sling on for now. It'll help stabilize the joint and remind you not to overuse it. The salve I applied will help with the knife wounds. They should close completely within a day or two without scarring."

"Thank you," I said, meaning it deeply.

"You're stronger than you look," Kherra said, and there was something knowing in her gaze as she glanced at Kavan. "That's good. You'll need that strength."

After she left, Kavan drew me a bath. I watched him move around his chambers with single-minded focus, testing the water temperature, adding oils that smelled like the gardens at night, laying out soft towels and a robe in a soft flannel-like fabric that was definitely his.

"You don't have to do this," I said. "I can—"

"I need to." Something raw threaded through his voice. "I need to take care of you. I need to see for myself that you're okay. Please, Leila. Let me do this."

So I did.

He helped me undress, his hands gentle and careful around my injuries. He helped me into the bath, and then he washed me with a tenderness that made my throat tight. He was careful around my shoulder, careful with my bruised wrists, and when he washed my hair, his fingers massaging my scalp, I felt tears prick at my eyes.

"I was so scared," I whispered. "When Verrater had me, when I thought I might never see you again—"

"Don't." His voice turned rough. "Don't think about that. You're here. You're safe. That's all that matters."

"It's not all that matters." I turned to look at him. He was kneeling beside the tub, his white hair falling forward to frame his face, his golden eyes bright with emotion. "Kavan, when Verrater had me, when I thought I might die, the only thing I could think about was you. Not my mission, not anything else. Just you. Just that I'd never get to tell you—"

"Tell me what?" His hand came up to cup my face, his thumb brushing over my cheekbone with the same deliberate care he'd used washing my hair.

"That I want to stay. Not just for a few more weeks. Not just to finish the mission. I want to stay here, on Drakhone. With you. If you'll have me."

His breath caught audibly, and for a moment he just looked at me. This enormous, ancient king kneeling beside a bathtub, his white hair falling forward, his golden eyes bright with something he hadn't let himself feel in a very long time. "If I'll have you? Leila, you're my mate, my blood song. There's no 'if' about it."

"Then say the rest of it," I whispered. "The part you haven't said yet." The part I so desperately needed to hear.

He was quiet for a moment, and I watched the struggle move across his face. Centuries of careful isolation warring with something newer and more terrifying. At last, he said, "I love you." The words came out fierce and certain and slightly rough, like something that had been kept under pressure for too long. "I love your stubbornness and your courage. I love that you scolded me for sniffing you when we first met." His thumb traced the line of my cheekbone again. "I love the way your blood sings to me. Not quietly, not simply, but a symphony that speaks to my soul. I want you to stay. Not as a diplomat or an operative. Just as mine."

The tears came before I could stop them. "I love you too. I think it started on that mountain, when you shifted back and stood there completely unconcerned about being naked, and your only real worry was whether I'd eaten enough. You were so careful with me when you had no reason to be." I pressed my palm flat against his jaw, feeling the tension there slowly release. "I love you, Kavan. I'm choosing this. I'm choosing you."

He kissed me then, and it was unlike every other kiss we'd shared. Not the desperate collision in the alcove, not the urgent hunger of his balcony or the passionate times since. This was deliberate and unhurried, two people knowing they loved each other and letting that love manifest between them.

When he finally pulled back, his eyes were lit from within, that particular gold that meant his dragon was close and content rather than restless. "Let me finish taking care of you. Then I want to take you to bed and show you what it means to be the mate of the dragon king." A smile twitched on his lips.

A laugh broke out of me, startled and wet with unshed tears. "That's possibly the most romantic thing anyone's ever said to me."

"Not romantic," he said, the corner of his mouth lifting, "just perfect."

He finished washing me with the same slow attention he'd given everything else, careful around my shoulder, careful with my bruised wrists, unhurried in a way that felt like its own kind of declaration. When he helped me out of the bath and dried me with tender strokes, it felt less like a person being tended to and more like something irreplaceable being handled with appropriate reverence.

He wrapped me in his robe. It was enormous on me, the sleeves swallowing my hands entirely and the hem dragging the floor, but it was warm and it smelled like him. Cedar and spice and entirely Kavan. I pulled it tighter around myself while he applied more of Kherra's salve to my shoulder and wrists.

Food was waiting in his chambers when we emerged. Bread still warm from the oven, soft cheese, fruit from the southern provinces, a stew that filled the room with the smell of something slow-cooked and savory. Kavan sat beside me and watched me eat with those intent golden eyes, occasionally pressing more bread into my hands when I slowed down.

"I can feed myself," I pointed out.

"I'm aware." He didn't stop.

I ate more than I expected to. When I finally set down my spoon, he was still watching me.

"Better?" he asked.

"Better," I said. "But Kavan—"

"I know you don't need me to do any of this." He set his own cup down and turned to face me fully. "You freed your arm, you elbowed a traitor in the gut, and you held yourself together through something that would've broken most people. I know exactly how capable you are." He paused. "But I need to do this. I need to touch you and hear you and watch you eat something, because six hours ago I didn't know if I'd get to do any of it again. Can you understand that?"