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“Here, let me,” he says. My flush deepens as he wipes my face. “It’s a good thing the next event isn’t until tomorrow. I wouldn’t want you to blame me if you got disqualified for failing to appear.”
I frown and swat at him, but it’s all for show. “What time is it?”
“Almost noon.”
So late. I’ll be lucky if I’m fit enough for anything tomorrow at this rate. “Ugh, this is miserable.”
“I have something that may help. Wait here.”
A shiver rolls across my skin as he vanishes into thin air.
“Sigurd?” I call, but he’s well and truly gone.
Seconds tick into minutes. I shove off the floor and finish cleaning myself up. A temporary fix. With the way my stomach’s churning, it won’t last long.
A soft breeze ruffles my hair. Sigurd appears next to me, and I jump. In my haste, I nearly knock over half the stuff on the vanity.
“I’ll never get used to that,” I say.
Something passes across his face before he shakes it away. He holds up a vial of blue liquid. “Here. Drink this.”
My nose wrinkles as I stare at the dubious substance.
He pops the stopper. I reach for it, but he shakes his head.
“I won’t drop it,” I mumble.
“Even so.” He raises the vial to my lips.
It’s cold, tingly, and tastes of mint and something I can’t quite place. All my muscles relax as the liquid chills its way down into me.
“What was that?” Totally should have asked before I drank it but oh well.
“A healing tonic.” The empty vial clinks when he sets it on the counter. “You’ll be sleepy today but should be back to normal before tomorrow.”
“Thank goodness.” I sigh, my shoulders going loose. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” He brushes my cheek with the back of his hand, sending a shiver down to my toes.
I bite my lip, holding back a sheepish smile, and head for the bedroom. One step, and I stumble.
Sigurd catches me with reflexes faster than any human’s, but instead of settling me on my feet, he lifts me into his arms, just like he did that first night he found me in the woods.
“Sigurd.”
He stiffens. A brief glow emanates from his eyes. I swallow, still tasting mint. Should I have addressed him as king?
“Thank you,” I add.
But it’s gone as soon as it came. He settles me in the sheets, and I don’t protest as he sits on the covers next to me. Already, darkness pulls at the corners of my vision. This stuff works fast, not like human medicine which can take ages to have any effect.
Silence settles between us, so heavy and thick I almost can’t breathe. I have to break it. Say something. Anything. “Humans help your magic?”
“Yes, it’s…” He glances down at my blinking eyes and stops whatever he was going to say. “It’s a tale for another time but yes.”
An embarrassingly large yawn erupts before I can stop it. He’s right. I won’t make it through a long tale, but I have to ask. “Then why don’t you spend time with many?”
Sigurd huffs. “ I should have known you’d ask about that.” His fingers trail through my hair as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. “Many reasons, but my father… spent a lot of time with humans. I refuse to be like him.”
