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His home was beautiful, but I could only turn my gaze away from him for so long.
Unable to quell my curiosity, I watched him out of the side of my eye as he strode over to a table where there was a large basin of water. He grabbed a small bowl and a light purple bar of soap, along with a set of freshly laundered white linens before returning to me.
“What are ice wraiths?” I ventured.
“Monsters from the realm of Helheim that have escaped through the rift that serves as a magical barrier to keep up apart. They’ve been wreaking havoc across the northern reaches of Icegard, attacking the border towns and leaving them ruined. Every day I fight, and then more come. It is a never-ending battle that even I cannot keep up with,” he continued.
“I don’t remember seeing anything attack me,” I murmured.
He dipped the soap into the water and lathered it against a small white hand towel. Tentatively, he cupped my head and angled it to the side. With a deep, hesitant breath, he squeezed it and dribbled a bit of water on my scalp.
“They’re invisible to the human eye,” he answered simply. He didn’t mention his own eyesight, but he didn’t need to. I already know he was something much more than human.
His fingers massaged into my scalp with extreme gentleness. Despite his tremendous care not to hurt me, I still sucked in a breath at the pressure of his touch a few times.
“I’m so sorry, Ella. I’m almost done with the worst of it,” he murmured.
“I must look like a war veteran or something,” I answered, trying to keep the mood light. His expression remained serious though, and I went back to eating the tasty morsel in my hands. I broke off another piece and put it up to my lips, chewing thoughtfully. By the time he was finished, there were several pink cloths on the table stained with my blood.
He started wrapping my head again with fresh linens, keeping the pressure of his touch light. By the time he was done, the pounding in my skull had lessened considerably.
“There now. That should heal much more quickly,” he murmured.
“Can’t use magic to fix me?” I asked hopefully.
With visible regret, he shook his head. “I wish I could, but I already tried. Something is blocking my ability to heal you. Maybe the need isn’t great enough. I’m not sure of the reason, but I didn’t want to risk traveling much further with the state you were in a few days ago,” he answered, his voice melancholy.
“Guess I’ll have to heal the old-fashioned way then, huh,” I stated with a halfhearted grin. I popped the last of the pastry into my mouth, lost in thought. Maybe this whole waking up in a different world thing wasn’t that bad. Maybe I could actually learn to like it here.
Maybe there would be something between him and me after all…
For a moment, his eyes searched mine, like he knew what I was thinking, and he was considering it, too. There was a sort of reluctant warmth within his icy gaze that made me want to know more about him. Did he regret his choice to save me? Was this something he was only doing because it was the honorable thing to do?
He glanced down at my lips, staring at me with a sense of longing that hadn’t been there before. His jawline tensed and he stood up abruptly, cutting off whatever had been happening between us in an instant.
“I have left the north unguarded for several days now. I must resume my rounds soon now that you’re awake.”
“Do you still plan to bring me to the castle in the south?”
“When you are healed enough for such a journey, I will take you,” he replied with a tight smile.
I didn’t ask him when that would be because he turned away and walked across the room to a steel latticed window. The glass was a bit hazy, but I could tell enough to know that the sun had set only moments ago. The sky was lit up with a rich fiery cascade of colors. I drew my knees up into my chest and wrapped my arms around my shins, watching Nykor in silence.
There was something happening between us, and I couldn’t figure it out. It was as if he wanted to get to know me, yet there was a vast wall in between us that he wasn’t willing to traverse.
Still, I felt myself drawn to him anyway.
I remembered the feel of his touch on my skin, and I shivered, sudden heat surging from my core. My gaze slid over the hard lines of his shoulders and the chiseled muscles of his arms. He would be considered exceptionally handsome by any woman’s standards, but to me, he seemed more than that. From his looks, to his scent, to his soft touch, he was utterly captivating in a way I couldn’t really even begin to explain.
Sure, he’d saved me from the top of a mountain and then pulled me from the hands of a mysterious monster in this strange land, but he’d also bared my bottom and spanked me for slapping him across the face when he’d gotten too close.
Maybe that’s exactly why you want him to kiss you, because he’s the first man ever willing to not only take care of you, but to take you in hand when you need it.
Sometimes I really hated being in my own head.
With a sigh, I squeezed my arms tighter, trying to ignore the palpable tension between us for a little while longer. Eventually, I gave up and laid back down. My exhaustion welled up and I closed my eyes, wanting to rest them for a bit.
I wasn’t sure if it was a dream or not, but he came close and grazed his knuckles against my cheekbone.
