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“That’s okay.” She sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. “I’m brave.”
“You are.” Nikkos gave her the sweetest smile, and my heart felt like it was going to flutter right out of my chest. I could hardly reconcile the fact that this kind Fae served an evil queen.
Aurora only shook a little when Nikkos cleaned the wound by pouring water over it, but she pulled back when he scooped up the poultice and tried to smear it on her cut. “Ewee. It stinks.”
“Medicine usually does,” he said with a laugh before his smile faded. “But after I finish, I bet I can find some ginger candy in my bag. Have you ever had ginger candy?”
Aurora’s eyes widened. “No. What’s it taste like?”
“A little tangy,” he said, licking those full, kissable lips, “a little sweet.”
Aurora’s eyes dazzled with starlight. “I like sweets.”
Nikkos hovered over her cut. “If you’re a brave girl, I’ll give you a piece.”
Ember tugged on his wing. “I like sweets, too.”
He looked down at her. “Ember, right?”
She nodded.
“Ember,” he said with a wink, “if you would like to be my helper, I’ll give you a piece of candy, too.”
Ember bit her lip, nodding in my direction. “Auntie says I’m a good helper.” She set her doll on the stone slab. “Stay here, Bethamy,” she said to her doll, her brow creasing. “Mommy has work to do.” She turned back to Nikkos with a serious expression. “I’m ready.”
Nikkos smiled. “Hold this bowl for me, please”—he handed her the bowl of medicine—“and don’t spill it.”
She wrinkled her nose as she held the bowl away from her.
I held Aurora’s hand as Nikkos dabbed her cut with the poultice.
Aurora let out a hiss and dug her fingers into my palm. “Ouch.”
“Sorry, Aurora.” Nikkos’s brows drew together as he focused on getting the poultice into the cut. “This part is almost over.”
Ember clutched her bowl like it would explode if she dropped it. “I’m mad at Pappo and Yaya.”
I leaned into her while continuing to hold Aurora’s hand. “So am I, baby.”
“How will Mommy find us?” Ember asked.
I cast Nikkos a wary glance, fearing he and his brothers wouldn’t pass up the chance to kill Tari. “We will have to find her,” I said, trying to sound reassuring.
Nikkos wiped his hand on a cloth and then gave Aurora a somber look. “I need to heal the cut now. Don’t be afraid of my flame. It’s healing fire.”
Aurora’s brow scrunched as she pulled away from him. “Healing fire?”
“Yes.” He held up his hand and teal-blue flame sprouted from his fingers like water shooting out of a spout. “See?” He waved his hand across his arm. “It doesn’t hurt.”
Both girls gasped and then squealed in delight.
“Pappo doesn’t have blue fire,” Ember exclaimed.
He held out one hand to her while the other continued to sprout flame. “Let me see your arm.”
She looked to me again, and I nodded. Then she gave him her arm and giggled when he ran the blue flame over it.
“Am I hurting you?” he asked as he continued making passes across the wound.
