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“A dullahan is a difficult creature to kill with mere animal instincts,” Garrick explained softly. “Claws and teeth might have injured it, but it will not die unless you’re a bit more precise, something I’m not always adept at in wolf form. That’s because the only way to truly defeat a dullahan is by destroying the head it carries. Once that happens, the headless body quickly loses power.”
I was quiet for a long moment. “There will be more creatures coming for me,” I said. Not a question.
Garrick hummed his affirmation.
“Are you sure you want to—”
“Yes,” Garrick said, cutting me off. “Besides, I already made a statement by killing the dullahan. More of their servants will search for you here, and they’ll find the body outside one of my cabins. The Silverfrost family knows who I am, and they’ll know what I’ve done.”
“I’m so—”
“Don’t apologize. I made my choice.”
I frowned as I finished with his first gash, moving on to the next. My greatest virtue in Altidvale had been in being kind and quiet and unobtrusive. Apologizing for my existence and striving not to cause trouble or disturbances was second nature.
As if sensing my surprise and discomfort, Garrick reached around, seizing my hand in his before I could make the next stitch. Warm and calloused, his fingers enveloped mine. My pulse jumped, but not unpleasantly. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d felt a friendly touch.
I was also painfully aware of his state of undress and the fact that a gentleman clasping my hand like this back home would mean something far more intimate. It would have been a declaration of affection. A gesture indicating that he wanted to court or marry me.
Heat singed my cheeks.
“Thank you,” Garrick murmured, before dropping my hand and allowing me to stitch the second gash in his back.
“For what?”
“For tending to me,” he responded, as if it were obvious.
“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be wounded.”
There was a smile in Garrick’s voice. “Nevertheless.” He paused. “Besides, there is a thrill to fighting for one’s survival. It makes you feel alive.”
“Hmm. Must be the wolf in you.”
He chuckled softly. “None of my other prey is such a challenge.”
I finished stitching up his back in comfortable silence, then soaked one of the cloths in the bowl of water, cleaning off the blood.
Standing, Garrick stretched and grinned. When he turned to face me, his gold eyes were bright. “You’re a talented seamstress indeed.”
My eyes skimmed over the scratches lining his chest, trying to focus on the injuries and not the skin. “Shall I stitch the others closed?”
“They’re not that deep. I can clean them myself, but if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate your help with bandaging them.”
I nodded, too embarrassed to speak. Garrick sat on the table and cleaned his wounds, giving me a chance to collect myself before he handed me a roll of gauze.
“If you wrap it around my body, you can cover the scratches in front and protect your stitches on my back,” Garrick suggested.
“This would be a compromising position back home,” I said, my voice sounding almost like a squeak.
“No one in Altidvale will find out about your forward advances.”
“Advances?” Cheeks aflame, I glanced up to find Garrick’s teasing grin.
“I’m jesting, Starlight. I know you’re not trying to seduce me.” He winked. “You’re doing good by helping an injured man. There’s nothing scandalous or compromising about tending to the hurt.”
Finding comfort in that reassurance—which was true, I knew I couldn’t leave him to suffer, especially after he’d earned these wounds defending my life—I stepped up to the table. My heart pounded. I was close enough to him that his knees pressed into my legs and I could feel the heat of his body consuming me. Refusing to meet his eyes, I placed the gauze over one ofhis scratches and then unwound the roll, reaching around his back. I realized my error a moment too late, when I was forced to stretch my other arm around to grasp the gauze, practically embracing Garrick.
I was too rigid, my footing too unsure, and I slipped, falling against him. Seizing my waist, Garrick chuckled, the sound vibrating through his chest as he held me. Without meaning to, I glanced up and met his eyes, which appeared molten gold in the firelight. Its flickering glow cast shadows along the planes of his face, highlighting his inhuman beauty.
