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And Rukia could see why. Though there was still a visible gouge through the muscle and bone, the laceration looked far better.
When Circe finished, she huffed out a sigh of accomplishment before she turned to Jaeda with an inquiring look. “Will you be okay?”
The healer smiled meekly. “I’ll be fine, Circe. Run along and say hello to your ravishing mate for me.”
“I will.” Circe’s broad smile lit her face. “Take care of Isaiah.”
With a rueful glance at the unconscious man on the sofa, Circe departed. Silence filtered through the darkening room as Rukia pulled her legs up under her on the armchair, shivering against the air-conditioned chill of the room.
A thought snapped into her head.
Jumping to her feet, she ignored Derikles’ sharp gaze as she set about her task. She riffled through nearby cabinets to no avail, her head swiveling to a closet situated underneath the stairs. Oddly enough, it was meticulously organized with coats and shoes and everything in between.
When she caught sight of an instrument case at the bottom, a single eyebrow rose at her find. Rukia grabbed the handle of the clearly expensive case and pulled it out for a thorough inspection.
“What do we have here?” Rukia’s comment was quiet, mostly to herself, but all three conscious Raeths in the room turned their attention to her. “Not a ukulele.”
Taking the liberty of opening the case, she whistled long and low, her eyes feasting on the beautiful cherry wood of the violin inside. Knowing Derikles’ eyes were on her, she intentionally jabbed at his suspicion. “Looks expensive. Bet I could fence this for a fortune.”
“Do you mind?”
“Not particularly, Derikles.” She gave him her best innocent smile, her hands continuing to rest on the top of the case.
A twitch in his eye. “Put it away, woman.”
After inspecting the lovely instrument once more, she latched it back up. She couldn’t resist. “Does he play?”
Based solely on Derikles’ expression, she knew he wasn’t going to answer. Rolling her eyes, she returned the case to its resident spot on the floor, before searching the rest of the closet.
Obviously, the Raeth who claimed this was a home lacked the basic necessities. Instead of admitting defeat, she strolled back through the living space and started climbing the stairs.
She could feel Derikles’ eyes beating into her the entire way up the open stairwell until she’d made it to the third-floor landing—and out of sight. Huffing out an annoyed sigh, she ventured forth into Isaiah’s bedroom.
It was odd, the feeling of being in such a personal space without his knowledge—orpermission. But considering the fact that she’d slept in his arms only the night before? Somehow, she knew he wouldn’t object.
Grabbing the only thing she could find, she trotted down the stairs with it in her arms. Derikles had already jumped to his feet and was scowling at her before she’d even crossed the room to stand in front of Isaiah.
“Easy, bulldog,” Rukia assured. “I’m not planning on smothering him, cross my heart. But it’s cold in here, and he’s shirtless. You do the math, Copernicus.”
Aggression gave way to concern on Derikles’ features in the seconds that followed, the malevolence of his stance softening. Taking that as her queue, she turned back to Isaiah and gently spread the black blanket over his form.
Xedrix returned, the front door slamming behind him hard enough to make Rukia jolt. As he walked into the living room, his eyes jumped from Isaiah to her and back again. The massive Raeth male grinned at her before going over to speak with Derikles in low tones.
Yawning, she cast a glance over to Jaeda.
“I’m calling it a night.” When the female offered her a soft smile from her nook, Rukia turned to the men. “Sleep tight.”
Smiling sweetly at the trio who gave her varied looks of interest or aggression, she padded up the stairs to Isaiah’s bedroom without so much as a backwards glance. Halting at the top before she turned into Isaiah’s room, she overheard their conversation following her departure.
“Why is she here?” Tien questioned, his voice low.
“Hell if I know,” Derikles replied. “Maybe Isaiah’s taken a shine to her, though I can’t see why.”
“She just lost her sovereign, Derikles,” came Jaeda’s gentle tones. “Cut her some slack.”
“I like her,” Xedrix replied, chipper. “Dude, we’ll never have to water the grass again. Think about all the time it’ll save.”
Rukia pressed her fingers into her curled lips to keep from laughing. He wasn’t wrong.
