I studied him, taking in the signs he was settling down. His eyebrows had been drawn together, like he was in pain, but they eased into little comma shapes over his eyes again. The frown on his face lifted, and his jaw, which had been clenched so hard the muscle next to his ear twitched, relaxed.
What I was going to say would stress him out again, but it had to be said. “It makes sense that you suspected me of hurting your father.”
He opened his eyes. “No, it doesn’t.” Adjusting himself so he was seated, he took my hands. “Imogen. We never should have accused you.”
“Something attacked you this morning, Killian.” I took another breath and let it out slowly. “And I don’t know if it was a banshee, but it used its voice to hurt you.”
He dropped my hands and pulled me into his lap. Curling up, I rested my head against his chest. “I know. It’s lessened, but that one high note is still ringing in my ears.”
I pulled back sharply. “It is?”
“It’s not as loud, or as painful, but it’s there. Like a mosquito buzzing. Or like a firecracker exploded next to me and my hearing has to adjust. It never stops.”
“I wish I could make it go away.”
Killian snuggled down and pulled a blanket over us. “I slept better than I have in a year last night.”
I smiled. “Me too.”
“I like to think you kept the evil away for a while.”
That was a nice thought. I hoped I had done that. “If staying close to you helps, then count me in.”
There was a soft smack as he kissed the top of my head. “Deal.”
I wasn’t really tired. My body was wound up from the stress of him being hurt, but I could sense his exhaustion. Humming, I trailed my fingers up and down his arm until his breathing evened out and he fell asleep.
“Are you sure about this?”
I paused to peer at my reflection in one of the twenty or so mirrors lining the hallway. My body shape and size were the same, but my hair was a whitish blonde, and my face appeared sharper, with a pointed chin and cheekbones you could cut glass on. I was completely unrecognizable, even to myself.
Flynn grinned at me in the mirror. “I’m sure. I can’t take one more day of pretending you’re a damn guard. I want to be able to touch you without people assuming I’ve switched teams.”
“Killian and Ronan won’t like it.”
He shrugged. “They may be older, but that doesn’t mean they’re smarter.”
I bit back a smile and gave it one more try. “Won’t the others think it’s strange that you’re bringing a woman to the training room?”
He took my hand and tugged to get me walking again. But, instead of dropping it, he held on, interlocking our fingers. “Every competitor needs his good luck charm, don’t you think? You’re mine.”
I wanted to ask if that was merely his excuse for bringing me along or if he meant it. Our relationship wasn’t at all strained after he’d walked in on me naked with Killian a few days ago. But I couldn’t help but wonder if it changed how he felt about me.
Not that he’d felt anything but friendship before.
Holy hedgehogs.
Why was I obsessing about this right now? Today was the last day of training before the start of the King’s Tournament, and there were more important things to think about.
Like the fact that days of spying on Anlon hadn’t turned up a shred of evidence to use against him. If he was behind Killian’s attacks, he was hiding it well. He hadn’t met with anyone suspicious or said anything to give himself away. Then again, Killian hadn’t had another episode since the morning after we first slept together. So, it was impossible to know for certain one way or the other.
Much to Ronan’s frustration, his attempts at snooping hadn’t resulted in anything helpful either. Besides discovering that a prince of Mag Mell was using the equivalent of a magical performance-enhancing drug, all of his breaking and entering had been a waste of time.
At this point, I was just waiting for the other sword to drop. Things had been a little too quiet over the last few days. Something bad was on the horizon—I could feel it.
“Um, Imogen?”
I returned my attention to Flynn. “Yes?”
“What’s with the ‘holy hedgehogs’?”
Another fake expletive came to mind, but I managed to stop myself from broadcasting it like an