hair in a smaller towel, and she examined the bandage, easing it off and grimacing.
“Well, he did a good job on the stitches and it doesn’t look infected but dang, woman, that’s a nasty gash. That piece of wood hit deep, but at least it didn’t hit anything vital.” Angel slathered it with the cream that the doctor had given me the night before, then affixed a new dressing over the top. “There. At least you heal fast. I wish I could say the same.”
The Fae healed faster than humans. That was yet one more perk we had.
“I’ll make it down to the office, though it would help if you drove. I’m not going out in the field today, even if I wanted to.” I frowned, staring at the bandage. “I should keep a running tally of all the wounds I’ve gotten since I started working at the agency.”
“Granted, they’re worse than before, but you already had a number of scars when you and I came into the Wild Hunt.” She followed me into my bedroom, where she handed me a loose gauze sundress. “Here, wear this. It won’t irritate your side. If you put on a close-fitting shirt today, I guarantee you’re going to regret it.”
I nodded, accepting the dress. Angel fastened my bra for me because reaching around my back hurt, but I couldn’t go without one because my boobs were just too big to leave swinging in the wind, so to speak. As I pulled the dress, an olive gauzy shift—over my head, Angel found a pair of slip-on sandals.
“You don’t want to chance any residual effects of the concussion unbalancing you, so wear flats today.” She handed them to me, then began to comb my hair, carefully untangling the wet locks. “Sit in front of the mirror and I’ll dry your hair for you.”
“Yes, mother hen.” But I grinned as I said it. Truth was, Angel was a born nurturer. It struck me that if she and Rafé were ever to have a child, things might be just a little easier on the kid due to the fact that I was setting a precedent with the Fae Courts. Oh, the child would still be regarded as an abomination, but perhaps I could instill enough change so that the bigotry would be lessened by some degree, if only legally.
I closed my eyes, enjoying the play of warm heat as she dried my hair. It was naturally wavy, long to my mid-back, black with a blue sheen in it. My eyes were deep green and I hoped that wouldn’t change when I went through the ritual. I still wanted to be me, even if I was a becoming a goddess.
When Angel finished drying my hair, she braided it back for me, tying it off with a pretty bow over the hair tie.
“There, you’re set. Well, makeup but…you finish your face and I’ll go start breakfast. You call me before you come down the stairs. I don’t want you to chance tripping or losing your—”
“Balance. I know.” I sighed. “I’m really okay, but yeah, I will call you.” I knew she wanted to help. It made her feel good and Angel was the type of person who needed to feel useful.
She hugged me gently, then headed out of the room.
As I sat there, staring at my makeup-devoid face, it hit me once again that I was going to miss these moments. There was something about a platonic close friend—a best friend—that couldn’t be replaced by a spouse. Yes, most people thought their spouse was supposed to be their best friend, but the truth was that I liked having separate categories. I liked having a best friend who wasn’t my lover, and a lover whom I didn’t share quite everything with. It felt like it made life more bearable, and by not relying on just one person to meet all my needs, I would never feel totally adrift if I lost one of them.
I glanced over at the sun shining through the window and, trying to shake off gloomy thoughts of death and loss, I quickly finished my makeup and texted Angel that I was on my way down for breakfast.
Chapter Fourteen
We made it to work by eleven-thirty, and found everyone there except Rafé, who had a dentist’s appointment. As we stepped out of the elevator, Talia, who was sitting at Angel’s desk, let out a loud whistle.
“Well, thank you, but you’ve seen me in a dress before,” I said