to allow you to lift your arms easily.”
“You are going off topic again.”
He would have smiled at her testiness, but this was not an argument he could give in on. “I only have so much strength to heal with my Chrechte gift before I will need sleep and time before attempting to heal you further.”
“So?”
“So, if I waste my power to protect your modesty, I will not be able to effect a change on your more serious wounds.”
“What do you mean waste your power?”
“I have to see your wound to heal it. Doing so with my eyes allows me to focus my energies on the healing rather than the seeing.”
“But last night—”
“I made the mistake of protecting your modesty and used my energy to see your wounds without taking off your clothing.” After he had already wasted too much working on the superficial wounds on her feet and face that had been obvious even in the moonlight.
“But you helped so much.”
“And have a lot more to do to make you well. I am not even certain I saw all your internal injuries last night.” By the time he’d realized how very damaged she really was, Lais had half exhausted himself trying to see her bruises under the clothes.
“You can see through my clothes?” she asked in shock.
“Nay. ’Tis not like that. Part of my gift is the ability to sense or see the injury, but if I use my strength to do that, then I have less available to heal what I find with my mind’s eye,” he tried explaining again.
’Twas not as if he could see the creamy curves of her skin, but the injuries called to his inner sight and he understood what they were and what needed to happen to heal them.
“You are not just going to remove my dress, are you?”
“Nay.”
“You want to take off all of my clothes?” she asked in a small voice.
“They beat you all over.”
“Yes.”
He let her draw her own conclusions.
After a few moments of silence, she finally nodded, looking away. “Very well.”
“I do not do this to embarrass you, little one.”
“I believe you.” But she still kept her gaze averted.
His eagle wanted to comfort her. “Perhaps I should bring Abigail in after all.”
After all she had been through, Mairi deserved every consideration he could give to her.
That got Mairi looking at him, the panic in her face a kick to his gut. “No. Please. I would rather no one else witnessed my nudity.”
“But she is our lady, a healer as well.”
“And she will see my shame.”
“Your shame?” Being nude before him caused her to feel shame?
Tears filled Mairi’s eyes. “The cuts, the bruises—the evidence my father and the man who was to take me to wed thought so little of me, they beat me with no care if I lived or died.”
“Oh, sweet one, the injuries to your person are their shame, not yours.” He brushed his hand over her shoulder, the need to comfort greater than any other craving in that moment.
The moisture in her eyes overfilled and slid down her temples. “It does not feel like it.”
“Mairi, you are beautiful, kind and sweet. You deserve to be protected, not hurt.” And he would protect her.
“I ran away. I embarrassed my father; I should have kept his promise on my behalf.”
“No.” Lais cupped her face, forcing her wet eyes to meet his. “You cannot honor the promises of a man who has no honor.”
“He said I was an unnatural daughter, that I was no use to him. He hates me.”
“He is an evil bastard that I would gladly eviscerate with my eagle’s claws.”
Her drowning eyes widened.
And he could not stand it any longer. She was his, though he could never fully claim her. But he could let her see that she was valuable.
He lowered his mouth and kissed her softly; he would not hurt her. “My eagle wants to mate with you. You are not useless.”
He pulled back and she looked up at him sadly. “You don’t want to mate me though, do you?”
“I cannot.”
She nodded. “I understand.” Though clearly she did not.
Lais took hold of her belt, intent on removing it. “Let me show you your value. Let me heal you.”
“All right.”
Chapter 9
Subdue your passion or it will subdue you.
—HORACE
Eirik lifted Ciara down from Niall’s hold and carried her into the cave, leaving the care of the horses to the warrior and his seneschal mate.
Her eyes were hazy and barely open, so he did not set her on her