Things That Should Stay Buried - Casey L. Bond Page 0,86

her fault, either. I sort of threatened her.” He gave me a look that said, really? I straightened defiantly. “With a dagger, not words. And I would have stabbed her, too, because she wouldn’t let me out the door.”

“It wouldn’t have killed her,” he said quietly, tilting my hand this way and that to see the cuts.

“I know, but it would’ve given me enough time to get out of the room.”

My cuts weren’t that bad, but they were full of dirt and grit. The ones from the spill I’d taken on the cross-country trail were way worse. Aries stood and walked through the library to another room I hadn’t seen, returning with a basin of water and a clean, white cloth. “It must be cleaned before I heal you or the debris will remain in the wound once it’s closed.”

He reached for my hand again, but I held it in my lap stubbornly. “I’m fine. Honestly.”

“Give me your hand.”

I shook my head. “I’m good.”

“You’re being ridiculous. It has to be cleaned.”

“It’s going to hurt,” I argued.

“Of course it will, but the pain might remind you not to be so foolish next time,” he chastised, though I could tell he wasn’t really scolding me. Oh, no. There was humor in his tone.

“Are you laughing at me?” His lips curled into a smile. I sat back and gave him my right hand. “I can’t believe you’re laughing.” Glad I can entertain him.

His hand tightened slightly and his smile slowly faded. “I owe you several apologies.”

For the first time since he’d woken, Aries looked nervous.

“For what?” I asked, wondering if he was going to tell me why he’d sent Xavier away.

He dragged the cool, wet cloth over my shredded palm, trying to be gentle and cause as little pain as possible. He studied the wounds, then his eyes flicked to mine.

“I struck you, and for that, I’m,” he shut his eyes, “I am so sorry for hurting you.”

“You were disoriented,” I defended, unsure why I felt the need.

“I wasn’t,” he insisted, “I just… I assumed wrong. I judged you before giving you a chance. And perhaps that’s what I’m most sorry about.” He shook his head and went quiet. “I don’t want you to put yourself in danger again.”

“I’d do it again in a second,” I argued.

“Kes will be reborn if something happens to him,” he said. “I know it would be painful for you to bear, but he would find you again, wearing a new body.”

“I know.”

“You also came because of me.” He read my face as if it contained the answers to his favorite story. The dark slashes of his brows turned down. “Why?”

“I know what’s at stake if you die,” I answered with a shrug.

He was quiet for several minutes, dragging the cloth down and rinsing my blood from the fabric. I watched the red seep into the water, turning it from clear to rust. Grit and rock littered the bowl’s bottom. The warmth and flickering glow from the candles felt good on my face and I finally relaxed.

“Was it only for my people, then?”

I swallowed. “No. It was for you.”

He inspected my hand again, tilting it toward the light. Satisfied it was clean of debris, Aries laid his palm over mine. The heat from his skin sunk into mine and the pain from the raw abrasions and gashes slowly faded away.

“I need your other hand.” He held his out, waiting for me to place my left hand in his. I sat up straighter and laid it in his hand.

His dark hair curled around his ears. I remembered the feel of his horns and fought to keep my right hand in my lap. Friends didn’t touch one another in anything other than friendly ways.

“You can’t do that again,” he rasped.

“Do what?”

“Put yourself in danger for me.”

I stayed quiet. I already told him I’d do it again – in a heartbeat – and I meant it. I wasn’t going to repeat it. He knew.

He looked up from his task, the cloth still against my skin, a kaleidoscope of emotions playing over his face. “Who told you where to strike Cancer?”

I swallowed. “No one; it was just instinct. She snapped her pincer at my throat and I fought back.”

He shook his head. “And if you had missed?”

I looked away. I didn’t want to think about that. What was the point anyway? The important part to focus on was that I managed to cut her where it hurt. She fully intended to snap