Page 89 of Crimson Kingdom
My cousin’s words about my lack of restraint resounded in my head, and I fought to keep my features neutral.
I must have failed, if Evander’s self-satisfied expression was anything to go by.
“I thought I might look at that wound,” Gallagher said.
“Of course.” Evander stepped back to allow us entry.
He removed his shirt in one swift movement that I definitely did not track with my eyes, sinking gracefully into one of the plush armchairs near the fireplace.
Gallagher unfastened the bandage to reveal a deep, angry cut spanning from his shoulder all the way to his neck.
“A scrape?” I demanded.
Evander shrugged his uninjured shoulder, and I glared at him. My cousin looked from Evander to me, hesitating only a moment before lifting his hand toward the wound.
“May I?” he asked Evander.
Evander eyed him curiously but nodded. Gallagher put his hand over the cut, holding it there for several long moments. When he pulled it away, the skin had knitted itself back together, leaving only a thin white line where the red one had been.
“Shall I chalk this up to an interest in healing?” Evander said sardonically.
“Well, you certainly can’t blame Gallagher’s feminine needs,” I responded in the same tone.
“I’ll leave you two, but you should rest until dinner.” My cousin interrupted our banter, laughter in his tone. “Healing takes a lot of your own energy.”
He left then, and I sighed. Evander deserved an explanation if he was marrying into our family, but I wasn’t sure where to begin.
“You know...about my weather...thing,” I began eloquently.
He studied me thoughtfully.
“Well, I know you have more than an interest in the weather, or an injured appendage.” He smirked before adding, “Or pressing feminine needs.”
I laughed softly. “Yet you never asked me about it.”
“I didn’t need to.” He shrugged. “I trusted you.”
The explanation filled me with a combination of warmth and confusion.
“Even that first time? Whydidyou believe me?” I didn’t know why the answer was so important to me, but I needed to know.
Evander leveled a look at me.
“Lemmikki, you looked me in the eye when the Summit spoke of dismembering you and made a joke about courier costs,” he said incredulously. “I kidnapped you, took you to a territory you had heard horror stories about, and you didn’t shed a single tear.” He huffed out a laugh. “Storms, when we were attacked and outnumbered, you unflinchingly wielded a sword and then stared me down defiantly with your torn dress and your blood-spattered clothes.”
His lips tilted into a small smile, amusement sparking in his gaze. “But besides all of those things, you are a terrible, terrible liar. So, when you looked at the clouds with something close to actual fear and told me we needed to stop for a storm, I didn’t know how you knew, but I would have been an idiot not to believe you.”
Evander had always possessed a unique ability to make me feel seen in a way that no one else ever had. I stepped between his knees, leaning my face down to his and pressing a quick kiss on his lips.
“Thank you,” I murmured against his lips.
“For what?” he asked.
“For not making me come up with a more ridiculous lie that day,” I said, backing away. “Because you’re right, I’m not great at it.”
I explained briefly about the reason behind the need for secrecy, the fae blood.
“The others are used to hiding their gifts, but in Lochlann, it was never really an issue for me.” I shrugged.