“You are mine. I will mark you all over your luscious body until you understand that.” He turned on his heel and walked away, as if he had not just gnawed on me like a dog with a bone.
His men waited until he was out of sight before they left. It was when they turned that I saw they had pulled their short swords on Torben and Brant. My eyes widened when I looked down at Torben’s abdomen and saw blood seeping through his uniform. I immediately felt my magic growing inside of me—the need to heal overpowering my self-preservation.
I looked up at him and pleaded with my eyes as I spoke. “Please, do not tell anyone about this. Pretend it was a dream if you must. You.” I pointed to Brant. “Make sure no one sees this.”
I lifted Torben’s jerkin and placed my hand over the wound.
Torben hissed and spoke through clenched teeth. “If I was going to have a dream about you, Princess, I would not be injured, and you would have considerably less clothing on.”
I pressed a little harder than necessary and took satisfaction in his grunt of pain. Then I pushed the outside world away and focused my energy on the wound. The chant rose in my mind, and I spoke it without thought.
* * *
“Wounded flesh, damaged skin,
Feel my power, let me in.
Let my light heal you,
My energy fill you.
Veins that carry life,
Rejoin the cut,
Relieve the pain and the strife.”
* * *
I felt the healing power flowing into Torben, but that was not all I felt. There, just beyond the wound, was a chord—gold and thick. It seemed to be reaching for my magic, coaxing my power to itself. I felt myself wanting to respond, and I did. But the minute my light touched the chord, an overwhelming emotion assailed me. I pulled my hand away as if I had been burned. I looked up at Torben. Being so close to him only emphasized how much larger than me he was. My eyes were wide, and my mouth probably looked as though it was going to drop to the floor.
I pulled my hand from under his shirt and stepped back. My eyes never left his. After a few moments, the shock from the golden chord left me, and I looked around. It was then that I realized that neither Torben nor Brant seemed amazed about what I had done. In fact, it was almost as if they had been aware that I had such a power.
I took another step back when Torben made a move to close the distance between us. Brant placed his hand on Torben’s arm.
“Let her be,” the large man told his friend.
Torben’s eyes bore into mine as he spoke. “That piece of vermin bit her. At least let me make sure it has stopped bleeding.”
While I said nothing, I secretly wanted Torben to touch me. I wanted him to ensure that I was safe and well. I wanted him to hold me and tell me everything would be okay. I wanted him to shelter me from the storm I had found myself in. And for that reason, I turned and rushed into my room, slamming the door behind me and jamming the lock into place.
I slid down to the floor, my back pressed firmly against the wood. I heard Torben speak through the door.
“Allete, you have healed me. Now I must do what I can for you. Please let me tend to your shoulder.” His worried voice wrapped around me and eased a little of the fear I was feeling.
“Please.” My voice cracked, and I tried again. “Please, just get Lidia. She will tend to me.”
I heard his growl and then muffled words. It was no surprise to me when I heard his voice again. “I sent Brant to find her. Can I get you anything? Can I help in any way?”
An insane thought came to me, and I had to bite down on my tongue before I blurted out that he could help by killing my fiancé. Madness, I thought to myself. If Torben killed Cathal, and I was pretty sure he would if I only asked, then he would be hanged for murder. I would never let someone die for me. Certainly Cathal’s death did not bother me in the least, but the thought of Torben dead almost caused me to retch.
I shook my head and rubbed the tears from my face. It was okay for me to care for Torben because he cared for me. I cared for my friends among the castle staff. That was all this was. I loved Lidia, and I cared deeply for other workers that I had come to know. Torben was irritating, but it was apparent he was a man of good character, and that was why I was attracted to him. Hell, anyone looked better than Cathal at this point.
“If you will not let me in, will you at least talk to me, so that I can know you are okay?” The anguish in his voice nearly broke my heart.
“What is there to say?” I asked as I bit my lip, hoping that my tears would not be evident in the sound of my voice.
I heard Torben curse. Apparently, I could not disguise my pain as well as I had hoped.
“What is your favorite color?” he asked.
I frowned. I had just been bitten by a mad man. I had healed a stab wound. I had discovered … something, some kind of magical connection between Torben and me, and now he was asking me what my favorite color was? Perhaps I hadn’t fully healed him, and he was now going into shock?
“Silver,” I said instinctively, trying to pretend I wasn’t elated just hearing him speak.
“What is your favorite time of day?”
I furrowed my brow as I considered his question. “Do people really have a favorite time of day?”
“I do, or at least I believe I will,” he answered.
“What do you mean?”
“Morning.” His deep voice rumbled. “Morning will be my favorite time of day because one day I will have a woman to wake up beside me to share the sunrise. I picture her in my mind, as I open my eyes to see her form lying beside me, her hair all a mess as the morning light streams across her face and down her body. I will run my fingertips across her cheek down to her full lips, feeling the silky skin that is mine alone. The warmth of our bodies will keep me in bed too long, but I will not care because as long as she is beside me every morning, I can face anything.”
Whoa. I sat with my back leaned up against the door, mere feet from a man who could feel so deeply, who could treasure the gift of a good wife. Just when the tears had stopped, they began again, but I kept them quiet this time. What he had said was beautiful. It was what I wanted as well but would never have. My mind could not help but imagine the things Torben had described, putting myself in the place of the woman in his bed. What would it be like to wake up to the warmth of his large body pressed against mine? Would my heart be able to withstand the overwhelming emotions that would flow through me when he touched my lips?
“Allete?” Torben said, his voice slightly hesitant.
“I am here,” I answered.
“Did I say something wrong?”
I shook my head but then remembered that he would not be able to see me. “No. That is the problem, Torben. You said everything right. That woman in your bed will be very lucky indeed.”