Page 36 of Blood and Roses

Balthasar didn't smile as he placed a clean towel under her arm and using the hot water started to clean away the blood and dirt.

"You seem remarkably good at this," she commented, trying to make conversation as he worked methodically.

"I've seen many wars," he replied evenly. "You tend to pick up things when you are surrounded by the wounded. If someone decides to shoot you next time, give me a call. I'm an excellent bullet wound stitcher."

"I'll keep that in mind if I can't find the duct tape and pliers myself."

"You act like no one has ever helped you before."

"I think I had a teacher give me a Band-Aid once, but that is about the extent of it. You don't really have to worry about wolf attacks in London."

"In some areas you do," he answered vaguely. "Looks like there is no extra dirt or foreign bodies in there."

"God, my whole body feels foreign right now," she said as she watched him put his wrist to his mouth and hesitate.

"You can look away if it disturbs you," Balthasar said gently. "I won't be offended."

"To be honest, your magical heal all blood is the least disturbing thing I find about you," Rosa said before she could think.Really nice, Rosa. He's never going to ride to your rescue again. Who does that anyway?Her mind babbled as his blood dripped hot onto her arm. She bent down to watch the bite marks close over. "That's amazing."

"Your leg will be sore for a few days, so be careful with it. There was muscle damage, and bones can be tricky." He took another cloth and wiped the cut on her head. He smiled unexpectedly. "You look like a wild, bloody savage."

"I probably smell like one too."

"Well, you can't wrestle with wolves and not expect to come out smelling like one." Balthasar put the cloth down and sat back in his chair. His face was back to being a stern mask of high cheekbones and dark eyes. "Please, tell me what happened."

"Not much to say really. Pearl got pushy; I got snappy. She hissed; I went down, and then she couldn't cross the faerie ring,"Rosa answered, trying to keep the nervous hitch out of her voice. "Why were you able to cross it?"

"Pearl is not of royal blood even though she was turned by Lily. The Seelie put wards up on their portals to make sure that none but the fae can cross over into their lands. I can move into the rings on this plane, but I can't cross through," he explained straightforwardly. "What was she getting pushy about?"

Rosa felt the first burn of a blush up her neck. "You actually. They wanted to know if there were any bodies in your attic."

"I'm not so foolish to store my bodies where others are likely to find them. That piece of trash is rude even for the Gwaed Gam. I should've pulled her heart out years ago."

"Be careful of her," Rosa said as she touched his hand. "There is something going on between her and Lily. There is a purpose to her mischief. She's not going after me because she thinks it's funny. There's tension between them. I don't know if Lily is very happy with her at the moment. Pearl is trying to undermine you, and she's going after me because she foolishly thinks you like me." He looked down at her hand over his, and she quickly moved it away.

"I do like you, and so does Eli. He won't take this attack on you lightly," Balthasar said, getting to his feet. "I'll talk to him about it, and rest assured, Pearl will not be coming near you again." He turned to go, and guilt got the better of her.

"Wait, Balthasar," she said, standing up slowly. "There is something I need to tell you, and you will probably get mad at me again, but if I don't tell you now, you will just get angrier later."

He frowned. "Go on."

"I was looking for some Wylt photos and general stuff in the attic, and I found a box of your things. I didn't know it wasyourthings exactly. I thought it was just someone from your family forever ago," she said, focusing on the buttons of his coat, so shedidn't have to look at his face. "I found a lot of letters and I-I read them. But I swear I didn't know that it was you! I'm so sorry."

Balthasar was so quiet that she looked up at his face, ready for anger or a cold rebuke. Instead, the stern mask was gone, and underneath was broken with memory. He cleared his throat before saying steadily, "It's all right, Rosa. You were not to know. I had left them here because I couldn't get rid of them, but I couldn't look at them. The letters, Jane... It was a long time ago."

"I am so sorry," she repeated, her voice hitching.

"I know. It's not your fault I left the letters up there."

"No, I mean about...about losing Jane. She seemed really amazing. A real firecracker."

"She was. You would have liked her. She used to enjoy yelling at me too."

"So, are we good?" Rosa asked slowly. She really didn't want to fight with him anymore.

"We are." He smiled, and Rosa relaxed fractionally. "May I ask a favor? Can you keep the letters here until I can figure out what to do with them?"

"Of course."

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