Page 40 of Ties of Starlight

But her hands were still shaking so much, and she was clearly in some panicked, heightened state…

“Idonea, I’m going to help you out of this and get those scratches cleaned up as well, do you understand?”

Her gaze was still glassy, but she gave a tiny nod.

He set the washcloth back on the vanity before he shifted behind her, taking a deep breath. This wasn’t exactly what he’d imagined, but he was still nervous all the same. Mostly because he had absolutely no idea what was wrong with her.

He made quick work of the laces despite the ridiculously tiny knots and was pulling the bodice away from her shift and the weight of the skirts quickly pulled it all to the ground the second her arms were free as well, leaving her in just the shift. The wine had soaked through to it, but Nyrunn had a bigger problem than that, given how Idonea had reached up to her birthmark and had opened the scratches again. If he got her into anything else, she’d just stain it too, not to mention, he needed her to stop aggravating her injuries for her own well-being.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and set her on the bed again before he rinsed the rag clean and returned with it. He hesitated as that glassy, vacant look was back fully; her breathing was rapid and she was staring off into space, nails digging into the skin around her birthmark.

He stood in front of her, legs brushing her knees as he took her arm again and gently tugged. It crumpled as she looked up at him. She blinked until the haze faded. “Br—Nyrunn?”

His heart stuttered as he finally heard his name leave her lips. He cradled her hand in his as he reached forward with the other, holding the rag, and murmured, “Yes, I’m right here. I’m just going to clean those cuts and then we can get you into something not drenched in wine.”

“Wine?” she whispered.

He pressed the cloth to her skin and she startled back, but he let go of her hand to wrap that arm around her, flattening his hand against her shoulder blade, forcing her to stay within his grasp as he started to clean the wound. “Yes, Lady Katla spilled wine all over you. My guess is that it wasn’t an accident.”

“Olvir—I mean Olaug—” Her words shifted into a gasp when his grip on her back tightened involuntarily. He quickly relaxed it, hoping his expression was doing a better job of hiding the spike of white-hot jealousy that ripped through him at the fact that she was thinking about Olaug when he was the one there, trying to take care of her.

How could that cad have such a stranglehold on her heart? What would it take to break it?

He finished cleaning the scratches and stepped back. “Yes?”

“I—I just—” her voice cracked and he hated himself for being so in love with her his jealousy frightened her. Would he ever get it right?

“What aren’t you telling me? What really happened to him?” Her hands still had some red lingering as she wrung them together.

The letter was heavy in Nyrunn’s pocket. It was never far. He took a deep breath as he moved to clean the rag again, not looking her in the eyes as he said, “I told you everything. I don’t know what else you want to hear. If he’s found—”

“Is he alive?”

Nyrunn looked over his shoulder. “Well, I haven’t exactly laid eyes on him since before he ran off, but I haven’t heard otherwise.”

Her eyes spilled over. “I—I remember—at least IthinkIremember the night before. After I ran into you, I went back to my room—”

A strange sensation clawed up his throat, pulsing from the bond. Confusion. Guilt?

Wait, she was asking ifshedid something to Olaug? Like there was the chance she could have—

“Why would you think that?”

Was this what she was hiding from him?

She shook her head. “I—It doesn’t make sense! If I didn’t—”

Her eyes landed on him as he finished wringing out the cloth, the water running pink. She went silent.

He turned around. “You think I did?”

“Something happened, and you won’t tell me! I know it, I know something is wrong. I’ve known it from the beginning, and if you’re just going to kill me too—”

Kill her?

“Why would I do that?” Nyrunn took a deep breath, pushing away Idonea’s emotions and pushing down his own. He could not be overwhelmed. Still… “Heavens, Idonea, how could you ever think I’d kill you? Why would I?”

Idonea squeezed her eyes shut and sank her fingers into the stained shift.

---