Page 45 of Galadon
“I’ve ordered several sets of new clothes for you, but it will be a couple of days before the first is ready.” He gestured toward a wooden wardrobe next to the far wall. “You are welcome to borrow one of my shirts for now.”
Ordered clothes for her? The same man who never wanted to see her again had brought her into his private lair to recover and planned to provide her with a new wardrobe. She’d entered the Twilight Zone.
Then, something else occurred to her, and Rayna narrowed her eyes. “Why didn’t you put a shirt on me before?”
He reached up as if to try touching her again, but she glared, and he dropped his hand with a sigh. “My mother has been coming in several times a day to do healing treatments on you. Considering your injuries were all over your body, she needed easy access. Also, I didn’t think it would bother you since you had no problem walking nude in front of me at the lake.”
“Fine, you have a point,” she said, drawing her knees together. She had never felt more vulnerable with him that close while she was still very weak from injuries.
He slowly rose from the bed, gaze never leaving her. “I’ll get you something to eat, and I’m certain my mother will want to look at you now that you’re awake. She kept you unconscious for longer because you had more damage, and your body was struggling to heal.”
“I suppose that dagger didn’t help matters.”
His expression darkened. “No, it certainly didn’t. You’re lucky you didn’t fully pierce your heart, or you’d have died.”
“That wasn’t an accident,” she admitted, gazing up at him. “I shifted my aim at the last moment when I saw a streak of light and knew our rescuers had come.”
Horror filled his amber eyes. “So, you would have killed yourself if not for that?”
“I didn’t want to die, but I wanted you to die even less,” she said in a whisper, dropping her head.
Though things had certainly been horrible, and she was in so much pain from all her injuries, it had been difficult to think straight at the time. She’d seen it as a sacrifice. Not suicide. If not for Galadon, she would have endured the torture until the Kandoran killed her because she’d have kept hoping for a miracle. She just didn’t see one at that point. They’d set up the final challenge, and it would have resulted in at least one of them dying. She’d done what felt right under extreme duress.
He kneeled in front of her. “Do not ever take that choice from me again, Rayna. It wasn’t fair when I made it clear I care about you. I couldn’t have lived with myself if you died.”
Sure, he cared, but so did the other people who came to rescue them. It wasn’t earth-shattering news. She was the one to declare her love for him, and because of a tiny percentage of dragon blood in her veins, the vow had worked the same as it would between shifters.
Rayna had tied herself to him for life. It would be impossible for her to have a relationship with anyone else, or even casual sex. All other men’s touch would repulse her. Bailey—who’d been bonded to a shifter for over six years—had explained this to her last summer. Of course, Galadon would never reciprocate by saying the words back to her to complete the bond. She was certain of it. Still, she couldn’t regret telling him because she’d meant it, and she’d already concluded that no one else interested her anymore. If she had died, she’d wanted him to know the truth.
“Fine. I won’t do it again,” she said, lying back down as exhaustion pulled at her.
He stood. “Don’t sleep yet. You need food to speed your recovery. I will be back as soon as I can.”
Rayna rolled onto her side, turning her back to him. “Okay.”
She couldn’t have said how long he was gone, but Ujala hovered over her when she woke. The female shifter had lifted the blanket to check Rayna’s legs first. She was gentle as she probed over her bruised and swollen skin, shifting her body as necessary.
“Do not try walking yet.” Galadon’s mother pursed her lips. “Perhaps tomorrow night after you’ve had a few meals in you and more rest. I can do a lot, but I can’t regrow bone after it has been pulverized. Your body has suffered too much trauma to regenerate itself as fast as it might normally. They brutalized you even more than my son.”
Rayna didn’t like the idea of being trapped in Galadon’s bed for another day—though the irony of that was not lost on her. “Why does he get to walk?”
“Oh, I made him spend a full day sleeping. Then another day with him lying right next to you as he ate, rested, and let me heal him. He just began walking this afternoon, and that was only because his broken bones weren’t as bad as yours. I still won’t let him shift for at least another day until he stops limping.”
Knowing he hadn’t been going about like normal while she was out of it was a comfort. Rayna hadn’t seen him walk yet to know he wasn’t back to full strength, but she noted he sat in a chair across the room now, giving them space. His gaze practically burned into her across the distance.
“Let me have a look at your stomach now,” Ujala commanded.
Rayna adjusted the blanket so it was low at her waist. She really wasn’t the shy type, especially not with doctors/healers, but her nerves were shot with Galadon. His gaze was almost predatory as he stared at her body. Why was he suddenly showing so much unguarded interest, and why did it bother her so much?
“Can you give me some privacy?” she asked, glaring at him.
He laughed. Like, laughed loudly and uproariously in a way she thought was impossible for him. It took a moment for Galadon to catch his breath. “If that makes you feel better.”
Then the grouchiest shifter she’d ever met continued to chuckle all the way out of his lair, gait a little awkward as he tried to hide his limp. Good. He wasn’t totally healed and still had to suffer a little.
“Ugh, he makes me so mad,” she said, staring up at the dirt ceiling as Ujala probed and prodded. She paused occasionally to send some healing energy as she went.
Galadon’s mother gave Rayna a knowing look. “He told me everything—not that he made it easy, mind you—but I pried it out of him. You broke through his defenses by showing you’d harm yourself before hurting him, and you’ve bound yourself to him. He’s going to be cocky because he knows you belong to him completely now.”
