“Poor Quincy,” I said. “I’m glad it wasn’t too serious. But who attacked you?”
“We had a run-in with a group of bandits on our way back to Bremloc,” Maddox answered. “They had an archer hiding in the trees along the king’s road who managed to let loose an arrow before I took her down.”
“I’m sorry.” Shame flared in my belly. “The last thing you need after returning from a dangerous mission is to come after me. Again.”
Would I always be so useless? All I did was cause trouble and worry everyone around me. The backs of my eyes burned.
“Don’t be sorry,” Maddox murmured in my ear, one arm tightening around my waist. “You leaving the castle grounds shouldn’t worry me as much as it does. Gathering a search party was perhaps a bit of an overreaction on my part. I’m not too proud to admit I can be stubborn and overprotective.”
“With good reason, apparently. Look at me. I can’t even have a nice day out with a friend without finding something to trip over. More times than not, it’s my own feet.”
“And what precious feet they are.”
“Do you have a foot fetish, sir knight?” I angled my head to look back at him. “If you ask nicely, I’ll let you kiss them.”
He laughed. “I’ll leave the foot kissing to the other male who shares our bed.”
The mention of Briar caused warmth to swarm my chest. Made it ache some too. “I hope he’s doing okay.”
“You miss him?”
More burning in my eyes. I nodded.
Maddox nuzzled my ear. “Me too.”
I smiled at that. As the knights’ quarters came into view, I expected him to veer toward the stable. He kept to the narrow path instead, the stallion’s hooves clacking against the stone.
“I’m taking you to the clinic,” Maddox said, picking up on my confusion. He had learned to read me so well.
“Why? I said I’m fine.”
“Because I said so.”
As we arrived at the clinic, Maddox dismounted first before lifting me off the horse. He didn’t allow me to walk even a step. My ankle was semi back to normal, but I knew better than to argue with him. The front door opened before we reached it, and my heart nearly burst at seeing the man on the other side.
“Briar!” I wiggled against Maddox in my excitement. “I didn’t think you’d be home until tomorrow.”
“Gods, the joy on your face right now made the long day of travel worth every second,” Briar said. “I finished business sooner than expected and left right away.” His smile fell as he took in the sight of me. Maddox stopped in front of him, and he did a quick examination of my palms. “Blood and dirt on your hands and knees. Come in. Let me have a better look at you.”
“He sprained his ankle too.”
“I did not.” I rolled my eyes. “My ankle is fine.”
“I’ll take a look anyway,” Briar said.
Maddox carried me over to the comfy chair by the fireplace before kneeling in front of me and untying my boots. He didn’t seem surprised at all by Briar’s presence, which told me he’d known our physician had come home early. So much for missing him as he’d claimed. The sneaky knight.
As he carefully removed my boots, I brushed my fingers over the top of his black hair, earning me one of his rare, soft smiles.
Briar knelt beside Maddox and gently inspected my ankle, the coolness of his fingertips nice against my skin. “Not a sprain. No swelling either. Good.”
“Told you.”
“I’ll whip up something for those cuts.” Briar kissed my knee before rising from the floor and walking over to his workstation.
Thane walked through the door from the medical wing, a bundle of sheets in his arms. One look at me and the smooth line of his brow crinkled with worry. “Evan? Are you hurt?”
“Nah, I’m okay. These two are just worrywarts. How’s Quincy?”
