I almost cried.
“All right. That’s enough.” Briar neared us with a tray of fresh supplies. “You all can tease Callum once he’s had a full night of rest.”
“Seems Briar’s giving you orders too,” I told Maddox.
His eyes narrowed in that playful way I loved.
Briar checked Callum’s bandages and then administered another elixir for his pain. “This will help you rest. Your body will heal as you sleep.”
Duke and the other knights told us good bye before patting my head and leaving the clinic. Their spirits had lifted once learning Callum would be okay. They might not have been blood related, but they were brothers through and through.
“I’ll be back in the morning.” I kissed Callum’s cheek. “And I’ll bring all the muffins you can eat.”
“Wait.” Callum reached after me with a panicked look in his eyes. The elixir had started taking effect, making him drowsy. “Don’t… leave me.”
An ache gnawed at my chest, and I looked at Maddox and Briar. They softly smiled.
“Okay.” I grabbed Callum’s hand. “I’ll stay right here beside you. I promise.”
He relaxed and sank back down into the pillow. Holding my hand, his eyes fluttered closed, and his breaths evened out. Deep and steady. I smoothed the hair from his brow before kissing his forehead.
“So the rabbit finally found a backbone,” one of my favorite voices in the whole world said from the shadowy corner. “It only took him nearly dying to find it.”
“Rowan.” I smiled as he stepped from those shadows, masked and delicious.
“I should leave more often if that’s how happy you are when I return.” He reached me in four strides and wrapped his arms around me, dropping his face to my shoulder. Black cardamom wafted from him, an instant balm to my soul. “Are you okay, little treasure?”
“Much better now.” I leaned my head against his. “Are you on your way to the tower?”
“I am. But when the pup told me what happened, I needed to see you first.” Rowan drew back and lowered his mask. “Wanted to make sure Captain Glutton brought you here without harming a hair on that pretty little head of yours.”
“Mind your words, thief. I’m in no mood for your insolence.” Maddox glowered. “And Evan is always safe by my side.”
“I’m not completely helpless,” I said with a scoff. “I’ve traveled to and from the castle many times, and nothing’s hurt me yet.”
“One word.” Maddox regarded me with an arched brow. “Yoyo.”
“What?”
Briar cleared his throat. “I believe you mean Oreo. That’s the name he gave to the demon.”
I couldn’t breathe. I was laughing too damn hard. Freaking Yoyo.
“So.” Rowan glanced between them. “Will the two of you be staying the night here with him?”
“Yes,” Briar said. “I’ll be monitoring Callum’s condition.”
“And I’ll be here because of Evan,” Maddox said. “The thought of him being unsupervised in a clinic full of sharp medical tools and a monstrous beetle is more terrifying than the horde of Fenrir.”
“First of all? Rude,” I responded. “Secondly? Herbert isn’t a monstrous beetle anymore. He’s a little hero. He took Cal’s pain away and will be rewarded with all the muffin crumbs he wants.”
“My earlier statement stands.” Maddox crossed his arms. “A monstrous, muffin stealing beetle.”
I laughed. Leave it to my gluttonous captain to see everyone who liked muffins—human or otherwise—as a rival.
“Our muffin.”
But I guess there was one person he made an exception for.
