I pulled back with a smile. “Aye, aye, Captain.”
When Maddox returned that smile, pretty sure the earth moved beneath me. The man made my knees weak.
After saying good bye to him and the others, I made Callum a plate and took it into the medical ward, biting back a laugh at the way he crossed his arms and pouted at the window. Maddox was right. His mood drastically improved when seeing the three blueberry muffins waiting for him.
“You spoil me,” he said, sitting up higher in the bed and accepting the plate. A fresh bandage covered his neck.
“It’s only fair.” I sat beside him on the cot. “You promised to bring me coffee if Maddox threw me in a cell after the Oreo incident, remember? Since you’re in bed jail, I come with muffins.”
“Briar said I should be able to leave this evening.” Callum bit into a muffin. “However, I fear the boredom will kill me first.”
“That’s why you have me.” I smiled, trying to keep my eyes away from his neck. That wound had almost taken him from me, ending our romance before it’d even had a chance to begin. “We can count the dust bunnies in the air, play rock, paper, scissors, and gorge ourselves on sweets and coffee until you’re freed from jail.”
His answering grin was a bit lopsided. “What’s rock, paper, scissors?”
I then explained the game, and once he finished eating, we played a few rounds. He got the hang of it quickly, but it didn’t do him any favors. He was pretty bad at it. Laughter and frustrated grumbles filled the medical ward as he kept losing.
“I believe you’re cheating,” he said after another loss.
“This is a game of both chance and strategy.” I stretched my fingers and shook them out, readying myself for another round. “It’s all about reading your opponent and making educated guesses on what they’ll choose.”
Callum favored rock and paper. Mostly rock. Typical knight, thinking brute strength would always win. I smiled.Sucker.
“Is that so?” A challenge sparked in his brown eyes. “You speak of opponents and strategy, so let’s make it more interesting. If I win this next game, you must come with me to the training field and face me in a sparring match. See how well you read me then.”
I gulped.
“Where did your confidence go, Ev?” Callum cocked his head and smirked.
Heat fanned over my skin. He looked so damn hot it temporarily fried my brain cells. His long dark lashes. Plump bottom lip. The slightly downturned corners of his eyes. “What was the question again?”
He laughed. One that broke off into a grimace as he clutched his chest.
“That’s enough playing for now. You need to rest.” I guided him to his back. I knew he was hurting when he didn’t fight me on it. Which only worried me more. “Next time you’re supposed to be in bed resting, don’t go hitting trees with sticks, okay?”
Callum gave me a shaky smile. “You have my word.”
Briar came in to give Callum another dose of pain medicine. He checked his wounds again before leaning down to kiss my temple and leaving the ward.
I curled up beside Callum and rested my head on his pillow, lightly touching the bandage on his neck. I’d gotten a glimpse of the wound earlier when Briar had changed the wrapping, and it’d been like shards of glass plunging into my gut.
“I’m all right.” He shifted closer and grabbed my hand. “Your men made certain of that.”
Maddox had kept pressure on the wound and rode like the fires of hell were chasing him in order to reach Briar. And Briar had barely slept in between checking on him since then.
“Because they care for you. Just as I do.”
“Not all of them,” he said. “The snake would enjoy seeing me become a demon’s meal.”
“Nah.” I cuddled closer. “Ro loves getting a rise out of people and teasing them, but I can tell you’ve grown on him. He may poke fun at you, but he’d never want you seriously hurt.”
Rowan wasn’t a villain like he claimed.
Voices came from the other room. Sounded like more of the same: knights needing mending for shoulders dislocated during drills, castle workers with burns and minor cuts, and what sounded like a hangover tonic for Lord Norwood. Bremloc would have a liquor shortage soon if he didn’t tone it down.
“Are you feeling better?” I asked. The pain medicine should’ve kicked in by now, easing some of his discomfort.
“Aye.” He lightly bumped our foreheads together, a smile not far behind. “But if I say no, will you stay beside me?”
