Page 28 of Taming the Beast (Fairy Tales of New York)

“Does she know about the medal?” Because Zel had never mentioned it.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I turned it down.”

Mercy gaped at him. He’d done what? “Why?”

“I didn’t deserve it.”

“But –”

“I didn’t deserve it.”

Oh. Right. No. Clearly he’d still been riddled with guilt and self-hatred at the time. Well. On to easier, happier subjects. “Did you ever kill anyone?”

He gave her a faint smile. “Not that time.”

“But others?”

“I was a soldier in the 2nd parachute regiment, Mercedes. I operated in some of the most hostile, most dangerous, most lawless environments on the planet. What do you think?”

She thought he was brave. Insanely brave. And not just because of the medal, although that was pretty swoon-worthy. It had taken guts to admit he’d been wrong about Zelda, and the process of getting there must have been pretty traumatic, so she thought too that he was strong, admirable and worthy of respect.

She also thought he was still a bit broken, wounded and hurting. And possibly in need of help, both on the relationship with his sister front and the army front because the latter, in particular, must have been brutally tough.

Not that it mattered what she thought. Just because she recognized that Seb was perhaps in trouble it didn’t mean she was intending to do anything about it. Because she wasn’t. She totally wasn’t. It wasn’t part of the deal.

“Does your time in the army bother you?” she asked.

“No.”

“Have you ever had counselling?”

“No.”

“Maybe you should.” And maybe she wasn’t talking about it only in relation to his spell as a soldier.

“I don’t need it.”

“You have nightmares.”

“Only the one. And we both know that didn’t have anything to do with my experiences in the Legion.”

“Do you speak French?”

“Oui. Couramment. We all had to learn. It was a condition of conscription.”

Mercy shivered because, hmm, it was sexy, that accent… “Want me to teach you how to swear in Spanish?” Because that could be fun.

“I already know.”

“Oh?”

“Spanish corporal in my platoon.”

“Do you still keep in touch with anyone from back then?”

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