Page 53 of The Curse of Ophelia

The inside of my wrist flared in pain, as if I could forget about the secret burden I carried. I couldn’t go join them. There would be no way to hide it if I stripped.

“I’m all right,” I answered with a soft smile that Tol returned. I settled on the bank beside him and mimicked his motions, letting the cool water wash the dirt and sweat from my skin and take the more painful memories with it.

“Thank you,” he muttered. “For everything.”

I looked into his eyes then and saw his heart, that raw emotion that he hid but which I knew comprised his soul, swirling behind the amber flecks.

I watched as he stripped off the top half of his leathers, letting them hang open at his waist, and slowly brought handfuls of water to his shoulders, chest, and abdomen. It trickled along the cut lines of his muscles, slithering down his tanned skin and leaving it glittering in its wake. Drops drifted toward his waist, disappearing beneath the leather.

“I’ll change your bandages,” I offered, shoving away whatever coiled below my stomach.

Not waiting for him to respond, I unwrapped the soiled strips around his thigh. He reclined on his elbows, injured leg spread straight in front of him, a picture of pure bliss despite the injury.

Tol was silent, and I lifted my eyes to find him watching my hands intently as I spread a thin layer of Rina’s healing ointment over the wound. It looked weeks old, not days, the Bodymelder string Rina had used fading into the scar, leaving faint black lines. The skin was hot beneath my touch, but for the time being, infection had been kept away.

Thank the Angels, I thought. My shoulders felt a bit lighter with the knowledge that Tolek was healing.

Jezebel’s laugh drifted over to us, filling the space with her infectious energy.

“At least someone’s relaxing,” Tolek mused, watching my sister with a protective, brotherly gleam in his eye. The scruff on his chin had grown a bit longer over our journey, shadowing his chiseled jaw.

“I envy her sometimes,” I admitted, without removing my gaze from where my fingers massaged his thigh.

His eyes shot to mine, his brow furrowing in—what looked like—anger. “Why would you?”

I watched Cyph dive low in the river and emerge to shake water from his long hair at my sister. She batted him away, swearing at him with a sly smile and revenge festering in her eyes.

“She’s a unique combination.” I smiled. “A forceful soul, but a kind one with the power to raise Spirits or barrel down her enemies. She knows what she wants in the world and takes it.”

“She learned that from you.”

That shell around my heart chipped further. With each fissure, I felt freer, like my spirit was opening up to those around me, flourishing in their presence. The cloud I had lived under for the past two years cleared slightly.

“She is a better person than I will ever be.” And that’s okay, I added. She will have more time to live.

Tolek fell into a contemplative silence as I closed the salve and started replacing the wrap. Jezebel’s and Cypherion’s faces had turned serious, their tones hushed.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” I inquired.

“Perhaps Cyph is admitting an unrequited love for your sister.” Tol averted his eyes, watching a butterfly float among the trees.

“Cyph knows better than that.”

Tolek raised his dark eyebrows, and I could see his mind already churning with gossip. Spirits, he never could keep a secret. “Is there someone else? I imagine men fall at her feet.” He raised a hand to his brow to mime the illusion.

I rolled my eyes, unable to help the laugh that escaped my lips. “Truthfully, Tolek?”

“What?” He pushed himself upright.

“Have you ever seen Jezebel with a man?”

He thought for a moment before his lips parted. “Oh,” he dragged out the noise. “How did I never know that?”

“Too consumed with your own affairs?” I mocked. Tolek certainly had his fair share of partners in Palerman, never committing to one, but enjoying plenty of men and women.

“Ah, yes, my many wondrous affairs,” he drawled.

“But to answer your question—the boys in Palerman have pursued her for years. She has quite a bit of fun telling them off.” I finished wrapping Tolek’s wound and sat back. “And she’s never met a woman she’s wanted to keep around.”

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