Page 39 of Return of the Vengeful Quee

And after that, she would crawl under the covers of the bed furthest from Tal’s. Under no circumstances was she going to be able to maintain her expression of cold indifference if she had to be around him much longer.

“Um . . . I’m not very good at helping people feel better,” Holland said as he came toward them. “Maybe you should just let the impostor—”

“Not him.” Charis spat the words without looking at Tal. “I’d rather lose every drop of blood in my body than have him help me.”

“Understandable, but unnecessary.” Holland snatched the gauze from Tal and shoved it against Charis’s neck. “It’s not bleeding fast enough for you to lose all your blood before the wound cauterizes on its own.”

“Be gentle with her,” Tal’s voice sharpened.

“Oh, look who’s giving lessons on how to treat Charis. Give me a moment. I’d like to take notes.” Holland brushed roughly at the cut, and Charis hissed.

“Give me that.” She took the gauze, folded it until she had a clean square, and pressed it gently to her neck. “Holland, please find me some dry clothes. I’m going to bed.” She cut her eyes toward Tal. “And I expect to be left alone.”

He held up his hands. “I won’t disturb you while you sleep.”

Her lips twisted. He’d been disturbing her sleep ever since she’d learned his true identity. At least now, if he woke her in the dead of night, she could actually cause him some of the pain he deserved.

Holland searched the dresser and came back with a linen tunic that, judging by the length, was made to fit a Rakuuna. She’d wear it as a nightgown while her own clothes dried and hope that there would be no emergency requiring her to leave the cabin while wearing such a flimsy garment.

“I’ll change in the bath closet,” she said.

“It’s too small.” Tal shrugged when she glared at him.

Since when was a bath closet too small for a quick outfit change? She took the tunic, opened the narrow door, and sighed.

Tal was right, curse him. There was barely enough room to turn around, much less strip off damp clothing.

“We’ll turn our backs,” Tal said.

“Trust us, nobody wants to see you undress.” Holland shuddered as he turned away, blocking the mirror with his body and looking studiously at the ceiling.

Tal’s ears were red as he stared out the small porthole window, and warmth flushed Charis’s skin as well. There was a time when Tal had certainly been interested in watching her undress, though he’d been far too honorable to act upon it. Was he blushing because he still wanted her? Or was he remembering that he’d been honorable about her body while recklessly using her heart?

Hours later, Charis was sick of tossing and turning in the lumpy, uncomfortable bunk bed. Holland had insisted she take the lower bunk, even though that put her only two arm spans away from Tal’s bed, because if the ship encountered turbulence at night, he wanted the risk of being flung to the floor instead of her.

She’d been sleeping fitfully ever since the invasion. Trying to rest now, while she was at the mercy of her enemies and Tal was close by, was impossible.

Moving as quietly as possible, she climbed from her bunk and went to stand at the porthole. The sister moons hung full and bright in the velvet sky, their sapphire light glistening against the dark water like a spill of blue silk. The ship was cutting through the swells with incredible speed. Charis gripped the edges of the porthole as a dizzy spell hit.

“They push the boat from underneath,” Tal said softly from behind her.

She gritted her teeth and kept her attention on the sea.

“That’s why the ship moves so fast. Part of the crew grabs handholds beneath the hull and swims.” He stepped closer to the porthole.

She stiffened, and he stopped moving.

“I’m so sorry, Charis.” Pain was a living, breathing thing within his voice. “I—”

“No.” She gripped the wall as her knees trembled.

When was the last time she’d eaten? Or slept?

Maybe it wasn’t her body giving out on her. Maybe it was that the idea of having a conversation with Tal was simply impossible.

He didn’t deserve to know how much he’d hurt her.

“All right, we won’t talk about that yet.” Tal sounded as if he was feeling his way for a candle in the dark. “Since I’ve been a captive here, I’ve gathered information on the Rakuuna that I think you’ll find useful. We can talk about that as we take care of your wound. We don’t want it to get infected. I can go get clean water and real bandages. They don’t have medicine our bodies would recognize, so we’ll have to—”

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