Page 45 of Taken By the Blood God

Though I was speaking to Tal, Davian was the one to answer. “I’ve had time to discover more about you, witch. Your home and your friends have been very…informative.”

When I tried to push myself up into a sitting position, Talant’s hand landed on my bare shoulder, keeping me down. I shot him a harsh look before focusing on his brother.

“I wouldn’t snoop about too much, Davian. You never know what sorts of annoying things you might stumble on. Like curses that will make your balls feel like they’re on fire.” As for my friends, I wondered who he was talking about.

It was Talant’s turn to chuckle at my words. His brother merely studied me with narrowed eyes.

“You’re a skilled liar,” he admitted. “I can’t tell if you’re serious or not.”

I raised my brows at him. “There’s only one way to find out.”

I was bluffing for now, but there would be some hexes created as soon as I was out of this bed. The nosy bastard had no right to go through my home.

“Davian, step out,” Talant interrupted. “I need to check Minerva’s wound.”

His brother rested a hip on the end of my bed, turning his back to me. “I promise not to peek.”

Before I could open my mouth to tell him to get the hell out, Talant flicked a hand in his direction. Smoke unfurled from the seat of his pants and Davian leapt to his feet cursing.

“Gods dammit, brother!” he roared.

“Out!” Talant said, pointing to the door.

Still swearing under his breath, Davian stomped out of my room, slamming the door behind him. Talant rose from the bed and followed, stopping to lock the door and pocket the skeleton key.

When he faced me, his expression was serious. “I need to look at your wound.”

I sighed, knowing that he spoke the truth. If he was the one to heal me, he needed to check the progress of the magic.

“Fine. Bring me my robe.” When he opened his mouth, his intention to argue obvious, I waved a hand at him. “I don’t care what you did or didn’t see while I was unconscious. I’m awake now, and I prefer to be as covered as possible while you inspect the wound. It’s not up for discussion. You either get my robe, or I will kick you out of my bedroom and call Ally to come check it. Since she is your Annointed, I’m sure she could figure out if your healing spell worked or not.”

Talant scowled at me but did as I said. My robe was at the end of the bed, but I would have to crawl forward to grab it, which meant exposing parts of my naked body. Something I wasn’t ready to do because I felt vulnerable enough in Talant’s presence.

I took it from him and sat with it in my lap, staring at him until he sighed and turned around.

I waited a few moments, making sure he wouldn’t turn back, before I let the blanket fall to my lap and pulled the robe around my upper body. The new skin on my chest pulled and ached a bit, but it wasn’t too bad. Once I was covered, I rearranged my pillows so I could recline back against them.

“Okay, I’m done.”

Talant grunted but didn’t say anything else as he turned to face me. He sat on the edge of the bed, leaning over me and reached for the robe.

“I’ll do it,” I insisted.

His hands paused, and he flashed me an annoyed look. “I’m hardly going to rip the garment apart if I touch it.”

“I know, but I’m uncomfortable enough with this as it is. I need to control something so I’m choosing the robe.”

“Fine. I need to see the wound.” His voice was gruff, and it was clear that he was irritated.

I parted the silk revealing the long line of skin. Even in the short time since I’d woken, the redness had faded a bit, becoming more of a dark pink.

I held my breath as Talant touched two fingers to my chest, just below the place where my collarbones met, and traced them down the line of the wound.

Grateful that my wrists rested over my breasts and hid the fact that my nipples hardened at his touch, I focused on controlling my heart rate.

Then, I forgot all about the sensation of his fingers tracing my skin because he pressed gently over a spot just below my sternum, and pain flared to life. I tried to control my wince but couldn’t stop the sharp inhale that the pressure caused.

“Did that hurt?” he asked.

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