Page 36 of Zar

Zar lifted his head, then his eyes suddenly changed and his nostrils flared. His hand shot out and caught hold of her wrist, bringing her hand closer to his face. “He cut you? I’ll kill him for this!”

The angry red gash on the palm of her hand had stopped bleeding, but the damn thing still hurt. Meanwhile Zar literally had battle wounds. She tried to pull her hand away, but Zar refused to release her and he looked ready to go find Naxon and finish what he’d started. “I did it to myself,” she admitted, feeling a little like the village idiot.

His frown deepened. “Why?”

Heat filled her cheeks. “Well, it wasn’t on purpose. I was holding the dagger a little too tight. By the wrong end.”

He dipped his head and kissed the injury, his lips lingering for a few seconds before he released her and sat back. “There is a handle for a reason, Callie.”

If he wasn’t already injured, then the big idiot would’ve been after that comment. “That’s super helpful, thanks,” she muttered as she left the room to get a clean towel. Callie found a washcloth and ran it under cold water. Then she grabbed a towel and a large supply of sterile bandages on a shelf next to the sink. A really large supply of bandages. Just how often did Zar receive such bloody wounds anyway? It was another reminder that Zar lived a different type of existence from her. God, swords and daggers, really?

She hurried back out to the living room to find Zar’s eyes closed. He had a hand pressed against his ribcage and there was blood seeping between his fingers. She had to take a few deep breaths to swallow down the bile. Throwing up on the guy wouldn’t really be very helpful to the situation. And she was trying not to make a complete fool of herself. Well, she had sliced open her own hand with a dagger. Yeah, she was real warrior material.

When she sat next to Zar, his eyelids lifted and his lips kicked up sideways. “You are going to nurse me back to health, my ofelia?”

Callie wanted to toss out a witty retort, but she was just glad he was alive. “You’re hurt so I’ll let that one slide, winged-man.”

He chuckled. “Now I know the secret to keeping you at my side.”

She refused to get into a discussion about their future together—or not together—and instead pointed to his shirt. “We need to get that nasty thing off.”

Zar sat up and reached for the hem of the shirt. He twisted and lifted it up past his ribcage. When he reached his chest, he winced. Callie batted his hands away and helped pull it over his head. She tossed it aside, then got a better look at the wound. It was six inches long and would undoubtedly need stitches but it looked shallow. She gently wiped away the blood with the wet washcloth. Zar rested against the couch and watched her as she cleaned him as best she could. Fresh blood seeped from the wound and Callie bit her lip in worry. She pressed the towel against it and held it tight to stem the flow. “You need stitches, Zar. You should be in a hospital right now.”

Zar reached up and cupped her jaw, his eyes darkening with what appeared to be desire if Callie didn’t miss her guess. “Our healer will be here soon. By tomorrow it will be nearly healed. In two days’ time it will be gone.”

Her eyes widened at that bit of knowledge. “You heal that fast?”

He shrugged as he traced an invisible pattern on her lower lip. “All Zenarians do, but I have royal blood. We heal faster than most.”

Callie had so many questions, but she didn’t get a chance to ask them because the door flung open and Flare strode in. A beautiful, statuesque woman in a long white gown followed him carrying a bag with her. She had long brown hair and wings to match. She had prominent cheekbones and full, pouty lips. Her eyes were almond shaped and a brilliant shade of blue. When her gaze landed on Callie she smiled.

“Flare has updated me on your situation, my king,” the woman said, in a soft, melodic voice that Callie could listen to all day. When the woman sat on the other side of Zar and placed her hand on his forearm, Callie felt a nasty pang of jealousy.

Zar reached over and took Callie’s hand in his own, entwining their fingers. As if he could sense her inner turmoil. “My ofelia, Callie.”

Yeah, so take that. Wait, now we’re happy about the ofelia thing?

The woman inclined her head and her smile widened. “I’m pleased to meet you, Callie. I’m Arwen.”

Zar’s gaze sought Callie’s. “Arwen is one of many healers we have. She is an ancient and is called upon often when one of royal blood is in need.”

Okay, that sounded totally platonic. The thrill that ran through Callie was completely out of place, considering she wasn’t staying with Zar permanently. And who was she trying to convince with that line of thought exactly? Face it, dipshit, your heart is definitely up for auction. The sound of a wooden gavel coming down hard reverberated inside Callie’s head. Sold, to one massively sexy winged alien!

Shitballs.

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