Page 28 of Restored

I sit frozen for a second before moving to my feet. I rip off a piece of Ledger’s tunic, grabbing his canteen off Apollo and wetting it before returning to him.

Ledger is sitting, his breathing almost back to normal, and he studies me as I kneel next to him. He flinches almost imperceptibly as I bring the wet cloth to his bloodied back.

“You feel better now?” he asks me pointedly as I wipe away the drying blood with rapt attention.

“You could have killed him, Ledger.”

“Trust me, if he can’t survive a fall off a horse, I did you a favor.”

“You’re unbelievable.” I wipe roughly at the skin where the arrow wound was moments before, causing him to wince.

“Jesus, I’ve never been more afraid of a woman in my life.”

“It’s not too late to return me.”

At that, he scoffs. “So, what is the prince to you anyway?” I let my hand drop and peer out into the darkness towards the border of Bellehaven as if I could see Maddox.

“He’s my best friend.”

“I saw him kiss you that night. Do you kiss all your friends?”

If it were light enough, I’m sure he would see my blushing. “That is none of your business.”

“Mmmm.” Ledger stands, rolling out his shoulder and peering at his now-closed wounds. “Incredible,” he whispers, more to himself. “Can you heal yourself?”

“No, it doesn’t work like that,” I respond, and he considers my words.

“Then let me see your burns.” He walks to Apollo, pulling out a tunic from his saddle bag and throwing it on. Another pouch in the saddle holds some ointment and wrapping.

“I’m fine,” I lie through my teeth. The burns throb painfully; the skin affected seems to radiate heat.

Ledger pins me with an unconvinced look that has me rolling my eyes. “Fine, give me the ointment; I can do itmyself.” I reach for it, and he moves his hand back out of my grasp.

“Does anyone ever take care of you? Or is it just you taking care of everyone else?”

I bristle at his words as they struck, stripping away yet another truth. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me, but I suppose Maddox takes care of me. We take care of each other.” I square my jaw.

He nods slowly and then motions to a log. “Sit. Humor me, Ms. Sutton.” I narrow my eyes briefly before glancing at the log and reluctantly sitting down.

He takes my ankle into his large hand, holding my leg up to the moonlight to get a better look. His fingers dip into the ointment.

I cringe against the sting as he applies it, his fingers surprisingly gentle. “It won’t heal you completely, but it should ease the pain.”

His fingers brush over my calf as he skillfully wraps the burn. “You’ve done this before.” It’s more of an observation than anything.

“A time or two.”

He moves to my arm; the skin is raised and blistered worse than my leg. I hiss when the rough skin of his fingers glide over it. However, his touch is light, opposite of what I imagined it would be.

“Payback.” He grins, the dimple in his cheek popping ever so slightly as he continues.

“Vengeful,” I quip.

“You’re not anything like I thought you’d be, you know?” He pauses, studying my face as if he’s perplexed.

“How’d you think I’d be?”

“Different. You don’t strike me as the kind of girl that would stay for so long in that carefully crafted prison your king and prince keep you in.”

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