Page 19 of Blood Weaver
He scoffed. “This isn’t a joke, Leila. I could have killed you! All because ofhim!” He pointed at Caelan. “Who is absolutelyuselessin a fight, I might add.”
Caelan shot to his feet and was about to start another brawl when Marcellus intercepted him.
“If you’re going to fight again, take it outside. Not in my clinic,” I said tersely.
Ronan continued to glare at me, but I ignored him as I watched Selene grind the ingredients. I’d taught her several basics over the years, and she was a good student. After making a paste, she bent down in front of me to apply it.
I cleared my throat. “You all can go now.”
“I’m not leaving—” Ronan started.
“I have to undress, and I’m not doing that in front of three men!” I snapped.
“Oh,” Ronan croaked out.
The three of them looked at one another sheepishly and slowly exited my clinic without another word.
“Thank the gods,” Selene mumbled. “I thought they’d never leave.”
I chuckled as I pulled down the top of my dress to expose my shoulder. “Don’t forget that they’re still outside,” I whispered. “They’re already suspicious.”
Selene applied the paste and blew on it to dry the mixture. “I can understand why. You literally used your body as a shield to help someone who was supposedly a stranger! Why did you do it, Leila?”
I sighed heavily. “Ronan was going in for the kill. I couldn’t just stand by and watch Caelan die!” I whispered. “He’s my … he’s my best friend.”
But Selene wasn’t having it. “Correction— he was your best friend when you werechildren,” she muttered. “You’re no longer children. You don’t have any idea what he’s like now.”
She wasn’t wrong. Ten years had passed since Caelan and I last saw each other. After all that time, we were strangers all over again, no matter how I felt about our shared history.
“Maybe it was stupid, but I don’t regret it.” I craned my neck to the side and glanced at the wound. “I don’t think you need to stitch it. Just wrap it up.”
Selene was hesitant. “Are you sure?”
I rolled my eyes. “Who’s the healer here?”
She sighed. “You are.” She stood and walked over to my cabinet where I kept a stack of fresh cloths. Once she’d bandaged me up, I slid my dress back up and stood, rotating my arm to gauge the range of motion in my shoulder. I could already feel the effects of the medicine working.
A loud bang on the door grabbed our attention. “Are you done yet?” Ronan yelled.
I exhaled loudly and called out, “Yes!” But before the word was out of my mouth, Ronan stormed back inside.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he tried to peer through my dress to the bandage underneath.
“I’m perfectly fine. You haven’t killed me yet,” I joked.
He grunted and crossed his muscular arms over his thick chest. “Yeah …yet.”
Caelan and Marcellus walked in. My brother’s eyes were glued to Selene.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Caelan offered. “If … if you need anything, just let us know. We’ll be at the governor’s residence.”
“Thank you,” I said. “But I should be fine.”
He nodded. “Thanks … by the way.”
“No problem.”
I looked between Marcellus and Selene, noticing she wasn’t paying attention to him whatsoever, and decided to play matchmaker. “Thereisone thing you can do.”
