“Better,” Thane answered. “I gave him a healing tonic, and he’s sleeping now.”
“Thank you for caring for him,” Maddox said.
The apprentice grew shy. “You’re welcome.” He then rushed from the room. Poor guy. The captain’s dark blue eyes, and the intensity often found in them, had the power to turn all of us to mush. Or stone, depending on Maddox’s mood at the time.
Briar returned with a wooden bowl filled with something green and paste-like. “Quincy will be well enough to leave in the morning and return to his duties.”
Maddox’s face softened just a tad. “You have my thanks as well.”
“It’s my pleasure.” Briar’s expression was a bit softer now too.
“Are you putting that goo on me?” I asked. “Will it hurt?”
“Goo?” Briar snorted. “You never fail to amuse me, love. No, it won’t hurt at all. It will soothe the ache.” He rolled up my pants legs and applied it to my scraped knees.
My skin tingled, and the slight sting of them faded. “Magical goo, I thank you for your service.”
“The herb used for the salve is found on the outskirts of Bremloc,” Briar said. “With the right dose of magical energy, it’s highly effective for treating skin irritations of any kind, as well as healing minor nicks and scratches.”
“Don’t the healing tonics help with that too?”
“They do.” He grabbed my hands and turned them palm up before applying the salve to the scrapes there too. “But it’s always wise to know several methods, for you never know when one will be unavailable to you.”
“How was the trip to the academy?” I asked. “Did the students fawn over you and your amazing good looks?”
Briar pushed his glasses back with one finger, a shyness coming over him. “The students were eager to learn from me, yes, but my appearance had nothing to do with it. They were awed by my title.”
“Yes, your title as the chief physician helped with their eagerness, I’m sure,” Maddox said. “You hold the highest position in the kingdom for those in the healing arts. Yet it’s your endless hard work and dedication to Bremloc that I find most admirable.”
“You flatter me, knight.”
Maddox huffed and turned his face away. “I flatter no one. I merely speak the truth.”
They had grown closer during our time together, and I couldn’t have been happier. I only hoped what I was about to say wouldn’t pop that balloon of warm fuzzy happiness.
“So, um.” I rested my hands on the arms of the chair and tapped my index finger against it. “I have a confession. I didn’t fall on the main road coming back from town. I…uh, fell in the forest.”
“What were you doing in the forest?” Maddox asked with a tic in his jaw.
I imagined a huge pin nearing the balloon, the sharp point gleaming. His sharp jawline could pop it too.Okay, stop drooling over him and just spit it out.
“Well, you see… I might’ve been snatched from the road and carried to the forest.”
“You were abducted?” Briar asked, his hard expression matching Maddox’s. And here I thought he’d be the more understanding of the two. But I guess when it came to me, both of them had the potential for sweet murder.
“Yes and no,” I answered. “Lake took me.”
“The wolf?” Maddox asked. “Did he hurt you? I swear to the gods I will drag him from his cottage and rip off his arms.”
“Easy, killer,” I said. “He only wanted to talk. He was lonely.” I brought my hands together on my lap and picked at my nail. “We talked for a few minutes, and I said he should come to the festival in a few days. He didn’t think that’d be a good idea. Kuya then pounced on him and tried to chomp him to death.”
“I knew I liked that cat,” Briar said.
Maddox nodded.
“Anyway.” I cleared my throat, heat spreading up my neck and to the top of my scalp. “After we said goodbye, he sort of… kissed me.”
“What?” they exclaimed simultaneously, their expressions and voices scarily similar.
