Page 54 of To Wake a Kingdom

“When you’re Ronan’s manservant, it goes with the territory.” I waited for her to crack a joke or break into an irreverent grin, telling me not to worry and that they’d all been through much worse before. But her face was grim as she watched with her arms folded tightly across her chest, her foot tapping impatiently.

Gideon worked quickly, sewing neat lines along each gash and then covering them in clean white bandages. Kianna stood by, handing him tools and bits of wrapping.

“We’ll have to make sure it doesn’t get infected,” he said. “He lost a lot of blood.”

“I think my magic can help with that,” Kianna said as she placed her hand on Ronan again. Already, she seemed more confident.

“Will he be okay?” My throat was raw, as if I’d been screaming for hours.

Gideon’s eyes widened as he took in my appearance.

“Woah,” Noah said. “Did she punch you?” The memory surfaced—that bitchhadpunched me. My cheek gave a painful throb. Too caught up in Ronan’s injury, I’d nearly forgotten. My skin was hot and tight, the entire left side of my face aching.

Noah held my chin in his fingers, examining me. “That is going to leave an impressive bruise, Princess.”

“I’ll get some ice for that,” Gideon said, bustling off.

“Ronan is going to eviscerate her.” Em flicked a look at his prostrate form, and I shuddered at the menace in her tone.

Kianna placed a gentle hand on my cheek. Light flared, and a hint of the pain subsided. “I’m sorry I can’t do much more. I’ve used up a lot of my power for now.”

“You did great, Kianna. Thank you.”

She smiled, and I noted the proud set of her shoulders.

Gideon handed me a rag filled with ice and then cleaned the blood off Ronan with a second wet cloth. Cutting away his bloody clothing, he worked with practised efficiency. Em ran to his room and returned with a fresh pair of pants that the men helped put Ronan into. My eyes averted, I tried not to look, with little success. I scolded myself. Now was not the time to be ogling him.

“Let’s get him to his bed,” Noah said, moving to lift his top half.

“No,” I said. “Take him to my room.” Every pair of eyes turned to me, and I willed myself not to blush, but I couldn’t stand the idea of him being all the way at the other end of the castle right now. My bed was larger and more comfortable, anyway.

“I can keep an eye on him then.”

The expression on Noah’s face made my heart clench—it was a combination of pride and happiness and relief. He dipped his head and then gestured to Em to grab Ronan’s ankles.

As carefully as possible, they carried him to my room and placed him on top of the covers.

Noah pulled up a chair and dropped into it. “Go clean yourself up, Your Highness. I’ll watch him while you do.”

I gave him a small smile before heading to my bathroom. My clothing was soaked with Ronan’s blood. As I stripped off my garments, Kianna filled up the bath. Once I’d washed, I pulled on a pair of leggings and a soft tunic. Combing my fingers through my wet hair, I left it loose and peered in the mirror to study my face.

There was a thin angry line across my cheek, the skin already turning various shades of blue and purple. I padded back to the bedroom, my feet bare. Noah was leaning back in the large armchair, snoring softly, hands folded over his stomach.

I found a thick blanket and placed it over him, brushing a lock of golden hair off his forehead. My chest ached at seeing how much they all loved each other. Siblings, even if not by blood. Not for the first time, it made me wish I hadn’t been an only child.

Ronan’s breath was even and slow as I crawled into the bed. Like this, he looked younger and softer, the usually fierce lines of his face smoothed by sleep. I traced his lips with my finger, remembering the heat under my skin before Mare had interrupted us.

My hand traveled lower, tracing the lines of his bared chest as I pressed my mouth to his forehead.

“If you don’t wake up and finish that kiss, I’ll kill you,” I whispered in his ear.

Maybe I was imagining it, but the ghost of a smile formed on his lips.

Chapter Twenty-Two

13 days left

Aftertwoexhaustingdays,Ronan finally awoke, blinking up at me while I watched over him. Kianna had worked around the clock, staving off any hints of infection, and he was healing rapidly under her vigilant care.

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