Page 19 of Of Kings and Thieves

He nodded. I promise.

CHAPTER FIVE

An hour later, the smell of roasting meat filled the air, making my stomach growl with hunger. Magnus stood over the fire with a satisfied expression on his face as he cooked, the juices from the meat sizzling and popping as they met the flames. He handed me a plate of roasted meat that had barely been left to cool.

“Try it and tell me this isn’t the best thing you’ve ever tasted.”

I took a bite and was instantly rewarded with a burst of flavor on my tongue. Closing my eyes, I let out a soft moan of pleasure. “Gods above, Magnus… This is incredible. I’ve never had anything so delicious in my life.”

Magnus chuckled. “See? There’s more to me than just a pretty face.”

“Careful, Magnus,” Col said playfully. “Don’t try to charm my woman with your cooking.”

“Your woman?” I teased, looking at Col with a mischievous smile. “You’ve never cooked anything this good for me, or have you been holding out on me?”

Col feigned offense, his hazel eyes glancing at my mouth. “I always make sure you’re well-fed.”

I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand and gave him a small smile. I know.

Magnus nudged Killian as he passed him more food. “I bet you wish a woman would look at you that way, huh? Been a while for me, myself.”

Magnus opened his mouth to say something else, but Killian cut him off. “Can we eat in peace?” He stared pointedly at Magnus, expression stern.

Magnus gave a sigh as he turned back to the fire. “Fine, fine. I was just trying to lighten the mood. No need to be so serious all the time.”

Killian’s lips thinned into a grim line—the only sign that Magnus had gotten under his skin.

Col looked between Killian and Magnus, a flicker of amusement in his eyes before he turned his attention back to me. “When was the last time you ate?”

I thought for a moment, remembering the morning Col had left me at the farmer’s house. “It was breakfast... the day you said goodbye.”

Col’s regret washed over me through our connection.

I should have made sure you had enough to take with you.

“Hey,” I said gently, reaching for his hand. “It’s okay. I’m eating now, right? And you did leave me coin. I just didn’t use it for food.”

“Why not?”

I shrugged, feeling embarrassed. “I wanted to keep as much of it as possible to take back to my family.”

“Oh my little siren,” he breathed, pulling me into him. You can’t help them if you don’t take care of yourself.

I sniffed and pulled away to finish my meal. “It’s all right,” I murmured.

Col didn’t say anything else, though the worry still lingered in his gaze. He watched me intently as I finished my meal, making sure I ate my fill.

After, I dozed in Col’s arms, feeling tired and sated. I must have slept longer than I thought because when I woke, the fire burned low and the air had turned cold.

My head swam a bit until Killian gave me a tea to drink, made from the concoction I had seen him mixing earlier. It tasted awful, worse than anything I had ever brewed for myself, and the irony was not lost on me when Col burst out laughing at the grimace on my face.

A just reward, he said, referring to the tea I had made him drink for weeks while he recovered from a wound caused by a venomous creature.

Smartass.

“Your bandage needs to be changed regularly for the next couple of days,” Killian explained as he wound a clean cloth around my forehead with deft fingers. “And I’ve created a salve specifically for your injury. It’s important to keep an eye on it since it was caused by magic, and there might be more side effects we haven’t seen yet.”

Trying to be an easy patient, I thanked Killian for all his help, even though I was already tired of the men fussing over me. It felt nice to be taken care of, but they all looked at me as if I would keel over and die at any time.

---