She waved me off, already bounding down the hall. She came back a few minutes later, an armful of books retrieved from the library.
“Listen, if those are romance books, I can’t sit here and listen while you read the—is that a glassblowing manual?” I squinted my eyes, which were surely deceiving me.
Sure enough, my fae eyesight didn’t disappoint. Blaise held a stack of nonfiction in her arms.
Before the books could tumble to the floor from how thoroughly she’d piled them, I grabbed one from the top of her stack. “How to Start Your Own Shop and Turn a Profit within Three Mooncycles, The Origin of Glass…” I said, reciting the names of three other business books. “Are you trying to bore her into healing faster?”
Blaise glared at me, and for the first time in several days, a smile tugged at my lips. I was fairly certain listening to a manual was the last thing Ellie would enjoy, even if it was discussing her passion. Ellie was a hands-on kind of woman, and somehow I knew having her artwork broken down into dry, precise steps would be about as interesting to her as watching Peck measure Ellie’s drafts.
But still. It was sweet. And Blaise rarely allowed anyone to glimpse that side of her. Probably because she was pretty awful at it—hence the manuals and business books.
So Blaise recited the arduous process of making glass. Every time she stumbled over a phrase or mispronounced a word, a twinge of gratefulness to my friend tugged at my heart.
CHAPTER 33
ELLIE
I awoke to Prince Evander of Dwellen in my bed.
In fact, I was fairly certain his snores were what rattled me awake.
That and his warm breath against my cheek, his arm stretched across my abdomen, tucking me into his chest as he interlocked my fingers with his.
Of all the ways I could have returned to consciousness after having a lunatic disembowel me, I supposed this wasn’t the most unpleasant.
It was, however, the most problematic.
Any moment now, someone was bound to waltz through my bedroom door and find the Prince of Dwellen spooning me.
“Evander,” I whispered, my voice dry and crackling from disuse.
He groaned and readjusted, but instead of waking up and scooting away from me like I’d hoped, he roped his arm around my ribcage, pulling me into his warm chest. Maybe it was his fae instinct, but his fingers skirted my injury. Like he knew the boundaries of my wound so well, he could avoid it in his sleep.
The male went so far as to nuzzle his face into my neck.
Heat soothed my sore stomach.
Well, at least he’d stopped snoring.
It was…nice, I supposed. Being held like this. His firm chest pressed against my back, and the weight of his arm left me feeling secure. Safe.
It was so pleasant, in fact, my heavy eyes fluttered. Evander’s breathing slowed again, his inhalations a steady pulse against my spine.
I allowed my eyes to rest. Perhaps I could go back to sleep like this. Then, maybe he’d wake before I did, slip from the bed, and both of us could pretend this never happened.
His thumb brushed my ribcage, and I shuddered. Electricity shot through my body at the subtle caress, and I found I wouldn’t be going back to sleep. Not anytime soon.
Okay, never mind.
Staying like this was a bad, bad, bad idea.
Sure, Evander and I were engaged to be married, but he’d said it himself, hadn’t he?
Unless I’d misinterpreted the context clues of the word celibate growing up, I was fairly sure he had no intention of bedding me once we were married.
Clearly, he’d only been trying to warm me. I’d flitted in and out of consciousness the past few days, and Blaise had been doing the same. I’d never quite been alert enough to communicate with her, but I’d appreciated her sharing her warmth as I’d shivered through my fever.
Blaise had needed a break, and Evander had done what any friend would do.
He fidgeted again, this time adjusting his neck so that his warm lips pressed against the bone behind my ear.
Nope, nope, nope.
“Evander,” I hissed, louder this time.
“Mmm?”
“What do you think you’re doing?”
He lazily traced his finger over my shoulder.
Then he jolted. “You’re awake.”
Was that embarrassment I sensed in his voice?
I wasn’t quick enough to find out.
“You’re in my bed,” I said. I made to roll over to face him and had to fight back a groan as my stomach twisted, but he placed a firm hand on my shoulder.
