Sitting up, my gaze landed on Claude’s lithe form. He wore a black turtle neck and long jacket, making himself look slimmer and taller than usual. A first-aid kit was tucked under his left arm, a bowl under his right, and he held a bottle of water in each hand.
“Where’s Kaz?” I asked, my voice cracking.
“I’ve been enlisted to be your caregiver,” he said shortly, not answering my question.
“Just leave that stuff. I can do it myself.”
Claude dropped the stuff on the bed next to me. Even in the dim light of the room, I could see there was something off about him. His skin was wan, dark bags under his eyes. Eyes so pale they were almost void of the rich gold they usually held. “I desire nothing more.”
“Then go.”
A jaw in his muscle twitched. “I’ve been ordered to stay with you through the night.”
No way was that happening. I had enough to worry about. I didn’t want to add sleeping with one eye open so Claude didn’t take the chance to murder me when I fell asleep. “No one will know if you leave.”
“I don’t think you know how many eyes watch me. They will.” His voice was firm and harsh, leaving no room to argue.
As if my day hadn’t been bad enough.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Claude’s Adam’s apple bob. Was he nervous? Why? Not only his appearance, but his whole demeanor felt off right now. The intimidation he constantly gave off was gone and not even a hint of Sway hit me. Usually, there was some residual feeling of it.
His eyes scoured my body and he tutted softly. “So pitiful.”
I shot him a dirty look but brushed off his snide remark. His words couldn’t hurt me. Not after what I went through.
“I suppose it can’t be helped.”
He took the bowl and disappeared into the bathroom, returning a moment later and setting it on my nightstand. Opening the first-aid kit, he pulled out cotton balls, antiseptic, and bandages. His posture was rigid, each movement was forced. I could tell he was favoring his left hand. What was wrong with him?
I held my breath when he stepped in front of the bed, looming over me intimidatingly. When his hands reached for me, I jerked. A scowl crossed his face. “I’m not going to hurt you. Turn your head down.”
“I didn’t do it on purpose,” I muttered. I needed to quit doing that. I couldn’t show fear. Especially not in front of Claude. “And I don’t need you to help me. Go busy yourself with something else.”
His expression tightened and instead of answering, the burden of the Sway swept over me. There it was. My chin fell toward my chest automatically. I clenched my hands into fists. I hated this. I hated how he exploited the Sway’s power. Everyone did what he wanted, whether they wanted to or not
He ran his fingers through my hair. I braced myself for oncoming pain, but the contact was tender, barely the ghost of a touch. I relaxed for a second, only to screw my eyes shut as he brushed over the sensitive spot that’d struck the ground. He paused, spreading my hair to inspect it. After a moment he moved on, abandoning my skull and going for the laceration on my neck.
He dipped a cotton bow into the bowl of water and brushed it against my neck. “This will need stitches.”
“I’ll decide that for myself.” I was pretty sure I knew the severity of wounds better than a pampered prince.
He threw the used cotton ball to the floor with more force than necessary. I decided to refrain from talking back for now. I wouldn’t be able to fight Claude if he decided he wanted a turn. Not with his Sway.
The thought of that made cold fear run through my blood again. What if Claude had been there? What if he had planned on joining in, but had been called away? I’d be dead. It was as simple as that. I couldn’t fight the Sway. I would have been a puppet for them to do whatever they wanted to with.
Picking up a new cotton ball, Claude swabbed the next cut, his lips pressed together in concentration. He hesitated when he reached a puncture wound under my ear. I flinched at the flashback of receiving that one. Vampires had impeccable control of their force. Any deeper and it would have pierced my jugular.
“I heard you stabbed Rehan.”
“I did,” I said flatly. I didn’t care what Claude thought of it. Rehan deserved more than that.
“Good.”
I glanced up and had to do a double-take. Not only because the Sway was gone and I hadn’t realized it, but also because the smallest smirk tugged at Claude’s lips. When he noticed I was staring it dropped, but not fast enough that I didn’t notice the crescent of a dimple that appeared on his bronzed cheek.
“I would dispose of him myself if I could,” Claude said, face set back to his usual impassiveness. “He’s a thorn in my flesh.”
“Aren’t you happy?” I blurted.
“At this current moment? No. Quite displeased, actually.”
“I meant that they tried to kill me. It’d save you the trouble.”
Claude hummed, leaning down to examine his work. Satisfied, he reached for the antiseptic. He didn’t warn me at all and I jumped up at the stinging feeling. His body blocked my attempt of fleeing and he continued disinfecting the area.
“I’m no monster. I won’t kill you until you give me a reason to. I don’t inflict pain for merriment, either.”
I smiled dryly. He made it sound like I would give him a reason one day. My heart skipped a beat at the realization that I might. If I really did figure out the identity of the hidden heir, what would Claude do to me? How heavily guarded was that secret? And what did it mean that the heir was hidden in the first place?
“I’m also obligated by the peace treaty,” Claude continued.
“Ah.”
He moved onto the bandages. “Those fools will reap their repercussions. I’ll be happy to witness it.”
Knowing more cuts ran across my shoulders and chest I began to unbutton my shirt, keeping the bottom-most buttons clasped and my lower abdomen covered. Decency was the last of my concerns at the moment. I rather avoid infection. It hurt to maneuver my arms out of the sleeves. Perhaps it was a good thing Claude offered to help. And if he was bothered by my display of skin, he didn’t comment on it, silently moved onto the next open lesion, cleaning, disinfecting, and bandaging it.
Neither of us spoke again. I kept cringing as the antiseptic stung me, but managed to keep any complaints to myself. He went steadily, every press of the cotton to my skin as light as a caress. I wasn’t used to this. When my sister helped me take care of my injuries, it was rough and hurried. No one had treated me so delicately. It was almost unimaginable that this was Claude. Just a day ago we were at each other’s throats. How could someone who wanted to kill me be so gentle when my own family couldn’t? Not to mention his attitude. It was almost unnerving. He was being conversational. Usually, it was threats between us.
Once my torso was patched up, Claude kneeled in front of me. Now looking down at him, my heart rate increased. Hair the color of coal fell into his eyes as he lifted his head to face me.
I swallowed and a thought crept unbidden into my mind. How many others had Claude kneeled before?
His hands hesitated before he touched my legs. “Shall I proceed?”
“It’s not like my skirt is covering that much anymore anyway,” I said, my face heating up. It lay mostly in tatters. My sprint through the woods had all but destroyed it.
Claude spread my thighs and I let out a startled squawk, shoving my hand down to press the fabric of my skirt to the bed and keep myself covered. “What the hell are you doing?”
“On the inside of your thigh—”
“Y-you can’t just pull my legs apart like that! I’m wearing a skirt!” I spluttered, fire spreading up my neck and onto my face.
His lips flattened. “You said yourself that it wasn’t covering much anyway.”
I gaped. How was he so nonchalant? “That’s not the point. It’s— forget it. I’ll do the rest myself.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. You hold no interest to me, human. There’s no need to get so worked up.”
My jaw almost hit the ground. What was he insinuating? I scooted myself away from him, crossing the bed. “You can go,” I told him. “I’ll just tell Evander you kept an eye on me.”
“I’m not leaving.”
I shrunk in on myself. “Why?”
Abandoning my bedside, he took a seat in the leather armchair by the window. He folded a long leg over the other. “I’ve already told you. I’ve been instructed to stay here all night.”
“Do you always listen to what you’re told to do?”
His eyes narrowed. “If it results in keeping the peace in my country, then yes. Otherwise, I’d be more than happy to let you bleed out.”
He got me there. I couldn’t argue. I reached for a cotton ball and dunked it in the water. My legs were filthy. Cuts, dirt, smeared blood. Sighing, I began to scrub them down. A shower was now definitely out of the question. Not with Claude here. Why did he have to stay the entire night? Were they afraid I had a concussion? I was pretty sure I didn’t. Was it something else?
A thought struck me and I faced Claude again, my stomach hardening. “Are you watching me in case someone comes after me again?”
“I’d like to see them try.”
He didn’t deny it. I stared down at my hands. Did Evander think someone would try to sneak in and finish the job? What would happen now? How could I go on at the academy like this? Constantly watching my back? I thought Claude had been bad enough, but he hadn’t actually attempted to murder me.
Worse, the idea of this happening again scared me so much I wanted to go home. But what would await me at home? A broken peace treaty? All the goals I had out of reach again? My father, who would be so displeased with me I probably wouldn’t see the light of day for months? I’d come here with such grand plans, to show hunters wanted peace too, to secure safety for both vampires and humans. How could I give that up just because I was scared?
My hands trembled as I reached for the antiseptic. The finger they’d tried to break earlier was red and swollen, but not broken. They didn’t do it right.
I thought of Claude’s light touches, but he was only doing as he ordered. No matter what he said, I could tell he still longed for a reason to kill me. I never knew how much I craved affection until now. Until I got a bittersweet taste of it. But no matter who I turned to, I wouldn’t receive comfort. I was on my own.
Felix being there had been a stroke of luck. Had he not known what was going down, I’d be dead. Rehan would have killed me, smiling the whole time.
Admitting it to myself made something crack.
Crap, crap. I’d held them in so well. Tears streamed down my cheeks, my arm still suspended in mid-air, muscles tensed. I clenched my jaw, trying to control the lump in my throat. Claude was sitting not even ten feet away. I couldn’t do this here. But that thought just made it worse. My shoulders shook.
This was different from my father’s punishments. I could tell myself I’ve been through worse as much as I wanted, but my father never tried to kill me. These people wanted me dead. And to defend myself was to doom everyone to war. What was I supposed to do?
A heavy, exaggerated sigh came from the corner. Then footsteps approached me.
“I’ve had a taxing day,” Claude said. “Don’t expect me to be kind to you again.”
Anger burned in me. “You’ve had a taxing day—”
The door swung open then and I snapped my mouth shut. Kaz and Adora hurried in followed by San a moment later. Adora’s gaze went from Claude to me and seeing that I was crying, she rounded on Claude. “What did you do, Claude?”
Claude stepped away from me, dropping his hands. I hadn’t noticed he’d lifted them. What had he planned to do? A scowl formed on his face. “What did I do…?” He turned his glare to me and I froze. “You three can monitor the human now.”
He went to the door and it slammed behind him as he left, but nobody paid any attention to it.
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