Rowan's POV:

Ciaran is growing on me; he is kind, and now that we are back in my kingdom and I can relax, I feel as though I am getting a better chance to admire the young man I brought with me.

He is rather beautiful; his skin in paler than anyone in my kingdom, but it makes his grey eyes seem brighter. His hair is black and from the times I've touched it, I have discovered that it is very soft.

"Rowan?" he asks me in a quiet voice, standing at my side. "May I please sit down somewhere?"

I suddenly realize how tired he seems, and it occurs to me that he has been undergoing mistreatment for however long he has been a slave. I may have been chained in their dungeon for a couple of hours, but I was never abused or raped like Ciaran was.

"I think you need a bath and fresh clothes," I tell him, guiding Ciaran toward the palace. "I will also get a healer to check your leg."

It is then, as we are walking toward my home, that I see him limping and wincing with every step. I'm sure part of it is riding the horse all the way back here, but he seems to be in way too much pain for it to only be from riding the horse.

Ciaran doesn't mention the pain he is in, but I am not one to let things slide past me without talking about them. However, I want to wait until he feels secure and is just with me so the other people in the palace don't intimidate him.

I guide him to my room and ask one of the passing servants to run a bath inn my bathroom, because I want him to feel comfortable around me and show him that he is safe here.

When the servants enter the room, Ciaran jumps and watches the servants intently, almost as if he is ready to run.

"They are running you a bath," I tell Ciaran, and he narrows his eyes.

"Why?" he asks.

That's a strange question, if I'm being honest.

"Because you are clearly in pain. It will help to relieve the pain."

Ciaran shakes his head. "I don't like baths."

He is very bitter when he says that, but he is also in need of healing some of the pain and it would most likely assist in helping the pain in his leg as well.

"Well, you need to," I argue, and his head falls, his shoulders slumping. "Why don't you like baths?"

He waits until the servants leave the room to speak. "Because Master liked to hold my head under water to pleasure him, and he didn't let me breath until he was satisfied," he mumbles, and I feel my blood boil.

How could anyone derive pleasure from forcing another person underwater? It makes me want to vomit.

"Well, he isn't your Master anymore," I tell Ciaran, having him pull his pants off and lay his leg out so I can remove the bandages. "No one is. You are not a slave and you are free here. Understood?"

Ciaran doesn't say anything, but he nods with a red blush on his cheeks.

"Good. Take your clothes off so I can help you bathe," I order him, and his blush gets even darker. "I will not be staring at your privates, do not be embarrassed. I have many oils and soaps that you may not know how to use so I wish to help you."

He is still red but he doesn't protest, allowing me to follow him to where the steaming bath is.

Gods, I want to get in with him...

I shake that ridiculous thought from my mind and roll my eyes. Clearly I am just craving a bath; I can take one on my own later, but for now I need to help Ciaran.

He strips down completely, and my eyes fall on the jewel that is lodged in his belly button, and I feel the strange desire to pull it between my teeth and suck on it, but I suppose that's a strange feeling that many people have when they see something obscure like a piercing.

"Get in," I tell him, shaking my head to distract myself from my inappropriate thoughts.

He winces. "The bath is high up," he mumbles, looking down at his cut up leg. "Will you help me, please?"

I nod and lift him up, trying to ignore how light he is, how easy it would be to carry him anywhere I wanted to... agh, what am I thinking?!

He is not my lover, he is just a friend to me! A friend who saved me from certain death, someone who I saved in return from his horrible "Master" who treated him like a toy.

Because, if I am honest, it is clear that Ciaran was a toy to that evil man.

I can't help but wonder why the head guard chose him of all people. Yes, he is very attractive, but he seems to be too smart and willing to break rules to get food if he really wants it... I don't know why he would be the prime choice candidate for a slave.

He groans when I set him down in the hot water, and that sound definitely attracts my attention, but I try not to look too interested.

I attempt to distract myself by filling a cloth with soap and washing his back, but my attention is drawn to the long, raised scars on his back.

"What are these?" I ask Ciaran, making him sigh, and I can tell it's more from exhaustion than annoyance.

He looks back at me, more tense than he was before. "It's from the day I tried to escape from Master," he says in a low tone, shifting because he is uncomfortable.

I continue to wash the marks, taking my time rubbing every single one with the soapy cloth, as if I was able to wash away the pain of his past, but I know it is not that simple.

"Why did he chose you? Of everyone in your kingdom, why you?"

Ciaran doesn't respond to my question, though he does get a bit tense. Instead, he begins to play with the bubbles from the soap, not paying attention to me.

It frustrates me, but I have no power over him and I cannot force him to do anything or tell me why he was chosen by that evil man to be a salve.

"Can you tell me at least why you were limping?" I ask him, hoping to break some of the tension with a different question.

Ciaran looks up at me, and he seems very wary of me. "Master used me as a sex slave," he says, and I can hear the resentment in his tone. "I am sure you can guess why I felt pain."

I widen my eyes. "How long before we left?" I ask, my voice soft as I think about how painful the ride on the horse must've been if he was recently raped, because I know for a fact that it was never consensual for Ciaran.

"About a half an hour before I let you go," he murmurs, the red color coming back to his face and running up his pale skin.

That is much more recent than I expected!

I want to hug him and comfort him, to tell him that he was safe with me and I, no, my kingdom would protect him. The kingdom in which I was part of, so I am responsible for his safety, but it is only human decency.

Nothing past human decency.

Once the water has cooled, I help Ciaran out of the tub and offer him some undergarments, but I don't give him any clothes.

He notices this too. "Rowan? May I have some clothes?" he asks, his eyes growing wide when I shake my head.

Of course he would panic; I assume whenever he didn't have clothes he was forced to have something horrible and degrading done to his lean body.

"I will not harm you," I tell him, nodding to the bed. "I wish to offer you a massage to relax your body. Please, trust me. I will not harm you."

He is wary, but he slowly walks toward the bed, laying on his stomach. However, even though he lays down, his arms are under his chest, and I know it is in case he needs to suddenly get up and run, and it pains me that he entertains the idea that I will suddenly hurt him. His knees are also bent so he can spring up if I begin to touch him in a way that makes him uncomfortable.

I lather my hands with herbal scented lotion and managed to convince him to lay his legs out straight, so I can cover his calves with the substance. Since the injury from the barbed wire is healing very well, I am able to massage over the scabs and he relaxes when I begin to work on a knot in his left calf.

He is looking at me the entire time, ready to run if I should touch him in a way he does not like. However, when I move up to his thighs, his eyes flutter shut and his arms slide out from under his chest, which reassures me, knowing he is relaxed.

"Ciaran," I whisper, making his eyes open.

He looks so tired, but I can tell he is waiting for me to ask the question I have.

"I want to massage your back, but I will have to sit on the back of your thighs," I tell him, and he thankfully stays relaxed. "May I?"

"Yes," Ciaran mumbles, closing his eyes once again. "I enjoy this."

I am glad he's relaxed and enjoying the sensations; it makes my heart swell, but I choose to believe it is just because he is healing, not because I feel anything else for Ciaran.

It has only been a few minutes when I feel his breathing even out and realize he has fallen asleep underneath me. I am not surprised, as he must be exhausted from riding all the way here in two days and on top of that his terror over what this new world will hold.

Ciaran is so gorgeous when he is asleep. There is no anxiety in his face and sometimes he smiles when he's having a good dream, which is very nice to see.

I eventually finish rubbing his back and lay the blankets over him, leaving him to sleep in my bed.

Usually I am very protective over my space and like to clean it and tend to it on my own, and no one has ever slept in my bed besides me. However, there is something about Ciaran that makes me want to keep him in my bed, by my side, with me for the rest of my life.

As soon as I think it, I shake the thought from my head.

No, he is not mine and he never will be.

Ciaran doesn't need me obsessing over him, and I have other things to worry about. Like the war and I need the king and queen of Vayl dead, and I need to find out if the prince is still alive, because if he is, he needs to be killed as well.

Ciaran deserves freedom. He deserves to fall in love with someone who can protect him and dedicate everything to him; he can do much better than someone like me.

He deserves the world.