By the time they tied up the horses again, the sky was already turning grey. After a full day in the saddle, Leonie could barely move, and however uncomfortable it made her feel, she let Dorian hand her down to Marcus like a sack of grain. While the two men tended to the horses and built up the fire, Leonie tried to walk a little, putting some distance between herself and them.
As soon as she stepped out of their line of sight, she slumped against a tree with a groan and tugged her shirt up to see the patchwork of bruises blooming across her skin.
"May I take a look as well?" came Dorian's soft voice behind her. She jumped so hard it was as if a cannon had gone off, stumbled, and nearly fell. In the blink of an eye he was at her side, catching her by the elbow and steadying her before stepping back.
"I swear I only want to see your injuries. Please, let me," he said, his face wearing a tight calm and a restrained coolness. It felt like they stared into each other's eyes for minutes before Leonie finally gave a cautious nod and lifted her shirt up to the line of her breasts.
Holding her breath, she watched as Dorian took a single step closer and knelt in front of her. He raised his hand slowly, but before he touched her, he glanced up questioningly. Leonie battled the urge to bolt, but in the end she nodded again.
Dorian let out the softest sigh of relief and turned his attention to the damage. The moment he took in her fragile body, bruised blue and green on nearly every square inch, a wave of vengeful rage washed through him. He carefully ran his hand along her ribs, feeling what he had already suspected: she was healing much faster than a human would. To his own surprise, the realization filled him with a quiet satisfaction.
Her soft skin under his rough fingers, and the knowledge that Leonie feared him yet still allowed him this close… if she did not fear him, this might almost have been an intimate moment. He swallowed hard and forced himself to pull her sweater back down. For a heartbeat his hands lingered at her hips, then he reached for her arm.
"Let me see your wrist as well."
Leonie automatically held out her broken hand to him. Her brain had more or less stopped functioning the moment Dorian touched her, which both unsettled her and surprised her with how gentle his touch actually was.
"I'm afraid this started to set badly," he murmured, shaking his head as he unwound the filthy bandage and carefully probed the bone sitting at a slightly wrong angle.
"In a few days we'll reach the others, and we'll be able to set it properly. You heal faster than humans— I assume you've noticed that."
Leonie nodded silently.
"But not as fast as we do…" he went on in a pensive tone while wrapping her wrist in a clean strip of cloth. "Why?"
She watched him as he worked.
"You're not like them. But compared to us, you're too human. You don't see or hear as well. You're not as fast or as strong. I don't understand why, not yet. Maybe you only had a distant fae ancestor, and after many generations the traits just… resurfaced now."
When he finished, he still did not let go. He held her hand between both of his, his thumb tracing slowly along her palm. He might not even have realized he was doing it— but Leonie certainly did. Her eyes widened as she stared at him, and he seemed to misread it, because he continued:
"You have nothing to fear. Once we get home, you'll have time to find out the truth. You can have a calm, peaceful life among the fae, if that's what you choose."
"B–but… I'll be allowed to choose?" she asked quietly. Considering that just the previous day Dorian had firmly declared he would not let her go, she had her doubts. Her confidence was not bolstered by the fact that he did not answer at once, only watched her in silence.
"I would like you to choose freely," he said at last.
Was it selfish to want her close? To want to get to know her, to keep her safe, to have her… what, exactly? Damn it all, he wanted everything. This strange creature had bewitched him completely, which made no sense whatsoever when he barely knew anything about her.
"It's time for dinner," he said abruptly, changing the subject. He released her hand and within two heartbeats he was already rummaging at the horses.
Leonie watched him go, a sharp sting of disappointment hitting her. He was her captor, she reminded herself. Just because he had an attractive face and was suddenly acting as though he cared did not mean he was anything but a monster. A fae monster.
"There's a lake nearby, if you want to wash up before supper," Marcus announced with a grin, appearing out of nowhere with wet hair and, despite the cold, bare-chested. The sight was far from mediocre, and Marcus's satisfied expression showed he knew it very well, while Leonie, flustered, let her gaze trail over him.
"If you like, I can come back with you," he added, winking playfully.
Leonie shook her head so hard her hair flew. Of course Marcus, as usual, failed to notice it might be a little too early for that sort of joke.
"Don't give her nightmares, she's had enough trauma. Imagine if she had to see how tiny you really are," Dorian called from by the fire.
Marcus actually snorted like a horse and dropped down beside the flames.
"Anee didn't say that after sharing our bed. As I recall, she wanted to spend the next night with me, not you."
Dorian waved a dismissive hand, his gaze drifting to Leonie's startled face.
"Don't worry. Anee enjoyed herself very much," he added, for the sake of clarity.
"Yeah, we don't need to drag women into our beds by force. Dorian can barely beat them back half the time," Marcus said, jerking his chin at his friend.
"Marcus," Dorian warned, shaking his head. "This isn't appropriate."
"I think it is," Marcus replied, narrowing his eyes as he looked from Leonie to Dorian. In the girl he saw caution; in his king, clear annoyance.
"Since we're stuck together like one big happy family, we might as well clear up the important bits. For example, that night we took you."
"Marcus," Dorian said again, quietly this time— but with far less conviction than before.
Really, why shouldn't she know they had done nothing? If she trusted them, she would stop watching for a chance to escape, stop flinching at every move they made. Still, he could not allow their bond to deepen too much, either. It was easier to keep his distance if Leonie was afraid of him…
"Stop Marcus-ing me," Marcus snapped. "Just because you enjoy suffering doesn't mean everyone else has to. And Leonie shouldn't be frightened all the time, least of all of us."
Leonie's gaze darted between them, completely lost. She had no idea what was going on.