Page 117 of Reaper’s Curse

He tipped his nose up. “Yes, well. Apparently, I’m only good as a crutch after you’ve made the bad decision. I can’t stop you from actually doing the bad deed.”

“What about the crown prince?” Neive cut in. “In your physical state, his magic might come in handy…” She speared Lucas with a pointed glare. “Since he apparently now has full access to the power.”

“What? Don’t look at me,” he retorted. “I am but a mere servant, and Winter… Well, you know how he is.”

“How am I exactly?”

Neive gasped, and Lucas spun so fast, he sent me stumbling sideways.

“Whoa.” Winter lurched forward and grabbed my arm, steadying me. “You all right? You don’t look so good.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling her,” Lucas said with a whine. “She should be in bed. Not trotting out across the citadel.”

“What is this about, Raven? You look too weak to be doing much of anything.” He turned his sky-blue eyes on me, and my knees wobbled.

But only because I was tired. Not because…damn…he was sexy.

“I don’t believe you’ve properly recovered from the incident.”

“Oh, she was on her way to recovery from that General Beckett incident…” Lucas raised his hands with flamboyant flair. “But then, today, they dragged her off and did gods-know-what with her. Returned her in a hot, messy puddle of exhaustion. Neive and I tried to stop them, but we can only do so much. Which begs the question: where were you, Winter?”

Winter’s eyes flashed a colder blue. “Who did this? General Beckett?”

“No.” I dragged my hand down his arm in an attempt to soothe. “Valen. But it was worth it. I healed Earl, and now I get to take him home.”

Winter startled and clutched my face in his hands. “Are you serious? Earl is no longer afflicted?”

A plethora of emotions sang in his open expression—joy, excitement, surprise, wonder. I nodded, a grin stretching my face, even as tears threatened to run down my cheeks.

“Aoes will drop to his knees and kiss your feet in thanks.” He grinned, a smile beaming with a thousand suns.

Lucas mumbled, “Oh, that Earl,” and then Winter kissed me.

My eyes blew wide. I hadn’t expected that. And although I didn’t have the strength to fully give myself to the kiss or the emotion rolling off Winter in rivulets, I welcomed his emotional warmth, closed my eyes, and finding comfort in his closeness, I kissed him back. I held him as tight as my weak arms would allow, which was rather loose…an embarrassing lack of strength.

I fluttered my eyes open briefly, and I noted Lucas’s discomfort, as well as Neive’s complexion blooming rose red.

Lucas coughed into his folded hand. And when Winter didn’t pull away from me, Lucas coughed a second time.

I tapped soft fingers to Winter’s chest, a signal he appeared to understand, because a breath of a moment later, he stepped back. Although he didn’t release me. Not yet. He gazed at me as if he were a treasure hunter who’d discovered the largest diamond in all of creation.

He smoothed his thumb over the top of my hand. “You are a sumptuous puzzle that never ceases to amaze and delight.”

“Um. Thank you?” I didn’t know how to take being called a puzzle. That was a first for me.

“I’m still blistering mad about them taking you today. I left explicit orders that you were to be left alone. Although…I cannot argue with the results.” He sighed, his expression solemn for a blink, then his lips kicked up, and his eyes brightened. “Might I have the honor of escorting both you and Earl to the Bridge Crossings? I am eager to witness Aoes’s reaction.”

And, no doubt, keep an eye on me. Words he left unspoken.

“Oh, that would be most splendid.” Neive spoke before I fully recovered from the shock created by the unexpected kiss.

I turned my head, seeking Lucas. “Oh, well, Lucas⁠—”

“No. No,” Lucas retorted. “I don’t need to go. Would rather not, actually. I think Winter escorting you is a fine idea. The best one, if I’m being honest.” He narrowed his focus on the prince and lowered his voice. “Because you’re going to behave, right?”

And with that, my escort was decided. Everyone but me had a say in what was best for the trip into the citadel, and once again, I was too exhausted to argue.

An hour later, I was heavily dosed on Lucas’s tonic, Winter had collected Earl, and we rambled through the citadel streets in a plush carriage. Earl was more hushed than he had been when afflicted, but his complexion was beautifully flushed and his eyes clear as crystals.