Page 68 of Thief of Hearts

“In what way?”

He must have known in what way, but he was set on his mission to keep me talking and I would humor him. “It was like trying to harness lightning. Scary and exhilarating and overwhelming. It felt like . . . when you kissed me.”

“Open up.” A healer had another potion for me and I drank it down. “That is for the pain and it will also help you to sleep.”

“I thought she needed to stay awake,” Zain said.

“We didn’t find any lumps on her head during our examination and so we think she’ll be fine.”

I suddenly felt lightheaded. I reached out for Zain with my right hand and he held it. “Don’t go,” I said as my eyelids finally drifted shut.

“I’ll stay with you,” he promised.

And I believed him.

Chapter Twenty-One

When I awoke the next morning, I had a moment of confusion because I didn’t know where I was. Looking around, I realized I was in the infirmary, and the previous night’s events came rushing back to me.

Including Zain’s promise that he would stay with me.

But he wasn’t here.

I only had a moment to wonder where he was before he walked through the door. “Basileia! You’re awake! And still alive after everyone in Sagaris has decided that you died.”

“Stories of my imminent demise have been greatly exaggerated.”

He laughed and sat in the chair next to the left side of my bed. I noticed that there were dark circles under his eyes, and the way his hair was mussed. I’d never seen him tired like this.

“Where did you go?” I asked.

“I stepped out to use the washroom.”

Him staying away for that whole day was still fresh in my mind. Was he lying now? He didn’t have a reason to lie to me. Shouldn’t I believe him?

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Better.” I lifted up my left arm to look at it. I brushed my fingers against my forearm. The skin was pink and new and so soft. But I had lost something important.

“Why do you look sad, my illora?”

“I had scars and tattoos here and they’re all gone.” Scars and tattoos that I had spent a lifetime accumulating. A written record on my skin of what I had accomplished, just gone.

“I have full confidence that you will have new ones soon,” he said in a teasing tone that did manage to cheer me up slightly.

Wanting to change the subject, I said, “I didn’t get the chance to congratulate you last night. I’m sorry that I couldn’t take you out to celebrate like you did for me.”

“Well, you were a little busy trying not to die.” He looked around as if making certain that we were alone. “Would this be the wrong time to tell you that you racing last night was the most stimulating thing I’ve ever seen?”

I must have misheard him. “Me being eaten by the ground was arousing?”

“No,” he said with a short laugh. “You persevering. Figuring out a way to keep going no matter what happened to you. You’re so strong and determined and I admire that so much about you. It’s nice to know that the beauty I see on the outside is matched by the inside.”

I averted my gaze but he didn’t let me escape. He put his fingers under my chin and lifted it so that I would look at him.

“Why does it make you uncomfortable when I say you’re beautiful? You have been with other men. They must have told you.”

This was humiliating to admit, but I could always blame the medicine the healers had given me. “I have been desired before, but not by anyone who thought I was beautiful. You’re the first.”