Page 83 of Ravenrose

It doesn’t make any sense.

It’s possible the virus was able to work faster because Rowan may have been in a weakened state. The battle, her capture, days of little food, too little water, cold days and freezing nights, rain, bruises, sleep deprivation. Any one of them could’ve worn her down.

All of it together… Well, perhaps even a fae body has its limits.

My gaze drops to her bare feet beside the fire. Yellow and greenish bruises stain nearly every inch of them. From me.

Guilt dances along the edge of my emotions, and I act quickly, slamming down that iron wall in my mind and forcing it out. She earned that punishment, and I refuse to waste any sympathy on a fae. Not after everything they’d done. Everything her family had done.

And Rowan… At the end of the day, she’s still a Valrose.

I sigh, tearing my gaze off her to study the woods instead.

Still, it’s not long until my gaze is inexplicably drawn back to the princess.

She shifts in her sleep, pulling the furs closer, which accidentally exposes one leg. There are wounds there too—newer ones. Fresh cuts and bruises from errant branches along the trail and all of her falls. A thin trail of blood has dried just underneath a deep gash on her knee.

Then I notice something else.

My eyes narrow at the thin, silvery scars that crisscross down the back of her exposed leg. They’re old. Not random. Not the kind left by an accident but by repeated injury. Some of them are still a little pink—newer than the others.

I stare at them for longer than I should, trying to imagine what could’ve made marks like that. But nothing comes to mind. I have to resist the urge to uncover her other leg and check for the same.

Almost without realizing it, I find myself moving closer. I crouch down beside her, studying her face again, searching for something—anything that makes this female make sense. Instead, she only becomes more of a puzzle.

Rowan.

I scrub a hand over my jaw and lean back with a quiet curse.

“No trouble, my ass,” I mutter to the unconscious princess.

Chapter 39

ROWAN

The warmth is a surprise.

Days and days of such bitter cold, and now I’m waking up to— My heart stutters when I realize I don’t even remember falling asleep. Last thing I knew, I was lying in the middle of the road, still tied to Ayer’s horse. But that doesn’t seem right. Did I pass out again?

Did he drug me?

I tear through my mind, trying to remember—getting flashes of memory, but it’s all too fuzzy to grab hold of.

Slowly, I open my eyes. Only to slam them back shut quickly against the bright glow of the fire right beside me.

No wonder it’s so warm.

Turning my head away from the flames, I try again. This time, my gaze falls upon a dark forest of thick trees. Their leaves reflect the sunset glow of the fire on my other side.

I make a half-hearted attempt to sit, but the movement brings a severe pounding from deep within my skull, forcing my head back down. A groan of pain escapes me.

I’m still fighting my way out of the haze when a deep voice sends a different type of chill racing down my spine.

“I thought you weren’t going to be any trouble?”

The familiar rough voice whips my attention back, and immediately, I regret the motion. I touch a hand to my temple as the pounding in my head intensifies.

Eventually, I’m able to make out the shape of Ayer’s enormous figure sitting atop a log nearby.