FREYA
Something woke Freya in the middle of the night. She bolted upright.
The tent was dark as the brazier fire had died down. It took a few moments for her to see what was going on.
Someone was sitting on a stool next to the dying fire. Even in the dark, Freya recognized the wide muscular back as Cainâs.
What was he doing here? He wanted to speak to her ~now~, in the middle of the night?
âIâm sorry to wake you.â
This was the first time heâd spoken to her directly and she wanted to be careful not to make him dislike her more than he already seemed to.
âWhat are you doing here?â She asked him cautiously.
âWell, seeing as this is my tent, Iâm here to fix my bandages.â He gave a dry chuckle.
~This was his tent?~
âI didnât know this was your tent. Iâm so sorry.â Freya leapt up from the bed. She was sure she looked awful, with her hair all messy from sleeping.
âNo need to apologize. Weâll be sharing space eventually.â
Where she thought she would hear resentment in his tone, there was only a calmly stated matter of fact. Theyâd be living together one day, and he was acting as though it didnât bother him.
âWell, then why havenât you been staying in here?â she asked while watching him clean a nasty open wound along his ribs. This was the first time sheâd seen the gash, and she knew it had to have been from the nightboar. But that was days ago.
He was silent for several minutes. âI wonât stay here while youâre afraid of me.â
She sat on the edge of the bed and laughed.
The sound must have startled him because he jumped. He turned on the stool to look at her.
Cainâs eyes were deep and blazing red like their own fires in the light from the brazier. His brows were knit together in bewilderment as he looked at Freya shaking with laughter.
âYouâre mighty intimidating, but Iâm not afraid of you.â
The confusion on his face only deepened.
Freya couldnât help the second bout of laughter that bubbled past her lips.
Cain turned away, shaking his head. He focused on cleaning the wound on his side. It was high up on his ribs and almost reached under his right arm. It was obvious it was difficult for him to reach the top of the gash.
After a few deep breaths to gather herself, Freya thought she should prove to him that she really wasnât afraid of him. What better way to prove she wasnât scared than to help him with his injury? She moved to sit on the floor next to the stool.
Up close, Freya couldnât help but admire the way the dancing light from the brazier played across his perfectly sculpted muscles. Cain was massive and built larger than any Adaryn warrior. At this proximity, she noticed faint scars all across his body. No doubt this was from the years of rigorous training heâd gone through. Training since he could crawl, as Vistra had said.
Cain looked down at Freya on her knees in front of him. His brows lifted halfway up his forehead and he stared down at her with his mouth ajar.
âPlease, let me help you. I knew a few things about caring for injuries. My sister and I were always patching each other up.â She snatched the cleaning rag from his hand.
His face looked tense again. Then he raised his arm to give her access to the gash.
His body was on fire. She could feel his skin burning even through the fabric of the rag. After cleaning the wound in silence, she took the clean bandages heâd brought in and wrapped his ribs. It took her longer than she meant, as she was trying to avoid touching his skin. He had a fever, probably from the gash the nightboar had given him. If he didnât rest, an infection could spread and do a great deal of damage.
âYouâre not well. Have you been sleeping?â
âNot really. Thereâs been a bird in my bed.â A playful smile lightened his face.
Freya felt a tightness in her chest.
~He was so handsome when he smiled.~
âWell, birds donât usually share beds with beasts,â Freya replied teasingly. Something about the mood in the room was starting to change her mind about Cain. Perhaps he didnât hate her like she thought he did. âAnd rain falls up,â Vistra had told her.
Perhaps she was starting to understand their sense of humor.
âJust a little bird,â she said. âI donât take up much space.â
The massive Vargar chuckled heartily.
Freya was mesmerized by the way his muscles rippled across his form. His long hair was pulled back behind his head, and she could see the thick muscles along his shoulders shaking with his gentle laughter.
Cain sighed and started to shift in the stool. He was starting to fall over with his eyes barely open.
âWe need to get you to bed,â she said.
Freya managed to throw her hands up and stop him from toppling right onto her. At the full skin-to-skin contact, she could feel that Cain really was burning up and a fine line of perspiration was beading along his brow.
âOh, sky above me, Cain youâre on fire!â Worry tinged her voice as she attempted to stand and keep him upright at the same time. If heâd been injured several days ago and then spent all the time since running around the woods and not sleeping, he was only making himself sick.
Thatâs when Freya realized heâd stayed away thinking she was afraid of him.
This terrifying man sheâd been worrying would be a monster had been avoiding her because heâd thought she was scared of him. He hadnât been sleeping in his own tent for her sake.
She had to laugh at that.
All the nightmares sheâd had of their kind seemed wrong now. Cain was meant to be the next leader of the Vargar, and here he was making himself sick on behalf of a little bird.
With all her might, Freya stood up with Cain in her arms. The fever was taking over, and she struggled to wrestle him to the bed.
His eyes were barely open. He wasnât really able to pick up his feet to get into the bed. No wonder heâd finally caved and come into the tent to clean the wound. Freya was starting to worry.
âYouâre a heavy thing, Cain.â Freya grunted as she finally released him onto the bed. Once he was away from the heat of the fire, he began to shiver. Freya knew he needed to stay cool to fight the fever.
âYou silly brute.â Freya admired the lines of Cainâs face as he fell into a deep sleep. Nothing about this situation was as she could have ever imagined. Just that morning, she was sure heâd hated her guts. But heâd been giving her space to protect her.
At least she knew now that he was kind.
It was true he was quite the sight, and covered in blood, when sheâd first seen him. But he hadnât acted as a monster toward her. She knew that their kinds had been enemies for ages, and yet he injured himself in the process of providing her with a large offering. Then he kept his distance out of respect. It was the sweetest and yet most ridiculous thing anyone had ever done for her. Aurik could never compare.
Then Cainâs arm swung out and caught Freya. As he rolled over, he took her down onto the bed with him. His heavy arm was holding her against his warm chest.
Freya whimpered, realizing the situation she was now in. No matter how much she squirmed she couldnât get away from the heated body at her back.
Cain must have been deep into the fever-fueled sleep heâd fallen into because he was now pulling Freya tighter against him. She could feel his breathing against her ear, and it was causing chills to race up her spine. Her gut clenched.
âPretty little bird,â Cain mumbled in his sleep.
If he hadnât been right next to her ear, she might not have heard what heâd said. But she had, and now her face was flushed like a ripe berry in the spring. She might as well have been the one with the fever at how her cheeks now blazed with heat.
This was going to be the longest night of her life.
Yet, she couldnât deny just how content she was. The feeling of being held so tight was astonishingly reassuring and comforting. It made her feel blissful and the warmth at her back made it easier to fall back into the clutches of sleep.