"Are you going to betray me, mortal girl?" Dain asked with a faint smile, both his arms still lying heavy across me.

"Nah." I kissed him on the nose and shook two pills into my hand. "It's far too delightful knowing that the Beast of Phazikai is secretly a sweetheart. I like looking behind the curtain."

"Look all you like," he said. "Few would believe you if you told them."

"That's fine," I said with a grin. "All the best secrets are unbelievable."

"Then you're welcome to them," Dain replied. He ran the knuckles of his wing-hand along my back in an affectionate touch. "I'm finding I don't mind sharing with you."

Dain smiled at me, easy and comfortable, as if there was nowhere he'd rather be than lying on his bed with me while grievously injured. My own smile answered his, happiness overwhelming my anxiety as I looked into his eyes. Despite the pain and the blood and the fear of forever, right now everything was right in the world. Even the distant sensation of my options falling away as Dain and I slipped towards alignment couldn't shake my certainty that there was nowhere else I wanted to be.

25. Conflict

Chapter 25

Conflict

Narcotics do a good job of erasing pain, but they definitely have side effects, and unfortunately, rather than making Dain fuzzy and happy, opioids made him cranky and irritable. He wasn't in as much pain, but he couldn't process things as quickly, and he kept snapping at me if I moved too quickly or spoke too fast. I got annoyed at first, until I started realizing that behind every angry barb was fear, from knowing that he couldn't react fast enough to survive if something came at him.

So instead of growling back at him, I oozed compassion, slowed down my movement, and talked like I was falling asleep. Dain responded to that care, easing away from waspishness and starting to ask for the things that would make him feel better, instead.

I did everything he asked without hesitation. I held his head on my lap and stroked his hair he while curled up next to me, and I carefully cleaned all the blood off of him so that he didn't have to smell so much like a slaughterhouse, even helping him brush his teeth. I commanded one of the guards to fetch Dain's favorite foods, and soothed him through the nausea while I finger-fed him venison tartare on crackers and slices of pears. I listened to him mumble his way through nonsensical stories and snuggled up with him under the sheets when he needed to take a nap.