He gave her just the briefest hint of a smile. Because of its genuineness, it was the most stunning thing Sarafina had seen in a while. In one smooth move, torso rippling with power, he removed his shirt and gave it to her.

Flustered, she rose and scrubbed the hell out of the blood-stains before dumping the shirt into the washing machine. She returned with bandages and disinfectant. “Let me clean the wound before I do the healing. I don’t like the possibility of accidentally sealing an infection in there.”

Theo nodded and she sat beside him. Sarafina was becoming accustomed to patching up his wounds by now. It didn’t take her long to clean up the blood and disinfect the gash. Then she used fire magick to close it up. In the end, she didn’t even need the bandages.

She sat back and admired her handiwork for a moment. All that remained was a rapidly healing ridge of flesh. Damn, she was getting good at this. “So, the air witch being killed was bad news, especially for the air witch, but Bai hasn’t tried to rip us to shreds in a whole two weeks. I count that as good.”

“I don’t think he’ll try and rip you to shreds, Sarafina.” He paused. “At least not right away.”

The implication of what he’d just said made her shiver. She swallowed hard.

“I don’t want to lie about what I think Bai wants from you.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Well, there’s this saying about ignorance and bliss . . .”

“Ignorance only gets you killed in this world.”

“Still, I think I liked it better when you weren’t talking much.”

“I only speak when there’s something worthwhile to say.”

She nodded. “No idle conversation for you.”

“I don’t enjoy shallow conversation.” He shifted. “But if you would feel more at ease, I can try.”

“I don’t enjoy shallow conversation, either, big guy.” She ran her gaze down his chest. “So, in the spirit of avoiding such topics, do you want to tell me how you got these?”

He glanced down at his chest. “The Duskoff put them there. They captured me when I was a teenager and tried to break me physically. They wanted me to tie myself to them, become one of them.”

“How would physical torture help their cause?”

“They try seduction first. Torture is a last resort. It works like all abuse works. They break you down completely and build you back up in their image. By the time they’re done with you, you’ll give them anything.” Long pause.

“Did they whip you?”