Page 100 of Reaper's Quest

I tried to shrug but stopped short. I couldn’t help but feel the nearness of him, and it caused my skin to tingle. Itch even. “I imagine so. It’s not like I’ve been awake much.”

“You have been sleeping a lot, but that’s good. It means you’re healing.” With a delicate hand, he dabbed the wetted cloth across my damp brow. The dabbing trailed along theside of my face to the curve of my neck in an almost sensual sweep. “I am pleased to see you awake, though.”

I huffed and began to lift my bandaged left hand to stop his attention. An instant ache halted my intention.

Right hand.I should have used my right hand, like I had before with Camilla.Too late.

Winter noted my pain and leaned even closer, his eyes half lidded. “Are you all right? You shouldn’t try to move if it causes you discomfort.”

“You think?” A healthy dose of sarcasm flowed into my delivery.

I swallowed thickly.

A frown dragged at Winter’s face as he reached out and wrapped his hand around mine.

My immediate instinct nudged me to pull away, yet I didn’t. The touch—his warmth—felt oddly comforting, considering I hardly knew him.

“A lot of people have been worried about you,” he said. “You need to get better for them as well as yourself.”

I choked on a laugh. “A lot of people, huh? Chace? Possibly Aoes?”

I couldn’t imagine Aldine being cognizant enough to notice my absence.

“Okay. You got me.” An amused smile lifted his lips. “Iwas worried about you.”

He brushed his fingers lightly over the top of my hand.

Despite the pain, my body shuddered. Tingled with reaper-knew-what.

For a split second, I was reminded ofsomething. A sensation experienced in a recent dream…or nightmare. The attempted memory wholly slippery, I couldn’t grasp a firm hold.

My gaze drifted from his hand up to his eyes, and my cheeks warmed.

My thoughts toppled into chaos, as if someone—Winter—had slammed the blunt end of a scythe into the center of my emotional core, sending all my feelings reeling in every direction.

“Distract me. Tell me why your parents named you Winter.” I attempted to steer the conversation away from anything I perceived as personal.

The brush of his skin against mine and the idea of him being worried about me felt terrifyingly personal. Even if his worry only existed on a surface level. Concern for a fellow being and all that.

I slipped my hand free from his touch and rested my palm against my belly.

Dropping back into the curve of his chair, he propped his arm on the edge of the bed. “Would you believe I was named for the season in which I was born?”

I glanced over him, taking in his ever-fair complexion?his hair and skin so light they appeared white. As white as undiluted snow. If I had to venture a guess, I would have assumed his name came from his coloring rather than the time of year.

“Tell me it isn’t so.” I grimaced. “Are others in your family named after summer, spring, and fall?”

He chuckled and picked at the blanket, pulling free a frayed thread. “I confess, my family wasn’t very imaginative in their naming process.” His mood sobered, his smile fading. “How much do you know about the people here?”

“I hate to admit it but not much.” My voice cracked, and I swallowed against the dryness in my throat.

The mere question reminded me how little I knew about my assignment, beyond the unreapable history. Maybe I should have asked more questions of my father or Aldine. Maybe I should have spent my time with Winter and Aoes, digging into the citadel’s history.

Winter rose from his seat and crossed the room. From the dresser’s surface, he grabbed a jug and poured a glass of water. As if he knew what I needed before I made the request.

“We were once a vibrant population of magic wielders. Some say descendants of the fae. But no one truly knows. Not anymore. Much of our history has been lost to time.”

Winter wasn’t human. I had suspected as much. How many in the citadel weren’t human? All of them? Only some of them? Just because their ears weren’t pointed didn’t mean they were human. I was one fine example. But…why hadn’t I felt the difference in them? Was it the citadel’s curse affecting their magic that also dampened or hid what they were at their core?