DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS

13

A yelp rose from her throat as the cut stung, the pain spreading through her entire hand and up her arm.

In a flash, Devon stood in front of her, his dark eyes wide, worried. “What happened?”

Cradling her hand, Kianna stepped back from the bench, feeling stupid. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

Devon stared at her hand, his brows curling down. “It’s not nothing.” He reached for her hand, but Kianna retreated another step. “There’s blood on your dress. Let me see it. Please.”

Blood? Kianna glanced down at her hand and dress. Blood pooled on her palm and dripped down the bodice of her dress. Oh no. Blood stained like nothing else. She had just lost a dress, and she couldn’t afford to lose any.

Frustration and pain mixed together, and Kianna felt like crying. “I’m fine,” she snapped.

“Kianna, your face is pale, which means you’re not fine. And you should clean up that cut.”

Kianna took another step back. “I’m fi—” The world revolved, her vision blurred.

“Kianna!” Devon rushed to her, slipping his arms under her before she hit the ground. He pulled her up against his hard, sweaty bare chest, holding her firmly.

“Hang on.”

Devon

When Kianna screamed, Devon panicked, but the feeling gripping his chest when she almost fainted was even worse. It hurt as if he was the one who had been cut.

Clutching her to his chest, Devon hurried into the house and deposited Kianna on a chair in the kitchen.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, after making sure that, if she fainted, she would fall forward to the table, and not back on the ceramic floor. Then, he dashed to the cabinet in the kitchen with the ointments and medicinal herbs. He grabbed a few and turned back to her. He deposited the box on the table and sat beside Kianna. “Let me see.”

Kianna resisted, as she usually did whenever he was involved, but only for a few seconds. Groaning, she extended her hand to him.

Devon sucked in a sharp breath. There was a lot of blood, but the cut didn’t look deep. Maybe it had hit a small vein and that was why it was bleeding so much.

With gentle movements, Devon cleaned the blood away, confirming that the cut hadn’t been bad, and applied a healing ointment over it.

Kianna hissed. “It stings.”

“Then it’s working.” He grabbed a bandage and started wrapping her hand.

He dared look at her face. Her beauty struck him. Her long blond braid was loose down her back, her skin was fairer than most, but only because of the blood loss, and her eyes—Devon had never seen bright blue eyes like hers. If he had been human, he was sure he would have already fallen for her, even though she treated him with coldness and wariness most of the time. But it was all a facade; he knew that. To protect herself, to protect her family, to protect her heart.

In truth, Kianna was one of the most gentle and caring people he had ever met in his life. She worked hard on the farm, and she didn’t complain, at least not out loud, about their condition. She tutored her siblings in her free time, and she took care of them whenever needed. She cooked, she cleaned the house, she washed the clothes, all with a smile on her face. She treated Giles with respect and care, and she almost looked like a regular young woman whenever Catherine, her best friend, visited.

Devon knew nobody was perfect, but he couldn’t think of one single flaw Kianna had.

He frowned. He still didn’t understand why the gods had told him she was evil and sent him here to watch her. It was as clear that Kianna didn’t have one streak of evil inside of her.

“What are you staring at?” Kianna brought her free hand to her cheek. “Do I have something on my face?”

Devon cleared his throat. “You’re still pale.”

She averted her eyes. “I think … I didn’t faint because of blood loss. I mean, it wasn’t a lot of blood, but I haven’t eaten in a while.”

Devon’s gut tightened. “Since when?”

“This morning,” she whispered.

Something like anger lashed through his body. “Why?”

“Because I was busy. Honestly, I didn’t even notice. Until now.” She pressed her free hand over her stomach. “Now I’m starving.”

Devon tucked in the edge of the gauze, closing the bandage. “I’ll get you something.”

He started rising, but her hand shot forward, grabbing his wrist. He frowned at her grip, a little shocked that she was touching to him like that. A faint pink tint spread through her cheeks. “It’s fine. Mother said she’ll be down soon to make us supper.” She stared at the bandage around her hand. “I wonder if I can start it for her.”

“Stay seated.” Devon stood. “I’ll start it.”

Kianna glanced at him, her brows high. “Can you cook?”

“A little,” he said.

It wasn’t a total lie. He hadn’t cooked in many, many years, but he knew he could at least start the fire, heat the water, prepare the rice. When Ophelia came down, she could take over.

Devon grabbed a glass, filled it with water from the pitcher, and handed it to Kianna.

“Thank you,” she whispered as she took the glass from him.

Devon stared at her for another second. He shouldn’t feel like this. He shouldn’t care about her or her family. He had been here less than a week and he felt like he had already fallen down an endless hole.

The more time Devon spent with Kianna and her family, the more confused he was. He didn’t remember his human life, no warrior did, but he probably had a family, he was sure of that. He didn’t remember being loved and taken care of, and sitting down together for meals. And, even though Kianna was wary of him and quiet whenever he was around, he was experiencing it all again. Ophelia treated him like a son, Selina and Calvin loved to play with him, and even Kianna’s coldness felt comforting.