He eased her down on the grass, but he’d forgotten her claims of modesty from earlier as he pushed her matted hair off her face, peeling the skin back by her eyes to check the color, running his thumbs over her flushed cheeks.
“I’m fine,” Esmerelda insisted, but anyone with ears could hear the lie in it, and as Jesse wrapped her in his shirt, Ravenna couldn’t keep her eyes from his hands that wouldn’t stop moving, wouldn’t stop fussing over her, searching for any signs she’d come to harm.
Esmerelda stayed his hands. “Jesse. I’m okay, I’m just... I’m a little tired now. I’m going to go in and lie down, but come tell me later, about Easlan. Yes?”
She didn’t wait for his answer. She ran off toward the keep, Jesse watching her until she disappeared beyond view.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Rave
