“No, shh. It’s going to be okay. I’ll take care of it.”
But doubt roared through me, even as I said it. I wasn’t sure if I could fix this. I knew her lips had quieted my ailing stomach for a full day’s ride after our first kiss, and I had brought her back when she’d walked from the Thorned Forest to the edges of my castle, plus I’d seen my parents heal each other plenty of times over the years, and I’d heard many a story of true love’s kiss bringing others back from the dead. But I’d never personally seen anyone with this much damage being healed from a mere kiss.
I murmured, “I got you,” anyway, as she gripped my hand, and I lowered my mouth to her bloodied lips. “It’ll stop hurting soon, I swear.”
She nodded once and squeezed her eyes shut, a bloody tear spilling from her lashes.
I k
