“What? What did I say?” Reyland asked flippantly.
Marian pulled his left earlobe playfully.
“What then?” she asked lightly.
“Your kiss,” Reyland replied flatly.
Marian raised an eyebrow.
“Remember I told you...about blood…and your father? And you?” he asked carefully, not forming the sentence in full, breaking it apart, conveying his message without using the words that had caused a near shift.
Her face darkened, but it cleared almost as soon as it came.
Her lips twitched, but instead of speaking, she nodded.
“Remember when I asked you to heal me? That time, when you first woke, after the incident?” he asked slowly, again not using full phrases.
Her brow furrowed as she looked away from him for a moment.
She nodded again, more energetically, as her gaze slid back to him.
“You re
