Chapter 23
SEBASTIAN
Darius nodded sharply, his jaw clenched. "Settle on the bed and wait for me," he said.
I watched as he turned and walked into his bathing room. I could hear water running, items being moved around. Then he emerged carrying a bowl filled with water and another filled with what looked like a dark green substance.
He sat down beside me on the bed and carefully soaked a cloth in the water. Then, gently, he began to clean the blood from my face.
I winced as he touched a particularly tender spot near my eye.
Darius gave me a look—stern but not unkind—and I could not help but smile despite the pain.
"Do not move," he said quietly.
He continued cleaning my wounds with now surprising gentleness. His fingers were careful, his movements precise. When he finished cleaning
