Chapter 83

CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE

Ryker

When Ellery returned with more water, she gave some to the horses before joining me again. My blood streaked her face and chest, and a trickle ran down from her swollen bottom lip; I realized she'd bitten it.

More of it stained the bindings over her breasts and crisscrossed her belly. She must not be aware of it as she hadn't cleaned herself in the river.

I hated seeing her skin marred in any way, but especially by blood. Seeing it on her reminded me that it could have been her blood instead of mine, and as much as the arrows had hurt, I'd far prefer to have them embedded in me.

My neck was still wet from her tears as the lingering humidity made them stick around longer than they should. I hated their reminder against my skin, but I hated seeing her cry more.

I especially hated her crying over me . Everything between us was a mess.

Because she was paler than normal, the freckles on her nose stood out more, and her eyes appeared more vibrant when they met mine. The sadness in them caused my heart to clench. She couldn't be unhappy because of me .

There was so much I wanted to say to her, but nothing came out.

She knelt beside me, washed off my knife, undid the bandages, and cut away the remnants of my shirt. When she finished, she washed my wounds again and winced at the large, puckered hole in my chest before examining the three on my back.

"They'll heal," I assured her.

"I know."

After she cleaned the injuries, she placed the rest of the bandages around two of the wounds. She cut off a leg from her pants and used it to cover the third.

She'd almost finished tying it in place when Tucker arrived at the encampment. He walked over to stand beside Ellery as she finished.

"Are you okay?" he asked me.

"I'm good."

"Anyone else return yet?"

"No," Ellery said. "Have you seen anyone?"

"No, I went into hiding right away, but I didn't hear anyone getting caught."

"Good."

"Why don't you go see what we managed to steal," I told Tucker.

He nodded and turned away; he was almost to the carriage when one of the women who'd helped in the robbery arrived. He said something to her, and she went with him to unstrap the chests from the top of the carriage.

Ellery dumped the remaining water on the ground. "I'll find something else to use for bandages in case you bleed through these."

"Don't bother. I can already feel the blood slowing. You should get cleaned up and get more water for the horses. I'll be fine."

She hesitated before grabbing the bucket and rising. I knew she wanted to argue with me, but one good thing about taking three arrows was she didn't.

Ellery looked back as she walked toward the river. I would have risen to ensure she stayed safe, but she never left my sight as she knelt at the water's edge and filled the pail before washing herself.

Though the bindings remained over her breasts, the enticing curve of her back and flat belly were exposed to everyone who returned. It shouldn't bother me, but it did.

Gritting my teeth, I shifted to ease the discomfort in my back, chest, and shoulders as I leaned against the tree. I unsheathed my sword and kept my hand on the hilt as I set it by my side.

Across the way, Tucker and the woman worked to unload the carriage. I'd told them all I was fine, but my weak legs trembled when I moved them, and my heartbeat was sluggish. It also did an odd little double beat that occasionally slammed it against my ribs.

I wouldn't die; it would take a lot more than this to kill me, but I was weak when I should be strong. If something attacks now…

Then I'll do what's necessary to protect Ellery.

I'd lost too much blood, and it would take some time to recover, but I could still kill anything that tried to harm her. Beneath the growing moonlight, I studied the curve of her back as she undid her hair and dunked it into the water.

She washed out the thick mass before throwing her head back. Drops of water flew off her hair; they turned silver beneath the moon. She was so beautiful.

She shook her hair out before tying it in a knot on top of her head. Lifting the pail, she went to the horses to give them each a drink before returning to the river.

She gathered more water and returned to me. Beads of water still slid from her hair and down her cheeks as she stopped before me.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm fine. You should help them."

Ellery set the clean bucket of water down beside me. "You should probably drink something."

"I will. They need help."

She shot me an aggravated glance before striding away. I felt a little better having her with the others; there was safety in numbers.