Salome at Sunrise Read Online Free PDF Page B

refused to think about her palm pressed to his chest feeling the same way. “I don’t need anything else.”
    Starlight danced along the blade, highlighting the sheen, the scratches, the lethal edge, the etched word Salvation .
    Her gaze traced from tip to hilt then returned to his face. Twilight-gray, her eyes held infinity and he fought against getting lost in them. They stared with never-ending patience. “You need me.”
    “I don’t need you. I don’t want you.” He snapped her hand from his chest, tossing it down like a stray leaf. She tried to pull back but the force of his thrust sent her hand outward and into his blade. Her soft gasp sliced him as deep as the cuts that spewed blood from the backs of her fingers.
    “Oh, shit! Come here.” The sword clattered to the rock as Bryton grabbed her hand. Her blood was warm, pumping with force. Three fingers were cut to the bone, white shining through the slashed flesh. He clamped a strong palm around them and squeezed.
    She hunched her shoulders and tugged at his grip. “Ow! Do you wish to break my bones?”
    “I wish I’d never met you but no, I’m trying to stop the bleeding. Stop fighting me.” His mind raced. Myla. Myla had bled. She’d had to return to Taric to heal. “Will this heal if you become a bird or the wind again?”
    “The wind, yes.”
    “Do it.”
    “No.”
    Bryton gaped at her. “No? What do you mean, no? This is bad, Salome. Either you shift or I’ll have to stitch it and I’m not that good with a needle.”
    “What do you care if I bleed? You care not if your blood spills.”
    Curses that would make his mother blanch brewed in his mouth but he gritted his teeth. “Are all the women where you’re from pains in the ass?”
    “The pain is in my hand and you are not helping by being cross.”
    His jaw released and swung open in stunned silence.
    A gentle smile curved her lips. “Release my hand. Take your blade and slice a piece away. From the chiton, not me, if you please. I shall wrap my hand in that.”
    He drew her to sit on one protruding crag then knelt at her feet. The silky fabric cut smoothly with barely a whisper. On her feet, tiny leather sandals laced up across the delicate bones of her ankles. His eyes skimmed along the high arch of her foot, the hollow above her heel, the curve of her calf. Only the warm drop of blood that fell with a soft splat to the rock beside him tore his gaze away. He reached for her hand.
    The orange material soaked the blood like a dry sponge. The first layer molded to the wound like skin and he looped the long piece again and again until not one drop of red bled through. Tearing the end with his teeth, he tied off a crude knot.
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
    “It was an accident, two forces moving in opposite directions that clashed at the wrong moment. There is no blame, my charge.”
    “Your charge?” His eyes snapped wide. “Birdie, I have charges. I am not a charge.”
    “You are. You are my charge. I was asked to come for you and I came.”
    “I didn’t ask for you.”
    Serene dove-gray eyes did not blink as she leaned closer, cradling her injured hand to her stomach. Steady soothing fingers did not tremble as she stroked his brow. Her gentle voice whispered over the sounds of night insects, a sweetly composed song vibrating in her words. “This I know, but you need me and I am here. I was called by those who value you. Do not dishonor them.”
    His spine jerked straight and his vision narrowed until the world faded away. Only her face, tranquil and delicate, remained centered.
    “I have never in my life brought dishonor to the House of Segur and I won’t start with you. Fine, I’ll be your charge. But hear this, birdie, stay out of my way. Karok’s time grows short and I’ll mark the end.”
    Her hand dropped from his forehead like a stone from a rooftop. Her eyelids closed and a small nod bobbed her chin. “If that is where your destiny leads, I cannot