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Sabelle welcos alone stood between her and coical mines had been known to kill Often

He still isn’t out of danger, a voice in her head whispered

Fear threatened to overtake her And a sense of dread Not that she would be alone in taking the Dooh to blend in with humanity, should she need to, at least until she could reach Duke or one of the other Doo without Ice, of never seeing hiain … Horror clutched at her and squeezed , her chest stuttering Do without Ice? Someday, she would have to, yes Please not today

Barreling inside the coach house’s door, shethe door shut behind her Braht her a new level of fear And hate Godda apart her fah to love him, of course But she couldn’t deny a certain attachment

Later She could worry later how to classify Ice’s place in her heart First, she had to make certain he would actually live

Finally, she reached the bed and gently lowered hi the covers out of his way She tucked her wand back into her pack, then attacked Ice’s boots, sweater, and jeans And gasped

He wore absolutely nothing under theically, but seeing him completely naked … She drew in a shaky breath Hard shoulders and bulging ar of dark hair and stark, raised veins More dark hair lightly furred his solid pectorals and covered the ripples of his abdoroove of rew there Darker An odd lure to touch hiht down to his

Stop there Right there Ice could be dying, and she gawking as if she’d never seen a man

But she’d never seen aand aze away Must stop now

With trerabbed the sheet and the ar below his pectorals Blood oozed froash on the right side of his rib cage The ical mine’s entry wounds And they were open--wide Whatever the spell, it had made a clean and co his insides

"Can you tellto you? So I kno to heal you"

He kicked off the blankets, all of the every inch of his body Sabelle tried not to look Truly tried But not looking at the ued and lured her, made her sweat and want and wish for the ie it

"Hot Inside Outside"

"Theto use your freezing ability on yourself?" she asked, throwing her braid over her shoulder

"Yeah" He choked, then grabbed her hand "Felt ht it off Directed freeze inward Tooknear you renews me"

She smoothed her free hand across the dark stubble over his scalp, over the top, to the back of his head--and carabbed his shoulders and lifted hi line of his spine wrapped in layer after layer ofto the coach house’s bathrooed down spare towels, turned the sink on full blast and threo cloths into the basin The rest she carted to the table beside the bed Then she retrieved the soaking rags and turned off the water

Carefully, she laid the first cold, wet cloth across his skin "Hurt?"

He gritted his teeth "No"

Liar But what use was there in fighting about it?

Instead, she quickly wiped every inch of his torso and back with the wet rags, applying pressure and e a dash of soap until she was satisfied the wounds were clean and no longer bleeding She used her wand to put a little anti-infection spell on theical ood, and now she cursed the fact that her talents lay elsewhere How dearly she would have loved to call her aunt Millie She, at least, could have discerned the extent of Ice’s internal injuries As it was, Sabelle had no clue how to check for such things She would have to rely on Ice to tell her

With a final wave of her wand, she sent the towels back to the bathroom and erly, he nodded He looked white and exhausted and utterly depleted

"Internal da" He squeezed her hand "I stopped the burn in ti easier His injuries were healing "You’re certain?"

Again, he nodded More a jerk of his stubbled chin than anything, but enough "The daed me from the cellar If you hadn’t come for me--"

"Of course I would" Did he just assume she would leave hier, Sabelle" He sed and fought for a breath, squeezed her hand again "When I’ you over ravity of the situation, her face fla"

He rolled his eyes "Don’t take away all o, and noas telling a joke He didn’t wish her to know the extent of his injuries, clearly

"A," he corrected "No ree You’re into ickind’s troubles too deeply"

"I’ll tell you what I told Bram: I won’t sit about like sohts It’s my cause too"

"Your funeral as well, if you’re not careful"

"It could be anyone’s," she argued "Everyone’s That’s Mathias’s doing Notand tell e has stopped?"

"Yes I fought it off in the cellar, then you took me away Between distance and your touch, I’ve i else?"

He hesitated "My head When the mine hit me, the force of it thrust me back My head hit the wall I heard a loud thu at the lower half of his very naked body, she gripped his large calloused hand in hers Closing her eyes, she gathered up her power and su, peace, sleep

He growled Suddenly, a wall shot up between theasped Where had that coy for that? or was the ic?