Read Regret (Lady of Toryn Trilogy) for Free Online

hand from his, and rubbed her chest, fingers tingling as she
tried very hard not to focus on the fact that Drake had been holding her hand
of his own accord.
    She never thought she’d be so
grateful to not be in pain. Breaking
her ribs had been the single most agonizing experience of her life, and now- thanks
to Drake- she didn’t have to suffer through the excruciating healing process.
“What else did you use?”
    Drake crouched by her for a
moment longer, then stood and walked to a pair of horses tethered to a tree, both
of which were already in full tack, waiting placidly.
    Ashlyn slowly climbed to her
feet, expecting the usual pain that came with bumps and bruises, and was surprised
when she could feel none. It occurred to her then that she was still wearing
the dead soldier’s gi. “Where are we?” she asked, looking around. They were
still surrounded by trees, so they hadn’t left the forest, but otherwise there
was no way for her to tell their location. “Did Skye…?”
    “He led them off,” Drake
answered. “Most of them.”
    She knew what he wasn’t saying. Ashlyn
walked to the horse, leaves crunching beneath her bare feet. So they’d been
attacked, and she had been unconscious through the whole thing.
    Some leader.
    “I’m sorry I wasn’t any help,”
she muttered, reaching up to grasp the reins.
    He reached up, hand covering
hers, and Ashlyn’s heart leaped into her throat, her pulse accelerating as she
fought to tamp down her own stupidity. Hormones, that’s all it was. Just
hormones.
    She lifted her chin, eyes meeting
Drake’s determinedly. He’d broken her heart once already this week. She would
not give him that power over her a second time.
    His gaze was fierce and liquid,
scarlet depths shifting as he searched her face. Whatever he saw, he gave no
indication of his response, and instead nodded to the pack that was neatly tied
behind the horse’s saddle. “Clothing,” he said.
    Ashlyn pulled her hand from under
his and quickly turned to the pack. It was a bundle of clothes and flat-soled
boots that were exactly like the ones she’d destroyed while shifting- these had
presumably been taken from another ninja. Well, that made sense. Drake couldn’t
have anticipated her nakedness when he’d set out from Toryn. She was glad he’d
managed to get another horse, too. Riding double with him had definitely been
much too close for comfort.
    She deftly untied the knots that
held the clothes in place, noting with some delight that her shuriken and sword
were secured underneath. She pulled the clothes down, clutching them to her
chest. “Turn around,” she said to Drake, and he obediently walked around to the
other side of the horse, facing the opposite direction as she untied the belt
of her bloody tunic.
    Ashlyn paused as she unfolded the
pants, eyebrows knitting. Her right arm felt…strong. She held it straight out,
examining it for any changes. It was the arm that had been shredded by wolves
seven months ago in Landi, and she’d spent countless hours since the attack
training herself to use her left arm instead. But now her right arm felt as
strong as it had before the attack.
    “What did you use besides heal?” she asked Drake, hopping on one
foot to pull on her pants.
    “What do you mean?”
    “You said it wasn’t only the heal magic that fixed me. What else did
you use? Something stronger?” As she tied on her new tunic, wrapping it tightly
around her slim torso and securing it with a green leather belt, it occurred to
her that Drake might have some stories of his own to tell, new magic that he’d
discovered in the three years since she’d last seen him. Restlyn had mentioned
that he owned a weapons shop, but hadn’t disclosed much else about the
enigmatic vampire.
    Ashlyn paused, realizing he still
hadn’t answered, and walked around the horse, boots dangling from one hand.
“Drake?” she said, cocking her head. “You didn’t just fix my ribs. You fixed my
arm, too.