Gods, she might die if he couldn’t figure out a way to help her heal.
That thought filled him with terror, not because of how his parents or hers would react, but because the more he’d gotten to know her, away from their families and their old patterns, the more he was charmed by her.
He liked Stella McKay. He’d always been irritated by her extremes, but the more he was around them, the more he realized that his irritation was born entirely out of envy. Those same extremes had always felt stuck inside him, clotted in his chest, with no way out.And yet, just hearing her share so freely made it feel like he could eventually get them out.
He pressed a finger into the mushy calla root. Finally, it was cool enough to use.
He walked back inside and tried to get the right angle to mash the root, but the bowl kept tipping. In his frustration, he resigned himself to chewing it down to make a poultice for the wound. It was slow work, but after a few minutes, he had enough to pack into the wound on her side.
Teddy sliced several clean strips of fabric from the sheets, dropping one in warm water and using it to clean the blood from her skin. Then, he gingerly spread the bright orange herb into the wound and wrapped several strips of linen around her waist until the wound was packed and protected.
Stella groaned as he tied the bandage. “So much movement.”
“Nice of you to join me finally,” Teddy said. “You need to drink some of this tea I made you.”
She sighed but didn’t open her eyes. Teddy grabbed the calla root tea and helped her sit up. She kept her eyes closed and leaned her head against his shoulder as she sipped on the tea.
She didn’t speak or open her eyes for a few minutes. Finally, she blinked her eyes open. “Where are my pants?”
“You were too cold to keep wearing wet clothes. I put you in my only dry shirt,” Teddy said. Her fingers skimmed his side, and he shivered. “Sorry to be inappropriate.”
“No, you’re warm,” she said, snuggling closer and taking a long gulp of tea.
“I can pump some bath water up for you to rinse off and mix in some water heated from the fire so it’s not quite so cold,” Teddy said. “I think you lost some clothing from your bag in our swim, but your soap is still in there.”
Stella sighed. “Please.”
Teddy was relieved to have something to do to keep his mind busy. He extracted himself from her grip and grabbed the washbasin from thecorner of the cabin. Outside, he pumped water into it, stopping when it was half-full. The cold water sloshed against his bare chest as he hustled it inside. He poured the remaining kettle water into the basin.
He’d been lucky to get the fire started after the amount of magic he’d spent in the river, so he didn’t have anything to offer. He looked up at Stella and she smiled weakly.
“It’s okay. I’ll be quick and then I’ll get under the covers.”
Teddy nodded and tossed her a linen towel from the pantry. “Are you okay doing it yourself?”
She blushed and nodded.
“Let me know when you’re finished, and don’t get that bandage or the wound wet.”
Stella waved him off.
Teddy stepped outside, grateful once again for the cold evening air against his heated skin. He felt hot all over, thinking about how good Stella looked in his shirt—the same shirt she was now stripping out of.
“Fuck,” he grumbled.
The minutes dripped by until finally he felt a strange tugging sensation in his chest.
Teddy pressed his cold fingers to the door and cracked it open. “Stella?”
“Did you feel it?” she asked. “I was calling you with the bond.”
Teddy stared at her. She had done a terrible job of drying after her bath and his shirt was stuck to her skin, translucent in spots.
He cleared his throat and looked away. “Feel better?”
She slumped onto the bed and picked up her mug of tea. “Yes, but I’m so tired.”
“The tea should help,” Teddy said. “And once you’re feeling a little more awake, I found some food in the pantry. I think this is a fishing cabin, so there’s not much, but there’s enough to help revive us.”
