I held up my hand. “If this is your way of scaring me more than my nightmares, do please continue!”
He rolled those gorgeous blue eyes in my direction and then threw a plain white shirt in my direction followed by a pair of black boxers. “Change.”
“Now?”
Timber looked around. “Did I need to schedule it in or something?”
“You’re a smart ass.”
“Why, thank you.” He winked. “Just change so you don’t smell like sweat and nightmares. You’ll feel better, in fact,” He held up a hand and then walked into the adjoining bathroom, and the sound of water filled my ears.
I jerked.
Water.
Dripping.
Cleaning.
Blood.
“He hurt me,” I whispered. “I didn’t know…”
“He’s drunk.” Large hands helped me to my feet. “Cover yourself up, and I’ll talk to my brother. Perhaps both of us could… intervene.”
“No!” I gripped him by the armor forgetting my own nakedness. “You can’t, you’ll be punished, I’ll be punished, my family won’t survive—”
“It will be fine,” he said smoothly. “Am I not powerful?”
“You are.”
And then he leaned in and murmured, “The first of the last, the last of the first.”
“Timber.” I felt my body sway.
He was at my side in an instant. “What is it?”
“The water… do you ever have dreams where you’re not watching it happen but experiencing it?”
He was quiet and then, “Yes. Nightly.”
“This man,” I said, pushing through the hoarseness in my voice. “He’s in my dreams now, and bear with me when I say this, but he has the head of a jackal—” Timber jerked away, his eyes haunted, his stance rigid, angry.
“Go on.”
“In my nightmare, he tested my soul, to see if it was pure, and then I was in front of King… King Set and he was leering at me, and I had no choice because—”
“The gods do not intervene,” Timber finished sadly. “You must be very old indeed, Kyra if that’s you.”
“I don’t think it’s me. I think it’s maybe old me, and reborn me just gets to see shadows of her horror and abuse.”
Timber hung his head and then, “Shower and we can discuss.”
“I want to discuss now,” I snapped as tears filled my eyes. “Sorry, I’m just… you turned on the water and I was there again, in seconds, staring up at the man—”
“The jackal?”
“He turns into a man whenever he wants. He’s…” My cheeks heated.