Fathoms of Forgiveness (Sacred Breath, Book 2) Read Free

to be flippant. Her tight grip on Trevain’s arm betrayed to him that underneath her carefree words she was rather tense. “Why bother healing it up when I will surely just get impaled in the same spot again as soon as it is better?”
    “That was hilarious,” Visola said with a grin. “Stabbed twice by the same enemy! We should name the whole battle after that. ‘The Shoulder Skirmish.’ Or perhaps ‘Shoulder Scuffle’ sounds better. “
    “Wonderful. I shall be mocked for this mistake for the rest of my breathing life,” Aazuria said. She lifted a hand to absentmindedly prod the bandages around her wound. Talking about it seemed to make it hurt more.
    “Adding insult to injury is my sister’s specialty,” Sionna said. “We’re here.” She turned into a corridor and threw another set of double doors open.
    An unexpected sight greeted them. Callder was bare-chested, with bandages wrapping much of his chest and midsection, while two nurses fawned over him. One had her lips attached to his, while the other sat in his lap with her dress hiked up around her waist.
    “For Sedna’s sake!” Sionna shouted, throwing her hands into the air. “Both of you! Who authorized coitus with the patients? You’re both fired!”
    The nurses immediately ripped themselves away from Callder and arranged their clothing before facing Sionna shamefully.
    “Please, Doctor Ramaris… he is just a lonely war hero…”
    Sionna extended an incredulous finger towards Callder. “Him? A war hero? Is that what he’s been telling you?”
    The other nurse turned to Aazuria, curtseying deeply. “My dear Princess!” she pleaded, knowing that Aazuria had a reputation for being far more merciful than the Ramaris twins. “Take pity on us! He was so charming…”
    “No. There are dozens of war victims in need of assistance,” Aazuria said evenly. She did not raise her voice, but it was laced with authority. “This is no time for dallying. You both will go at once to aid the other nurses. Once the volume of patients is reduced, your employment here is terminated.”
    “Yes, Princess,” they both said softly.
    “And your employment with me begins,” Visola added with a gleeful nod. “You both have been recruited to Adlivun’s military. Yay! Now get back to work.”
    The two nurses scurried from the room, their heads lowered in embarrassment. Aazuria felt a small pang of remorse for them—there were hardly any men in Adlivun, thanks to the destructive impact of her father’s long reign as king. She observed Callder’s state of undress and she had to conceal a smirk. She found him as handsome as his older brother, but decidedly more coarse and jagged around the edges; both men were almost impossible to resist.
    “Now why’d you all have to go and do that?” Callder complained, pointing at his bandages with a pout. “Can’t you see I’m in need of some serious sexual healin’? Those ladies were just…” Callder trailed off when he saw his fourth visitor. He slowly raised himself from where he was seated. He took several shaky steps forward, with his hand clutching his bandaged chest. “Big brother?”
    Trevain felt tears prick the back of his eyes. He shook his head and cleared his throat gruffly. He did not know what to say. It was true; the Coast Guard had been wrong. The death certificate needed to be ripped up into tiny shreds and cheerfully trampled. His little brother was really alive and well. Very well. He looked at Callder affectionately, trying to think of the appropriate greeting for this situation. He uttered the first three tender words which came to mind.
    “You whoring buffoon!”
    Callder crossed the room as quickly as he could, and ignoring his injury, he seized his brother in a manly embrace. “I’m so sorry, Trevain. I should have listened to you. I’m so sorry.”
    Trevain hugged him back strongly, needing to feel that he was really made of flesh and blood. “You fool,” he said, trying to fight