I helped her turn so her back rested against the trunk, then eased her down until she was sitting on the soft grass at its base.
Mira watched me with wide, uncertain eyes, cheeks flushed from pain and embarrassment. "Don't worry, I'll be fine.. after a while.."
"Shh," I said gently, the same soothing hush I'd used earlier when I pressed my thumb to her lips. "Let me take care of this."
I lifted Mira's injured foot with the same infinite tenderness, my fingers brushing the thin strap of her sandal before I eased it free. The shoe slipped off easily, revealing the delicate arch of her foot, painted nails catching the faint moonlight.
I peeled off her sock next—slowly, so as not to jar the tender skin—and set both aside on the grass. Her bare heel settled into my palm as it belonged there; warm, soft, faintly damp from the humid night air that clung to everything in Lucknow after dusk.
