Frozen Flame

Chapter 6: Something Else

Fire Temple

Unlacing and undoing buttons, Svorn began to re-remove his outer layers. A breath out and he looped his fingers beneath his upper undergarment and lifted it up. Opening his mouth, he held the bunched fabric between his lips and leaned back on the bed, revealing his pale stomach to her.

She stood and leaned over, running a hand down his muscles and stopping at a large, complex wound. Scars surrounded a circular mass of red flesh on his side. A pitch pulsating beat emanated from the centre, growing black lines across the surface of his stomach. She adjusted her grip on his skin, moving it for a slightly smoother area of skin to work on. "Does it hurt?"

"Always." Although talking through a mouthful of fabric, he knew how to make sure his voice was clear enough to understand. But, his voice was deeper from where she was leaning, and an unconscious smile slipped briefly across her face. Less than a second. Then it was gone. 

"You know I hate doing this, don't you?"

He lifted a hand, brushing a finger through her hair. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Please stop moving. I'm trying to find the place through your thick skin... Have I ever told you this is a-"

"Terrible place to work in? You've told me a million times." He lowered his hand back to the bed. "Just stick it in."

"One second!" Gently placing the syringe on his skin, she inserted the needle and slowly pushed the liquid through. Then, pulling out the needle, she set the empty syringe down and placed the other one against his skin. "Last chance to change your mind?"

"Elena..."

She sighed. "Alright." And slid the second one in. Svorn flinched slightly and she placed a hand on his chest to stabilise him. "Don't move." He froze. She glanced up at him briefly before looking back at the wound. "Still relax - your 'tensing' is pulling the skin." He relaxed his core, and she began injecting the second slowly.

"Can you do it faster? I'm dribbling all over my clothes."

"You have plenty of clothes. Wear something else and wash these or throw them away like you always do."

"My jaw is hurting."

"Stop complaining. You'll be hurting much more in a couple of hours." She finished injecting the liquid and pulled out the needle, staring as whisps of smoke evaporated from the small hole. A grimace. "I know you said this is supposed to help, but I still feel queasy every time I see this."

He let his shirt drop, flopping back on the bed and closing his eyes. 

"Those ingredients you gave me were so weird... As a nurse, I feel really bad not knowing what it actually does... One of these days, I'm just hoping you'll tell me..."

Silence.

She nodded. "Exactly what I thought." And flopped down on the bed next to him. A pause. She glanced at him. "What do you want to do now?"

He groaned, rolling to the side. "Sleep."

She raised an eyebrow, looking back at the ceiling. "Did you not sleep last night?"

"I did."

"How long?"

"Forty-five minutes."

"Nightmares?"

"Something like that."

"When was the last time you got a good sleep?"

"Why? Are you my maid?"