Igniting Sparks

Chapter 27.

A pained growl escaped Azura's lips as she slowly opened her sleep-filled eyes. She could feel Lucas's steady heartbeat through his chest as her head rested on him but it was not particularly comfortable. Her chest was being constricted by his arms wrapped around her and her ribs were painfully throbbing due to the position she found herself in. Both of them were still fully dressed and surely the events of before flowed back to her.

Azura craned her neck to the side to tell the time and was surprised to find it only late afternoon. It'd only been a few hours ago that she'd fought Nathan and even less since she kissed Lucas again. It felt like a lifetime ago and even though it had felt like the right thing to do then, she wasn't so sure now. Grimacing as she touched her sensitive ribs she realized the salve had done a pretty good job at numbing the pain but clearly it had already stopped working.

Trying not to wake the sleeping man beneath her, Azura tried to figure out where they were. Soft glowing embers betrayed her to be in the living room, on the couch, in between Lucas's legs. Somehow she had fallen asleep on top of him...or correction; they had fallen asleep together. Azura frowned as she stared at the fireplace and for once, didn't feel anything stirring within her before turning her attention back to Lucas and the rather uncomfortable position she still found herself in.

A sudden jolt of pain ripped through her as Azura wiggled to get in a better position, forcing her to clench her teeth together to make sure she wouldn't make any sound. She gasped for air while clutching her side to ease the excruciating pain but it wouldn't subside. Tears pricked behind her eyes as she shifted some more which resulted in Lucas stirring beneath her.

Still half asleep, his arms moved along her body and pulled her flush against his upper body. A surprised yelp and gasp combined slipped through her lips waking him a bit more. Lucas mumbled a bit before he buried his nose in her hair and took a big whiff.

"You smell." He croaked, his voice still sleepy.

"You're hurting me and you don't smell pretty either." She hissed back while biting away the pain.

With that, Lucas let her go straight away, giving her the space needed to freely move and slowly push herself up on her feet. Lucas sat up as well and grabbed her hand to keep her steady as Azura still seemed a bit shaky on two feet. Letting out a sigh of relief now that the pain was ebbing away, Azura wiped a few black strands of hair out of her face and pushed them behind her ears. This made Lucas stand up and he gently grabbed her chin to tilt her head sideways. His sudden close proximity startled her and Azura flinched slightly. He didn't seem to take notice as he just observed the side where Nathan had hit her.

"You might be left with a small scar from this blow. You can see it here in your eyebrow and there might be a faint line running past your cheek and jawbone. People won't notice though unless they really take a close look at your face." He let her go and headed towards the stairs. "I'm going to take a shower. You need one too and afterward, you need to put that ointment on your ribs again." Azura nodded meekly, her voice caught in her throat.

She followed him up the stairs and entered her own room where she took off her dirty clothes and quickly put on a robe. She refused to look at herself, knowing that the sight of herself wasn't that enjoyable. She was healing though, and quite fast too but it would take a while for the bruising to completely go away. The shower was still running, meaning Lucas was still underneath it. Azura slowly set herself down on her bed as she waited for him to exit. A cold shiver ran up her spine causing her to rub her arms to stay warm.

"Cold?" She whispered to herself as she raised an eyebrow. "What the hell is going on?"

She couldn't remember when the last time she had been cold as the Phoenix always kept her warm. Digging deep inside herself she found nothing of the usual heat. There was probably a good reason for it though, they had been in a big fight which took a lot of strength from both her and the Phoenix. Azura dismissed it and her head shot up as she heard the bathroom door open and close soon after, indicating Lucas was done. He was a whole different matter and something she had no idea what to feel about. She had kissed him, and it had felt right at the moment. But now, she was not so sure. Right now, she just felt drained and empty.