His dark voice trails down her spine, lighting a path of desire that renders her breathless. "If only I were in a position of no consequence."
Alia's breath wavers when the pad of his thumb slowly glides across her bottom lip.
"Then I could give in...
"Do not mistake my words for a request," Valen admonishes. Pick up the blade."
Liam can't stop himself from getting to his feet. Bowing his head, he says, "As you wish, General Valen." And then he reaches down for the blade.
Valen raises an eyebrow.
Instead of wrapping his fingers around the hilt, Liam hesitates, and then he finds that his hand has begun to shake. Why can't I touch it? He asks himself, humiliation creating a lump in his throat. Why can't I grab the dagger?
Turning his head, he looks towards the back of his house where his brother stands, but there's nobody there. Why... why isn't he...
Sucking in a breath, Liam snaps his head back towards the dagger. Enough of this, he scolds, eyes stinging. Just do it already.
Crouching down, Valen quietly observes Liam's tense expression. Fear lingers behind the male's gaze, which is to be expected, but the frustration and anger make Valen frown. His eyes flicker between the dagger hilt and the male's face. And then his chest tightens.
Now, instead of seeing Liam's face, Valen sees himself eight years into the past. He remembers a moment when his Gamma was doing the very same thing he's trying to do with Liam: desensitisation.
He remembers the rage, the frustration and the overwhelming despair that had him on his knees for months on end. He remembers the painful sting behind his eyes and the constriction of his throat whenever his body failed him. He remembers the angry tears that would fall every night when he would retire for slumber. He remembers the feeling of failure, of hopelessness, and that's exactly why he accepted Gamma's request to assist in Liam's recovery.
Valen grabs the dagger and pulls it out of the ground. When he looks at the boy after standing, he finds that the whites of his eyes are red and they're brimming with tears. Part of him wishes to tell Liam that his progress will only come with time. But he decides against it. Instead, he says: "We'll continue this tomorrow."
When he moves towards the front of Liam's house, a familiar scent makes his eyes narrow.
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Alia looks down at her shoes, fidgeting whilst she stands in front of Liam's door. Yesterday, when she spoke with Christian, she asked him when it would be possible to visit Liam.
"Tomorrow at noon", he answers. "He should be awake by then".
And now she's here feeling strangely nervous at the thought of seeing him again. If she could apologise for the rest of her days, she would. But she must remember her Gamma's words at the infirmary.
