Solacium

Ch 22: Blake

The last hour went by in a blur. I saw everything in flashes starting with getting shot, then Vorian carrying me, finding the abandoned hotel, and then stitching up my wound before my world went black.

Everything happened so quickly. Over the course of my life, I have obtained numerous injuries of all kinds. I've been stabbed, broken bones, twisted ankles.

Yet, I had never been shot.

It didn't even feel it at first. I remembered turning just in time to see a gun aimed directly at me. I didn't even have time to process what to do before long arms closed around me from behind just as I heard the loud bang of the gun. Vorian was so fast, moving to push me out of the way before immediately taking care of the asshole that tried to shoot us.

I remembered being shocked by how Vorian moved, I didn't even think it was humanly possible to run that fast. Vorian was on the Deviant in a second, towering over him with what I could only describe as unbridled rage swirling in his eyes. As I watched him lift the Deviant from the street, I felt something warm dripping down my leg. Glancing down, all I saw was blood.

I must have gone into shock because I couldn't even feel it at all, at least, not at first. When my mind caught up with my eyes, the pain hit me like a wall of bricks, making me collapse onto the street.

That's when everything went south.

The rest of my memory was clouded by pain and shock. I hardly remembered how Vorian had picked me up, carrying me to the abandoned hotel where I attempted to stitch myself up after thoroughly dousing my wound with a scavenged handle of alcohol.

My hands shook so severely from the pain I could hardly hold the needle until Vorian took over. I had no idea if he could even do it, but I definitely couldn't. I practically felt myself moving in and out of consciousness with each stitch. Laying back, I had no choice but to let Vorian do what he could while I briefly slipped down my breather to drink the rest of the alcohol until the hotel room around me faded away.

I had no idea how long I was out, but it couldn't have been long because my face still felt flushed and warm from the alcohol. Blinking, I slowly began to open my eyes while my vision adjusted to the dark room. The first thing I noticed was that my body felt unusually heavy. Shifting, I noticed that a blanket had been draped across my body while I was asleep, hiding my wound. Still too sluggish to move, I let my eyes wander the rest of the room until they settled on Vorian who was kneeling beside the bed I was lying across.

It seemed he had not yet noticed I was awake. Instead, he kept his eyes cast downward. His expression was hard, and I watched his jaw roll as his eyes trailed down my arm.

I had only seen him look like this once before, back when we found out he had lost his ship. I couldn't quite place what emotions were running through his mind, but he looked almost sad...

Just as I was about to speak, he suddenly took my hand in his. I sucked in a breath, feeling his surprisingly warm hands against my cold one. His gentleness took me aback. He held me like I was made of the most fragile glass in the world, making my words die on my tongue as I watched him in anticipation. Taking my hand, he turned my palm to face upwards as he pulled down my sleeve, exposing my wrist.

Confused, I thought about pulling my arm away only to freeze when he suddenly leaned down. My eyes widened as I watched him lower his head, his long braid slipping over his shoulder to fall down his chest as he brought his lips to my wrist.

Then he kissed me on the delicate skin there, sending a torment of warmth up my arm straight to my head and making my face flush. As he pulled away, I could still feel the warmth of his lips against my skin, engraved there like a searing brand. Even thinking about it made the heat spread, darkening the blossoming tint of my cheeks.