Amelia woke the next morning feverish. Her clothes and sheets were damp with sweat. The warmth from the fire seemed to be assaulting her flushed face with every whip of the now-small flames. She wrestled the blankets off of her body, letting the air hit her exposed skin. Gooseflesh rose all over her skin, accompanied by beads of glistening sweat. When that offered only momentary relief from the heat engulfing her, breaths racing faster to blow off what should have been steam, she rolled to the side. She then rose with an audible grunt and walked unsteadily toward the flames, half-blinded by the pain. She fell with a pant against the fireplace, scraping her outstretched palm on the stone, eliciting another groan.
Feren shot up behind her. "What are you doing?" he asked, still half-asleep.
"Hot," was all she could mutter. She ignored him as she heard the rest of the blankets fall to the floor. Ashes were thrown up over the embers, smothering both the light and the heat. Smoke puffed up out of the fireplace.
Feren reached her then, hand going directly to her forehead. "You're burning up."
She knew.
"Come, let's get you to the shower."
"No," she objected, too tired to move.
"Yes."
Without attempting to argue again he hauled her to her feet. She moaned in pain; her body was essentially dead weight in his grip. He growled back, more at the weakness in his legs than at her. Grey raced through the door in front of them toward Noni.
"I'm fine," Amelia tried again, barely able to right herself enough to pull away from him as he guided her down the hallway.
"Trust me."
Inside the bathing room, Feren dragged a stool to the center of the shower, directly beneath the path of water. He twisted both knobs — more the cold side than the hot. He stood to the side to avoid getting soaked in his warm clothes. Once the skin of his hand deemed it an appropriate temperature, he guided Amelia near.
He debated helping her remove her clothing, but the sway in her stature told him it would likely be smarter to have her sit for a moment first. Her skin was hot to the touch, as if she had been lying directly in front of the flames all night. They could find more clothes later, he decided. For now, she needed to cool down.
Despite his best attempts to remain dry, misty water quickly soaked his sleeves as he led Amelia to the stool and sat her down directly under the shower. She hissed a breath through her teeth as the lukewarm water hit her scalp and raced down her chest. Her body recoiled slightly.
"Shh, sh," he shushed, leaning into her to keep her in place, accepting the water through his own hair and body as a result.
A shiver reflexively ran through her and she curled her arms inward as a result. Feren reached over her to turn up the warm water just a bit. As hot as she was, even warm water was cold in comparison.
The shivering stopped soon after but her body continued to shake. Specifically her hands. It was in pain, he realized, not cold.
The stream splashed as he moved his hand back to her forehead. She was still so hot.
Feren squatted down behind her, both of them now soaked from head to toe. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned into her the same way she leaned back into him. They held each other up there beneath the water that spilled from above.
Noni and Nertín raced around the corner at that moment, disheveled as if they had just sprinted from their bed. Their hands slapped the corner of the wall to stop their momentum.
