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.
The act, in and of itself, was simple. Yet, for some reason, I felt that for Vorian, it meant so much more. Maybe it was the alcohol, but I could practically feel the emotion and meaning behind his kiss rush through my body in a wave of delicious warmth. The sensation was unlike anything I had ever experienced before, and for the first time ever, I didn't know what to do or to think.
I was completely speechless.
Then Vorian whispered. "You will not die tonight Blake, that I swear."
He placed my arm back down on the bed, and his eyes slowly trailed up to my face where our gazes met. Those dark eyes widened immediately upon meeting mine, and he opened and closed his mouth a few times, yet he couldn't seem to find the right words to say.
Vorian leaned back, running his hand through his hair and shutting his eyes, muttering a string of apologies under his breath. At the sight, I seemed to snap out of whatever daze I had fallen into, and I found my words.
"How long was I out?" I croaked, my voice hoarse with sleep.
Vorian blinked at me, confusion flittering across his features as he searched my face. Eventually, he seemed to find what he was looking for, and his face fell.
"Not long, the yellow star has yet to rise," He responded, standing up to move to the window on the opposite wall. His expression darkened as his eyes roamed outside, seemingly lost in thought.
I nodded, shifting slightly. The blanket covering me moved, and a cool gust of air went beneath it, brushing against my bare legs and making me shiver. I pulled the blanket closer to my chest.
"You are cold?" I heard Vorian ask from the window. He had turned back to look at me, worry flittering across his face.
"Must be from the blood loss," I replied, hugging the blanket closer to my body.
Or the fact that I wasn't wearing pants, but I didn't bother to say that aloud.
Instead, I watched as Vorian instantly got to work, moving around the small room to look for anything that might help me warm up. I shook my head, my lips twitching with a ghost of a smile.
While he was busy searching, I shifted, sitting up slightly to reach back into my duffel bag on the other side of the bed. Looking through it, I pulled out a box of matches I always kept on me. On some close calls in the city, I would use it to set a building on fire to distract the Deviants long enough to escape.
"Use this," I said, holding the box out to Vorian.
He paused, turning to look at me and then down at the box. His eyebrow rose as he looked at me in question.
"Take one of the sticks and brush it against the rough side, it will start a fire. There's a fireplace there, the wood left inside looks dry enough," I explained, setting the box down at the edge of the bed.
Vorian moved over, taking the matchbox and examining it before doing what I said. Taking one of the matches, he brushed it against the box, instantly lighting it on fire. Vorian's eyes went wide, holding up the flame in his hands.
"Fascinating..." Vorian murmured, moving to the fireplace before tossing the lit match on the wood. Within moments, the wood began to crackle and catch fire, lighting up the room.
While he did that, I sat up. My head spun as I rose, moving the blanket aside to look at my wound. Surprisingly, it didn't look nearly as bad as I remembered. It seemed Vorian had cleaned it up, wiping away most of the blood, which made it seem worse than it was. Really it was only a gash carved by a poorly aimed shot.
Also, to my surprise, the stitches were neatly done and tight enough to close the gash and stop the majority of the bleeding.
Guess he wasn't as clueless as I had previously assumed. I nodded in approval.
Reaching back into my first aid bag, I pulled out a roll of bandages and a vial of penicillin.
My last vial of penicillin, I thought darkly, zipping my bag closed and setting it aside.
Taking the vial, I opened a sterile syringe and pierced the vial before filling it slowly with penicillin. Once that was done, I held the syringe up, tapping it to remove any air bubbles before readying it at the fleshy part of my hip.
"What is that?" I heard Vorian ask from beside me, and I cut him a look before refocusing on the needle. Slowly, I inserted the needle into my flesh, injecting myself with the penicillin.
"Medicine...shivering could also be a sign of infection so I figure I'd rather be safe than dead..." I explained, wincing as I removed the needle.
Then I tossed aside the needle aside, taking one last glance at my wound.
I still should have Jada take a look at it when I get back...just in case.
Grabbing the bandages, I leaned forward to try to put them on but the wound was too low on my thigh to reach without bending my leg. Trying that, I bent my knee only to gasp in pain when it pulled on my stitches. Shutting my eyes, I turned my head up to the ceiling, muttering a curse.
"Would you...could you help me with this?" I bit out, my face flushing.
I hated asking for his help, but I wouldn't be able to bandage myself without risking messing with my stitches. And that was not something I wanted to repeat.
Vorian was at my side instantly. "Tell me what to do."
"I'm going to move to the end of my bed if you can help me," I said, and immediately Vorian leaned over the bed, carefully sliding his hands beneath my knee and my back. Putting my arm around his neck, he lifted me off the bed, bringing me so that I sat at the edge of the mattress.
He released me gently, slipping his arm from my lower back to kneel down in front of me. His hands brushed against the bare skin of my thigh as he carefully lifted my wounded leg. He moved closer to rest my leg on his knee, closing his arms around my thigh so he could examine my wound.
Pressing my lips together, I grabbed the bandage, holding it in my lap.
"Do you think you can wrap this around the wound?" I asked, gesturing to the bundle of large white bandaging in my hands.
Vorian nodded, taking the bandage from me and unrolling it as he examined it.
"Tell me if it hurts," Vorian said before starting, his fingers brushing against my skin as he wrapped the bandage tightly around my thigh. As soon as it came in contact with my wound, I winced, leaning forward to place my hand on Vorian's shoulder for support.
He immediately stopped, his eyes flicking up my face in question.
"I'm fine, keep going," I breathed, giving him a nod of encouragement.
Vorian watched me for a moment before continuing, wrapping the bandage around my thigh repeatedly. All the while, I tried to ignore the feeling of his fingers brushing against my inner thigh with each wrap.
What the hell was wrong with me?
I told myself that I felt so flustered because I had just downed almost an entire handle of alcohol. Or I figured it could also be the blood loss making my head feel light. I couldn't possibly imagine any other reason, nor did I want to.
"Finished. Are you alright?" Vorian asked.
"Yes, thank you," I replied, watching as he secured the end of the bandage before he lifted his haze to mine. I didn't realize how close we were until he looked up, and our faces were only a breath away. Vorian seemed to notice it too, and his eyes darkened.
"You are welcome," He replied, his eyes flicking between mine. His face seemed to glow in the reflection of the fireplace, making him look almost ethereal.
I suddenly became aware of the fact that my hands were still resting on his shoulders, feeling the warmth of his corded muscles seeping through his sweater. Holding my gaze, I felt Vorian's palm open and flatten against the skin of my thigh as he held my gaze, his chest rising and falling with his quickened breaths.
His lips parted and I found my eyes drawn to them as the warmth began to return, spreading from where Vorian's hand held my thigh and his thumb began to rub soothing circles on my skin.
"Blake..." Vorian whispered, leaning in. My name rolled off his lips in a soft plea while his eyes desperately searched my face.
I swallowed.