When I woke up, Pride was gone. I pushed myself up and saw he had wrapped part of my cloak over me. Where was he? I scanned my eyes over the clearing, and that's when I spotted him, he was picking something from a large bush. I stood up but fell to the ground with a cry. Intense pain shot through my leg, I placed my hand on my leg and winced. Blood covered my palms and trousers. Did I get hit? I didn't know when or how probably the adrenaline made me push through the pain.
"Ava." Pride had crossed the clearing in a matter of seconds, he was kneeling in front of me. "What-" He noticed the blood on my hand. "Fuck!"
"It's just a bit of blood, Penelope. Nothing to worry about." I said through the pain.
"Why didn't you say anything?" He asked as he carefully felt around the bloodstain on my breeches.
"I didn't know." I frowned.
"How could you not know you've been hit by an arrow?" He asked exasperated.
"It's an arrow?"
"I think so." He frowned. My skin tingled as his finger grazed over my skin. "We need to clean the wound, part of it is still stuck inside your leg."
"Then we better hurry back to your castle." I began pushing myself off the ground. "How far is it? AH!" I squealed as he scooped me up in his arms. "What are you doing?"
"We can't wait until we are at the castle." He said as he started walking. "I need to be sure the rebels are gone, so we'll be here at least for another two days. And the walk back to the castle would take two or three days on foot. With your leg, maybe even longer."
"I'm fine." I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest.
He rolled his eyes. "Stubborn woman." He muttered. I hid back a grin. I took him in, a light stubble was already forming on his jaw. I turned my head and saw him going in the direction of the stream. But he didn't stop when we reached the stream, he kept going until we reached the pond. The clear blue water rippled softly when a fish bobbed his head to the surface. He sat me down carefully on a rock. He crouched down in front of me, eyeing the hole in my breeches.
"So, what now?" I asked. I knew he couldn't do anything with my breeches still on and I wondered if he would say anything or just try to clean the wound through the tiny hole in the fabric. It was the latter. I rolled my eyes at him.
"Really, princess? You're going to try to pull an arrow out and clean it like this?" His eyes shifted from my leg to my eyes. I stood up but when I winced, Pride wrapped his arm around me waist, pulling me close to him. I ignored the fast beating of my heart from the close proximity and pulled down my breeches. I kicked it to the side and sat back down.
The tunic was long enough to cover my bum and thighs. Pride eyed my bare legs slowly, starting at my ankles until his eyes fell on the wound on my upper leg. He grimaced. I looked down too and saw blood circling around the wound, but it was red too, infected probably.
"The arrowhead and a piece of arrow are stuck in your leg. We need to get it out before it gets even more infected." He said as he searched his pockets. "How come you didn't know it was there?"
"Arrows were flying over my head when Cleo took me away, one of them hit me, I guess. It -" I stopped talking when I saw him take a pocketknife out of his vest. "It probably broke off when I fell."
"You fell from Cleopatra?"
"Uhm, yeah." I saw concern flicker in his eyes. "She threw her legs at the demon. I wasn't holding the reigns."
"Why weren't you holding the reigns?!" He asked angrily.
"Because -" I threw my hands up in the air. "I was making sure you weren't being overrun by rebels."
His eyes shifted to me, and something unreadable passed over his features. Then his hand went up slowly before it rested on the back of my head. "Did you fall on your head?" He asked quietly.
"I don't think so. My leg is more pressing now, don't you think?"
"Right." His hand slid down my head, going over my shoulder down to my arm. He flicked open the knife. "I need to make a cut, otherwise I can't get it out. This is going to hurt."
No shit! I clenched my teeth together. "Do it."
"Keep still." He said. One hand rested on my leg to keep it steady while the other pressed the knife against my flesh. I couldn't watch, I cast my eyes to the heavens and muffled a scream as his knife dug into my leg. "Ava." His voice guided my head down. "You will break your teeth."
"What else am I supposed to do when you're digging into my body!" I snapped through gritted teeth.
"Bite down on me."
"W-what?" I blinked at him, my teeth unclenched.
His hand that was holding my leg, blood stains already on his fingers, wrapped around the back of my neck. His blood-stained fingers curled in my hair. He guided me to the crook of his neck.
"Bite down. Scream. Right here. I can handle it." His fingers stayed in my hair for a long moment as my lips rested on his bare skin.
I took in a deep breath before I whispered against him. "I'm ready."
His hand slipped from my hair slowly before it wrapped on the underside of my leg. And he continued cutting into my flesh, trying to dig out the arrow. I did as he said. I bit down on his neck, screaming through the pain. The sound was muffled by his skin. My fingers curled around his biceps, and I dug my nails into his arms. It hurt so bad, and I was getting weak, probably from blood loss. My arms went limp against my sides.
"Ava." He said quietly. "Hey." He cupped my cheeks and pulled me back. "It's out, I'm done." I saw his concerned grey eyes as mine fluttered shut. "Stay with me." He picked me up again, my head lolled to the side against his hard chest. I heard him step into the water, and a few seconds later I was submerged until my shoulders.
"What are you doing?" My voice was weak.
"The water will stop the blood flow."
I blinked open my eyes. His head was glistening, not with water but from sweat. I saw my bitemark on his neck, blood trickled down his chest. I lifted my hand, but it felt heavy, my finger grazed over the bitemark. Pride shivered. "I drew blood."
"I drew more from you." He looked down at me. "How do you feel?"
"Like I could sleep."
"Better not. You need food first, something to regain your strength."
"Are you going to throw your sword at a tree again?" I smiled and leaned my head against his chest. He chuckled lowly, but I felt it vibrate through his chest.
"Maybe." He tilted my chin. "Ava, stay with me."
"Hm, Ava." I mumbled, my eyes closing. "I like the way you say my name." And then I succumbed to darkness.
I woke up sometime later. I was covered under my cloak, and under my head was a pillow made of leaves. The fire was burning in front of me. Next to it sat Pride. He was placing food on different leaves on the ground. Bowls of water made from leaves are placed next to it. Pride's shirt was ripped at the bottom.
"What happened to your shirt, Priscilla?" My voice croaked.
Pride spun around so fast, it made my head spin. He helped me to a sitting position and gave me a leaf of water. When I drank, he answered my question. "I needed something to bind your leg. It will need stitching when we get back."
The moment I lowered my leaf, he handed me another. This one was filled with berries and meat. "I'm not hungry."
"You need to eat. You've been asleep for twelve hours."
That's when I noticed it had gone dark. The sun was almost gone behind the hills. Reluctantly, I tossed a berry in my mouth. But once the berry reached my stomach, hunger flared up. I ate the rest quickly. I knew Pride was watching me, but I kept my eyes on the leaf.
"Why don't we sleep in the cave?"
"It's full of bats. You don't want to go through the cave at night." His eyes scanned the darkening sky. "It will stay dry tonight."
"Can I ask you something?" I tilted my head so I could look at him. "Without you getting mad?"
"About Elmir and Leon?"
I was surprised he used Envy's mortal name. I never heard anyone call their brothers by them. "Yes, why do you keep them apart?"
"You know why."
"I think it's bullshit," I stated and Pride's eyebrows went high. "Elmir would never fall in love with another. His love is as pure as Sevrin's love for Margarete. I know you think if there is another brother available there is more chance to break the curse. But that won't be the fact for him, he would never choose anyone over Leon."
Pride stared at the fire for a long time. The silence stretched out between us. "It's not just about the curse." He finally said. "When Margarete disappeared, Sevrin was a mess. He wanted to give up on his immortality because he couldn't live without her." My breath hitched a little. Sevrin told me a lot but never he was that far gone. "It took us years for him to pull through the darkness. I couldn't let another brother of mine go through the same pain." He turned to look at me. "You look surprised."
I glanced back to the fire. "I am. I didn't think -"
"I had feelings? That I didn't care about my brothers?" I shrugged. "My brothers mean everything to me. All that I do is for them."
"You are lucky to have them. They tried to explain some of your actions to me over the past months. I just thought they didn't want me to kill you when I came here."
"You hate me that much?" His voice bared something dangerous.
"I hate that you keep Leon and Elmir apart. I hate that you think everyone is beneath you, especially mortals."
"When did I say that?"
I turned to him, my gaze hard. "You may have not expressed it with words, but your glances at me said more than enough." When he looked puzzled, I added. "From the moment you laid eyes on me, you looked at me as if I was disgusting. Like cow manure on the bottom of your shoe. Like a simple mortal."
"I never looked at you like that."
"No?" I raised an eyebrow. "What did those looks mean then?"
He rubbed his neck; his eyes were trained on me. It made something burn inside of me. I shifted a little and the cloak slipped aside. The cool brush of air touched my legs. I still wasn't wearing my breeches. Pride looked down, his eyes scanning over my bare legs.
"Ava." His eyes snapped up. "I... Here are your breeches, you should put them on otherwise you'll get cold." He tossed them in my lap before he shifted away from me to toss another log into the fire.
"Or otherwise -" I put my legs in the breeches and shimmied them up. "You'll get disgusted by looking at them." I grumbled. I laid down and pulled the cloak over me, my back to the prince. He didn't say anything, but I could feel his gaze burning on my back. I could hear him inhale, like he was about to speak but not a word left his lips.
I didn't sleep, I felt his eyes on me for a long time. I heard him stand up, walking around the fire until his huge frame hovered over me. Without saying anything, he laid down behind me and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me flush against his firm chest.
"I'm not cold." I whispered.
"And I'm not disgusted by you." His hot breath tickled the back of my neck. He said it so quietly I almost missed it. His fingers skimmed over my ribs, I could feel his nose against my hair. "Goodnight, Ava." He whispered.
I wanted to say it back, but I was too stunned to speak. He wasn't disgusted by me, but what about all those looks? I could feel the steady beating of his heart against my back. I was surprised I didn't push him away. Feeling his heavy arm draped over me, I sighed a breath of relief and sleep came quickly.
The next morning, Pride was still sleeping behind me. Our legs were intertwined, his arm still wrapped around me. His hand was under my breast, but his thumb grazed over it. It sent a shiver down my spine. I enjoyed the feeling of a warm body behind me. I didn't know if it was just that I missed it, or it was because of the certain prince behind me. I relished the feeling for another minute before I glanced over my shoulder. He was still fast asleep, his chest slowly rising and falling. His stumble became more apparent, and he looked good with it. I wanted to run my hand over his cheek. I quickly pushed the thought away and carefully slipped out from under his arm.
Pain shot through my leg as I leaned my weight on it. I closed my eyes and focussed on my breathing until the pain ebbed away. I limped to the edge of the tree line and picked up a large stick I could use as a walking stick. I glanced one last time behind me. Pride hadn't moved from his spot, only the arm that was draped around me was clutching the cloak to his chest. Then I made my way through the trees until I found the pond.
I undressed, placing my clothes on the boulder I sat on yesterday. I could see my dried blood on the grass. I unwrapped Pride's torn shirt and placed it with the rest. There was a weird kind of paste on the wound, closing it off from dirt. I let my finger graze over it, it was sticky like honey. I pulled my necklace over my head and placed it between my clothes.
The water was warm, I breathed in deeply as I slipped all the way in. I dunked my head under the water, scrubbing my hair clean with my fingers. When I broke the surface, I could hear muffled yelling. I shook the water out of my ears.
"AVA!" Pride yelled. "AVA!" His voice was getting closer. I was just about to call back when he appeared on the bank. "AVA! Where are-" He stopped when he saw me in the water. He glanced at my clothes on the boulder before looking at me again. He swallowed thickly. "Don't do that to me." His voice was hoarse. "What are you doing?"
"I'm taking a bath." I grinned. "What does it look like? We've been out here for days, I needed to freshen up."
"Next time tell me where you are going." He kept his eyes focused on mine. That's when I figured out, that the water was clear. Even though I was submerged up to my shoulders, he could see everything below.
"You know that doesn't work with me. I go as I please."
"Not here when rebels try to kill you."
"You said it was safe." I tilted my head back and combed my fingers through my hair again. "Aren't you coming in?" I challenged. I eyed him up and down. "You could use a wash."
His eyes followed a drop of water that rolled down my collarbone before it slipped into the water. "I washed yesterday." His voice was deep and heavy.
"Alright," I said, I turned my back to him and let my hand run over my arm to wipe the dirt away. I was just starting on my other arm when the water rippled. The water sloshed as he came closer. I could feel his body warmth when he stopped behind me.
"How is your leg?"
I turned around. He was standing even closer than I thought, I craned my neck to look up at him. My heart beating fast in my chest.
"Still painful to walk on." I hated how breathless I sounded.
His bare chest was something to behold. I wanted to run my hands up and down his abs, over his arms and onto his back. He must've dunked his head in the water because water droplets were falling from his hair. It took everything in me to not let my eyes drop.
"We'll have to stay until you can walk without using a stick." He reached over to pull something out of my hair. His hand rested on my neck. "The sap is probably washed off by now. I'll need to reapply it to keep dirt from getting in."
"Sap?"
"Tree sap, just until we can stitch it up." He twirled a finger around a strand of my hair. I reached my hand up and let my hand run over his cheek. His stumble scratched my palm. The prince stilled under my touch. "I haven't had a chance to shave."
He said it so seriously that I laughed. I threw my head back laughing when I looked back at him, he was smiling. Another one of those smiles, that lit up his face. Making him look like someone else.
My smile faltered when I glanced at his neck. My fingers grazed over the blue mark. "I bit you too hard."
He cleared his throat before he spoke. "I told you to."
A fish circled around my foot, and I was startled. I shifted my foot but fell forward into a hole. Pride caught me. When his hands took hold of my bare waist it sent my body on fire. But not only that, I was flush against him. I could feel all of him, I mean all. That also meant he could feel all of me. My naked breasts were propped against his chest, just like the palm of my hands. I could feel a fast heartbeat, but I wasn't sure if it was mine or his. I focussed my attention on the bitemark and not a hard length that was pressed between us.
"It's going to leave a scar." I whispered. I leaned forward without thinking and kissed the mark. A shiver ran through his whole body.
"It's okay, Ava." His voice was husky. "I have more scars, what's another?"
"But I did that." I looked up into his grey eyes.
"And I did this." One hand went over my thigh, close to the wound. I wanted to say he didn't, but he stopped me, placing a finger on my lips. "I never thought I would hurt you."
"I was already hurt. If you didn't do it, it would have gotten much worse."
He shook his head, water droplets flying in different directions. He let me go and stepped away. "We should get dressed." He turned away from me. "I'll get some more sap for your wound."
I was too stunned by his sudden departure, I didn't even glance at his bare behind when he stepped out of the water. I let myself sink underwater and screamed. What is going on?!
Pride avoided my eye as he coated the wound with the tree sap. His fingers were soft and careful as he wrapped my leg with another piece of his shirt. His tight abdomen was now visible. Once he tied the fabric together, he said something about finding us food before he disappeared between the trees.
I pulled on my breeches and grabbed the walking stick. I made my way slowly back to the clearing. Where I walked around a circle, to get my leg used to the movement. When I was near the cave, I saw drawings on the stone walls. It looked like they were made by children. A cold gush of wind came out of the cave. It was still light out, the bats would be asleep, so I slipped inside. It was almost instant darkness. I placed my hand on the wall and followed it through the dark. When the vines hit my cheek, I knew I was at the other side. The number of vines made it almost impossible to penetrate. And I wondered how Pride did that with me in his arms.
I was just about to push the last one aside when Pride clapped his hand over my mouth. He was standing flush against my back.
"Shh." He whispered.
I didn't say anything, I didn't move a muscle. I waited, to see why he reacted that way. And then a dozen of demons walked past the vines without looking at them. When they were gone, he lowered his hand.
"How are we going to get out of here?"
"First you need to able to walk, run would be better but the walk would do. Then we'll see what our next plan of action is."
"Isn't anyone going to search for us?"
"My brothers know not to disturb us. And my employees... they will know something is wrong after a week."
"A week!" I yelled and turned to face him but couldn't see him in the dark. But still, he managed to clap his hand over my mouth again.
"Shh." He whispered. He leaned closer so his face became visible. "You don't want the bats to wake up. Come on." He wrapped his arm around my waist and guided me to the other side. "Let's talk by the fire."
Once we were settled by the fire, I turned to him. "Why would they start searching after a week?"
"Because they are used to me riding. And if I'm gone longer than a week, I send word. So, when they won't hear from me..."
"What about the horses? Alexander and Cleo should be back by now."
"No." He shook his head. "They went to a safe place in the woods. They'll stay there until I collect them."
I groaned into my hands. "Tell me about those drawings on the cave."
"What?" He blinked at me. "Talk about throwing the conversation in another direction."
"It isn't like there is more to discuss, at least not until my leg gets better. So, the cave."
"They've been there for years. We made them when we were kids."
"So, you were kids."
"Why wouldn't we be kids?" He asked a little flabbergasted.
"Griffin and Wymond can't really remember that they have ever been kids," I explained. "And how did you all become the sins? Did you have parents? Are you all born on the same day?"
He opened and closed his mouth, then he frowned. "I don't know. But we were kids for a time."
"And who took care of you?"
Another frown. After a beat of silence, he asked me something. "Who raised you?"
I glanced at the fire. "My father. I never knew my mother, she left before I turned two. I didn't have any brothers or sisters; it was just me and him. By the time I turned sixteen, it was just me."
"What happened?"
"He died." I didn't elaborate and he didn't ask. "The parents of my best friend took me in after that for a year before I went to Uni. No family waiting for me at home, just my friends."
"You must miss them."
"I do, mostly Hanna though. She's my best friend, known her since we were little."
"Do you – have you decided yet?"
I looked at him, but he had his gaze on the fire. His arms rested on his knees; his hands clasped together. But his brows were slightly pinched together. I couldn't read him for one bit. "I haven't." I tried to lighten the mood with the next part but that backfired. "Must survive my last month first."
He clenched his hands so hard they turned white. "That's not funny."
I sighed. "I know. What will happen when our month is over?"
He glared at the fire, his whole body went tense. "Then you'll have to make a decision." He said, but something was wrong about the way he spoke and his body language. He was hiding something.
"Right there on the spot?"
"No. You'll have a month to decide or longer if you really want."
"What if I agreed to marry." His eyes snapped to me. I hesitated a little. I never thought the idea would cross my mind. I snapped my fingers. "Poof! Curse gone?"
"That's actually something we don't know."
"Who cursed you?"
"Someone who is long gone." He said shortly.
"Why were you cursed?"
"I'm done with this conversation." He stood up.
"I deserve to know." I said, pushing myself up with a wince. For a second, it looked like he was about to reach out to steady me, but he turned and walked away.
Prat. I grumbled to myself and lowered myself back to the ground. There was something he wasn't telling me, that much was obvious. But what? I thought back to all my conversations with the others about the curse. But it seemed like Pride was the one who knew best, and he decided to keep it from me.