Eris:
Cindra wanted to pry further, I could tell. Instead she zipped her lips and patted that disgusting rub on my wound. I didn't want to speak or think. I wanted to forget the bombarding memories that threatened to weaken me further.
She focused on applying the new cloth bandages, careful not to make any faces as I hissed, growled and barked at her like a beast. I gave her credit for not running away. She is stronger than I thought.
My guardian brought out a pair of clean clothes. Several, as a matter of fact. I chose the gray tunic with darker gray trousers. When I received a disapproving look, I reached for the burnt orange pants. She nodded at my choice.
I told her to at least let me do my own dressing. When I winced in pain for the fifth time in a row she told me to stop moving and she would do it. With a frustrated sigh, I sat back down.
Cindra shook her head, motioning me to lay all the way down. "You're acting like seeing you naked would somehow get me hot and bothered. Have you forgotten about my sex god? His name is Mikayl, he's a sun-fae."
Between Cindra and Nesta's comments, I was bound to lose my mind. "I'm trying to be respectful," I remarked, writhing in pain from barely moving my shoulders.
"Being respectful is letting me protect you," she argued, ripping the stained shirt off my chest. Cindra then untied the leather laces of my pants, she looked away as she pried off my trousers.
I stared at the ceiling, feeling completely incompetent. The tension in my voice heightened as she inserted my feet into the pant legs, "you did."
"After you were stabbed," Cindra contended, her eyes averting once again as she slid my pants up.
I raised my head a bit, tightening my jaw as I lifted myself. A wave of mini daggers attacked the hole by my heart. "Forgive yourself, guardian."
"I have failed you," she stated, loosely tying the leather cords. Cindra's lips puckered to the side as she thought of how she could get my tunic on with little to no movement.
The corner of my mouth twitched, "yes, multiple times."
"Hey!" Cindra yelled in my ear as she lifted me to a seated position.
The door opened then. Nesta stood still, glancing between Cindra and I. Her brows pulling together at the compromising position before she averted her attention elsewhere.
Nesta bit the inside of her cheek as she sauntered towards us. "My apologies," she whispered, setting the tray of food beside Cindra on the bed. She turned away, her spine lengthening as she headed for the door.
"Actually, I must be going," Cindra smiled at her, releasing me back to the bed. She retrieved all of the used clothes and dirty bandages. "But you should stay," she gave me a quick side glance, "it seems that he needs twenty-four-hour supervision."
Nesta peered over her shoulder, her eyes focused on the porcelain bowl of mush.
Cindra retreated, swiftly closing the door behind her.
I still wasn't fully dressed. At this point I didn't want to be if it was going to be this much of a challenge to get changed. I ducked down, wincing from the pain, as I caught Nesta's piercing eyes. "She's only my guardian," I assured her.
Nesta turned devastatingly slow to face me. "And yet she failed at protecting you," the viper snapped before scanning my body. A rosy tint came and went when her eyes met mine again.
"She wasn't given a choice," I replied, noticing her body language shift as she paused halfway between the door and my bed. "I think I might need some help..." I attempted to rise to a seated position, swearing as I fell back down.
She hurried to my side, her hands pressing into my back to help me up. I shakily exhaled, the task of moving three inches wore me out. I leaned my head onto the carved headboard, observing the enchantress reaching for the tray. Though she was no longer touching me, I could still feel the whisper of her fingers. Shivers quaking through my entire body.
She didn't speak as she brought the large bowl to my lap. Too focused on not splashing the steaming liquid onto me.
"Would you believe me if I said that jealousy looks good on you?"
Nesta's words caught fire, "I'm not jealous."
I pursed my lips, attempting to not give wind of my jab, "whatever you need to tell yourself."
"Prick," she muttered beneath her breath as she handed me the stew. Nesta scooted the chair closer, strands of her hair falling from her braided bun.
I wondered what she would look like with her hair down. I'm not sure if my heart could take it.
"Witch," I smirked, taking a hearty sip from my spoon. It was the most disgusting thing I had ever tasted in my life. I think I would have preferred to be stabbed again, honestly.
Nesta's hands brushed the non-existent dust from her dress, "how is it?" she inquired.
"You should be happy you're an emissary and not a cook," I laughed at her open mouth, her increasing blush. "It's rubbish," I reported while finishing the rest of the bowl. Despite my protesting stomach, I relished in her speechless replies. It meant that she was finally taken aback by my words as I was by hers.
Nesta had cleaned, cooked and organized everything in my room. She thought I was asleep. That I had dozed off by the third hour of her restlessness.
I didn't want to sleep, in fear that she would be gone when I woke up. I listened to every noise she made. Whether it was her exaggerated sighs or the notes of her otherworldly hymns. I had never been so fascinated by someone before.
Not by Lys. Not by Mor.
I shifted my body, tired of laying in the same spot. I bit down on my tongue, trying not to make any noises while I moved. A foolish attempt...she heard me.
"What do you need, Eris?" Nesta crossed the room, her hands dangling by her sides.
I scrunched up my nose, unable to fathom what I could possibly need besides her being here. She must have known that. Maybe this wasn't about me though; she was different here. Not in the traumatized way like before but...there was something else.
Nesta scratched her chin on her shoulder, "I need to make myself of use. Is there an errand that must be done? I can't possibly cook you another meal after this disaster."
"A distraction," I remarked, "what do you need a distraction from?"
Nesta returned to the empty chair beside me. She bowed her head so I could not read her emotions, her voice barely audible, "everything."
I covered my hand on top of hers. I could feel the heartbreak with every letter, each shallow breath. "I could always use a woman in my bed." My husky voice was meant to ravish her—to snap her out of her wandering mind.
Nesta's head shot up, glare in full force. Coils of fire replaced her icy irises.
"You wanted a distraction," I laughed, too hard and for too long. Scarlet stained my new bandages, patches of black spread across my vision as I hacked away. Shit. I raised my hand, covering my mouth as I continued coughing.
Her eyes saddened, the fire diminishing within them as she wiped the blood from my lips with a napkin. "I'll get the healers," she insisted, letting go of me.
I grabbed her hand, smearing my blood onto her soft skin. "It was just a cough," I swore, signaling for her to come back to me.
She didn't. Instead she walked away towards the bathing room.
"What are you doing?" I called to her, thanking the mother above that she didn't go to the healers.
"You smell like a horse's backside," she yelled over her shoulder.
I could hear her filling a basin with water. "How refreshing to have you home," I admitted, feeling the fading embers within spark into a raging fire.
She didn't correct me, not a word. Maybe she didn't hear me? Maybe I scared her?
Nesta in all her enchanting glory retreated from the bathing room, a soft glow radiating off her skin. She carefully moved across the room, pulling a sponge from the pocket of her Autumn attire. The emerald linen brought out the specks of turquoise in her eyes.
Carefully resting the bowl on the nightstand, she didn't take her seat on the wooden chair. Instead she sat beside me on the bed. Leaning over, she dipped her hands into the steaming bowl. Nesta squeezed the excess water from the sponge before lightly pressing it against my bare chest.
I didn't break her concentration, not even when my thunderous heartbeat threatened to kill me. She had never touched me like this before. I, I didn't want her to stop.
She was hesitant at first, too nervous to drift towards my bandages. Nesta dunked the sponge again before moving the porous substance lower and lower. I could see the slight tremor of her fingers as she approached the brim of my pants.
Cauldron be damned, I felt myself sink. The merciless stir of my cock made me hold my breath. Now I was the one who needed a distraction.
"I never thought I'd see you again," I revealed a secret, one I had never shared with anyone.
"It seems you're getting better, back to your pessimistic self." Nesta attempted to be cruel, but her voice was too soft for it to be an insult.
I covered her hand with mine, putting a stop to her endless touch. My breathing deepened, a surge of pain rattled through my wound. I could not go on like this. I could not drown alone without first telling her of my regrets.
I observed the beautiful creature before me. The same woman who was tortured, beaten and almost raped because of me. "If you had never wished to see me again, I would not have thought ill of you."
My words sliced into her, her body stilled. She shook her head, the initial shock wearing off, "how could you say that?"
"After all that I have done to you," the lump in my throat rose, restricting my airways.
Nesta tightened her grasp around the substance, water soaking my belt line. Her attention remained on the sponge, on my gentle touch, "you found me when no one could. You cared for me when I could not care for myself. You protected me when I was defenseless. You taught me how to control a magic that terrorized me." She guided our hands, dragging the golden material against my scar of claw marks, "so, I'm not sure what you speak of."
"I tracked you in the woods, I slapped you whether it was to save you or not—I, I hurt you." Lines of silver trickled down my face as I opened my mouth to cough away the building emotions. "It is because of me that you endured every pain this court had to offer. If I had just led my—"
"—I will not regret our time together, Eris." Nesta interjected, her trembling voice grew cold as she held back her emotions. She glanced up, licking her lips, "will you?"
"I regret the damage I caused you, that is all."
"If you had not slapped me, they would have killed me in the forest. If you had not undressed me in front of this court, they would have touched every inch of me. If you had not told Ferron to use fire to torture me, he never would have released me." Nesta choked up as she regarded me. Spirals of fire released from her hand to mine, burning the sponge out of existence. "If you had not pushed us off the balcony, they would have killed you in front of me." Her eyes diverted to our entangled flames, to the replay of our descent to the battlefield. Nesta's voice quaked, "I cannot watch you die too."
I studied our flaming figures fall, the power it took for me to winnow us away. It wasn't my wound that stung now. I didn't know how I was able to winnow with faebane, I just knew she didn't deserve to die because of me. I too, could not watch her die.
Observing her intense gaze of our intertwined fingers, I replied, "thank you." Unable to say what had been locked within since the moment I saw her. "Thank you for seeing more than a beast in fine clothing."
"You are no beast, Eris," her iridescent skin grew brighter and brighter. The caress of our flaming figures capsized within our hands as her grin expanded, "just a lord of fire and delayed wit."