Page 61 of Bitten & Burned

Thirty-Two

HOMEWARD

The Veilwood, Sol, Verdune

Stone was all around me.

Stone.

It should have been cold, but I was burning up. Sweat dripped down my forehead. I tried to move, tried to rise up, but I couldn’t. Something was weighing me down. I wriggled my fingers, trying to access my magic, but I knew before I even began it wouldn’t work.

I glanced down, hoping like hell it was something I could push off me, and I saw him.

Silas.

Curled around me possessively.

I reached for the bond, but it felt frayed, like I couldn’t grasp it.

Bile rose in my throat, and I started to gag. Silas looked up at me and smiled. “You’re awake, Dearheart. I was starting to worry.”

Sweat dripped, and pain surged through my thigh. He slowly moved over me, pushing my shoulders down.

“No!” I shrieked. “No! No, No!”

“Rowena, you’ll have to give in. Give in or I’ll make it hurt again!”

“No, it’s already hurting.”

“If you want to be able to walk again, you’ll give in,” he said, voice sweet even though his words were not.

“No!” I screamed, clawing at him with my nails. “No!”

“Rowena…” My nails left scratches on his face as he smiled down at me. “Rowena… sweetheart…”

I blinked. Sweetheart?

“Rowena, you need to wake up now. He’s not here. You’re safe.”

Inhaling sharply, I sat straight up, my chest heaving.

Quil.

He was the one with scratches all over him. He was the one holding my shoulders. He was the one looking so, so worried because…

Because it had been a bad dream. A nightmare.

“Oh gods, I’m sorry,” I sobbed, pulling my knees up to my chest.

“There you are…” Quil quickly moved in beside me, putting his arm around me. “You okay? Bad dream? Wanna talk about it?”

“I’m okay. It was a nightmare. And… I dunno if I can…”

“That’s okay, I’m here. It’s just me and you. No one else.”

I leaned into him, letting my head rest on his chest. He dragged his fingers up and down my spine.

“You’re sweating.”

“Yeah… it was… I guess I was too warm?”

He leaned back, pushing to his feet. “If you’re warm, we can go stand at the cave entrance. Would you like that?”

I nodded, and he helped me up. I walked with Quil, his arm encircling me as I stumbled numbly to the opening and the cool air that whispered just outside.

The spray from the waterfall felt cool on my face, but it was almost impossible to hear anything over the thundering water. I gazed up at it, realizing just how far up the waterfall went.

The bond was fine now. Calm. Not thready and weird like it had been in the dream.

As I breathed, I looked over at Quil, standing beside me. We were both completely nude, since we’d just been wrapped up in furs right before this.

I felt the heat ease out of my skin the longer we stood, and, finally, when I wasn’t sweating any longer, we turned back into the cave. But first, I paused.

“You wanna talk about it now?” Quil asked.

I nodded, whispering. “It was Silas. He was lying on me. On top of me in that tower where he kept me prisoner. I couldn’t breathe. He was holding me down, telling me if I didn’t give in, that I’d never walk again…”

Quil shook his head. “Nope. Not anywhere near true, sweetheart. Sorry, it was me holding you down; you were clawing at me, and I was worried you’d hurt yourself.” He reached up to touch some of the marks on his face. “You got me good, though,” he chuckled.

“Sorry,” I said again. “Forgive me?”

“Nothing to forgive,” he countered, leaning in to kiss me. “Are you feeling better?”

I nodded. “Yeah… Not sure if I want to go back to sleep, though.”

“That’s fair, it’s basically evening…. The moon’s risen. I’ll go out later and hunt for some food. C’mon. Let’s go back inside.”

I let him lead me into the cave and back onto the furs.

As I sat, there was a sharp pang in my leg. I turned it to look at the sigil, dripping blood more slowly now. I shifted and winced slightly.

“Are you alright?” he asked, suddenly alert and holding me. “I didn’t hurt you earlier, did I?”

“No,” I rasped. “Silas did.”

He was silent for a long moment before kissing me again. “Is it your leg? It’s still bleeding. Is it hurting more?”

I nodded, grimacing when another twinge shook me. “Quil, please… I need you to bite me. Take some of this away. Please…”

He froze.

“Rowena…” he whispered. “I can’t.”

“Please,” I begged. “Please… I trust you.”

“I don’t trust me,” he replied. “Last time, I took too much. The only thing that saved you was that the others were nearby. What if I go too far again?”

“Are you starved right now?” I asked.

“No, but—”

I pressed on. “Are you…aroused right now?”

Quil closed his eyes and sighed. “Always a little, but not like I was in the library.”

“Alright, then it should be fine. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t becoming unbearable… Please don’t let me suffer, Quil…”

He paused like he was mulling it over, trying to talk himself into or out of it. Or both, for all I knew. Then, he let his hand trail down to my thigh, where I was burning. He shifted over, on his hands and knees.

I moved too, wincing as I slid my leg out so I could spread them more easily.

“You’re sure?” he murmured, eyes entirely on me.

I nodded. “Please… I need you to bite me…”

He locked eyes with me once before he crawled slowly towards me. He reached forward and ran his fingers over my skin until he found what he needed: my artery, jumping under my skin. He looked up at me again, making doubly sure.

I whimpered. “Please, Quil…”

He bent down and, when he bit, it hurt. Like jagged razors shoved into me. I cried out, and he groaned as he began to drink.

The pain lasted only a moment because, once he’d drawn from me, the relief flooded me.

My cries turned softer; less of pain, more of pleasure. Quil must have noticed, because he made a quiet sound against my skin, his hands holding my thighs apart, fingers soft on my flesh.

Soon, he was licking the wound closed and crawling back up to face me. He gazed into my eyes, licking his lips. “You taste… gods… so good, Rowena. It was hard to stop. I almost—fuck…” His eyes squeezed shut, and he winced. “Gods…”

I was alarmed at first, but then I remembered. Of course. He felt it now.

“Sorry about that,” I murmured, feeling guilty, even though I’d begged for it a second ago.

“No, I…” He peered into my eyes. “That’s what it feels like?” His gaze cut down to the wound, his hand on my leg, but not on the sigil. His thumb brushed softly over my inner thigh.

“A fraction of it, but yeah…”

He surged forward and kissed me, inhaling like he was trying to drink me through his nose before stopping, and pressing his forehead to mine. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” I countered. “I’m sorry you have to feel it…”

He shook his head. “Isn’t it my fault, though? It’s my family.”

I arched an eyebrow. “You know damn well it’s not your fault. It’s Silas’s.”

He closed his eyes. “I should have killed him. Bastard. He just… he said he could help you, and I… I hesitated. ”

Leaning over, I cupped his jaw and kissed his lips. I ran my fingers through his hair with the other hand. “I love you. You saved me, that’s all I can ask for.”

“I love you. I’ll always save you,” he replied, pressing his head to mine again. “Anytime the pain becomes too much, you tell me. I’ll take it for you. As often as I can,” he promised.

I was halfway to kissing him again when a sound reached my ears.

Footsteps.

I snapped my legs together and grabbed one of the furs to cover myself.

“Stay here,” Quil said, rising to stand in front of me as he peered at the cave’s entrance.

His legs were bent slightly, his arms and back rigid.

I could see the outlines of every muscle, every ripple as he held them tight, ready to attack if needed.

A predator in prey-mode. Ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

He crept closer to the cave’s opening and peered out.

He sighed heavily in relief, straightening suddenly like he was annoyed. “Fucking hells, Dmitri, announce yourself next time.”

My shoulders slowly unknit as Dmitri’s large frame stood in the door.

“Vael sent me,” he said. “He was worried… I left him at your apartment.”

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

“We all were worried,” Dmitri continued. “I ran to Caer Voss, and when you weren’t there, I figured Quil’d bring you where he thought would be safest.”

“I…” I trailed off. I had no right to give him platitudes. It was my own fault that this had happened. My own hubris and naivety.

“Where’s Vael?” I asked, looking behind Dmitri towards the waterfall.

“He’s back at your apartment, tidying. He’ll meet us back at the manor. He’s taking Fig back there as well.”

“Oh, I thought he might...” I trailed off. I had no right to expect such things from him.

Dmitri moved closer, sitting on the ground near me.

“He wanted to come, Rowena, but he also wanted to take care of things in Caer Voss. He’s making sure Thalia knows you’re safe, and cleaning up after Quil.”

Quil looked sheepish. “I might have rushed out the door suddenly. Knocked some things over. I’ll have to thank Vael…”

“Thalia’s alright?” I asked.

“She’s fine. Frightened for you, but otherwise fine,” Dmitri replied.

“And Vael?”

“Vael was… as to be expected.”

“That… could mean anything,” I said.

Dmitri’s voice was casual, but there was an edge beneath it. “We all thought the worst until the bond returned to normal, Mishka.”

Quil’s gaze found mine, his hand covering mine where it lay on the ground. In it, just a flicker of something, something almost unreadable, but enough to send a shiver running down my spine. He, too, had been worried. More than worried.

Dmitri took in the two of us, eyes glancing over the fact that Quil was nude, and I was wrapped in furs, clearly nude beneath them. “So…” he said softly. “You’re really alright, Rowena?”

“Mmhmm,” I nodded. “I am. I… I feel foolish… for causing you all to worry…”

Dmitri frowned a little. “What do you mean?”

“Sweetheart, you couldn’t have known,” Quil murmured.

“You and Vael warned me. I shouldn’t have gone to Blackthorn alone.”