Page 81 of Wicked Magik

Benedict swallowed. “What room to put her in?”

“Our room,” Oryx stomped his foot. “What is wrong with ours?”

I sighed. “If you were romping in it this morning, it’s contaminated.”

Oryx lowered his head.

Benedict cleared his throat. “I cleaned your room this morning, my Lord. Sheets, tables and windows opened for fresh air. Put her there,” he said.

I pursed my lips into a thin line and nodded. Oryx, with no ability for me to get a read on his skull said nothing.

Oryx followed Benedict, his massive form ducking to avoid the doorframes. I walked beside him, my hand and shadows still pressed against Vesper's wounds, my shadows writhing around us like a dark mist.

Oryx gently laid Vesper down, her body looking even smaller and more fragile against the vast expanse of the bed. I withdrew my hand, my shadows dissipating like smoke.

Benedict handed us towels and I made the water warm with a wave of my hand as I pressed a cloth to her wounds, applying pressure as he looked at me, awaiting instructions.

“Go get the books Benedict.” I made my voice calm for Oryx’s sake. He had begun whimpering as he saw the sheets being stained with blood.

"Will she be alright?" Oryx asked, his voice a low rumble.

My shadows had drawn the skin together, slowing the bleeding now that we were no longer moving. “She’s lost a lot of blood, but she’s stubborn. She’ll heal.”

Oryx nodded. "Veylor, I... I couldn't protect her."

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "This isn't your fault, Oryx. You did everything you could."

He looked away, unconvinced. I could see the self-blame in his stance, the guilt gnawing at him. I knew that feeling all too well.

"I should have been there," he muttered. “I won’t leave her side again.” Oryx climbed up onto the bed and curled up around her. My shadows didn’t leave her body, they only grew tighter around her wounds to keep the bleeding at bay.

I frowned. "I should have ensured the stablemen were vetted properly," I added, my voice laced with bitterness. "We bothmade mistakes, Oryx. But we can't change the past. We can only move forward."

Oryx looked at me, his eyes searching mine. "What do we do now?"

I looked down at her. The cuts, the bruises, the bites, I could stitch her back together, but the psychological things she has been through?

“I’m going to heal her the best I can.” Which was all that I could promise because look at what I did to Oryx.

Chapter 27

Oryx

She looked frail, lifeless.

Her tanned skin is now dull and ashen. It reminded me of Veylor’s skin.

While it suited her with her hair, it wasn’t the same. She was riddled with bite and claw marks. Her skin ripped deep to where the meat of her body showed.

My stomach churned with a mix of longing and regret. It wasn't hunger that twisted me inside out, but the haunting thought that I hadn't been there to save her. I couldn't hear her cries or sense her suffering. I was too far away to hear her. Partof me wondered if I could have done something differently, if I should have felt her pain despite the distance.

I trusted Veylor and Benedict’s words that no harm would befall to her in my absence. Yet here she is, lying in Veylor’s bed, her heart slow and barely beating.

I wanted to hate him.

But he too, looked just as devastated.

Was it because he knew how much she meant to me or was it because he cared for her life as well?