“I was in a fight,” I tell her as I sit down on the pallet, facing the bed so I can see her soft form in the pale light of the fire.
“Taranus?”
“Not this time.”
“Then what was it?”
“I do not know.” My admission is met with her silence, so I wait, quietly, both desperate to hear her voice again and wishing the creature had finished me off so I never have to hear it again.
“These kinds of attacks...they’re not normal?”
“No,” I snap.
“That fae said you were being foolish.”
I’m going to kill Tommie.
“Had I not acted as I did, all of my men would have likely died.”
“He seemed to think it had something to do with me.”
“Hardly,” I retort, my tone sharper than I’d originally intended. “I’m exhausted, Ember. I would like to sleep.”
“You can’t let yourself get hurt because you’re pissed at me. It’s stupid.”
Knowing I don’t have the energy to fight, I lean back and close my eyes, cradling my arm at my side. “I do not make my decisions based on you or anyone else. Goodnight.”
She doesn’t reply, though a few moments pass, and I can hear the faint shuffling of blankets as she pulls them up closer.
Ember will never know the love I carry for her.
Nor will she ever understand the weight of my feelings or the strength it takes to keep my distance.
And, I suppose, especially given the way the darkness in me reacts to her, that is for the best.
* * *
As usual,I’m up before even the sun crests over the treetops. Body slick with sweat, I swing my sword at the target, carving a chunk out of it as steel meets wood. Other than being slightly stiff, my shoulder has healed nicely, thanks to Heelean’s salve.
That damn concoction has saved my life more than once.
“You caused that thing enough agony?”
Turning, I cast a grin at Fin as he leans against one of the other training pillars. “Hardly.” The haunted look in his eyes has grown as have the dark circles beneath them. “How are you feeling?”
“You mean since my pathetic collapse yesterday?”
“Fin.”
He chuckles. “Like a dying man. And honestly, it cannot come soon enough. I’d fall on my own sword if I weren’t worried I’d never see my love again.”
“Asking for me to run you through?” My joke is met with another grin.
“Perhaps. If killing Taranus doesn’t do it first.”
I drive my sword into the earth at my feet and retrieve a sleeve of water from the ground. After drinking deeply, I wipe my chin and replace the cap.
“Now that we have Ember, Taranus is who we are going after next, correct?”