Chapter 35
“The infirmary is this way.” My steps hurried along the corridors of the west wing.
“What’s wrong with him?” the healer asked, rushing towards us.
“He’s badly burned,” Eldric answered.
“Burned how?”
“With fire,” he replied, giving her a cold stare that meant Do not ask any more questions.
“Lay him here,” she ordered, pointing to the nearest bed.
The Sand Wielder—Sendor—strode out the second Aegir’s head touched the pillow, to inform King Belzari, I presumed.
The healer, a grey-haired woman half the size of Aegir, cut what was left of his shirt with scissors, exposing his broad chest. I gasped, struggling to keep my feet steady. His right side, the whole length of his ribs…oh gods. My hands went to my mouth.
The healer opened a small glass vial and fearlessly slapped Aegir on the face.
“Here, drink this. It’s for the pain.” Aegir tried to open his eyes, but they were so heavily lidded, his head lolled.
I steadied his head, tilting his face upwards.
Eldric poured the bluish tincture into his mouth, forcing him to swallow.
I winced when I saw the healer approaching the bed with tweezers and other terrifying tools. I tried to look away but couldn’t. I helplessly watched as she removed pieces of clothing and necrotic skin. The sight and smell of it almost had me emptying my stomach.
Then I nearly fainted. When she washed his wound, I could see the severity of it.
Yellowish-white ribs peeked from beneath pink-red skin, like a bony ivory ladder sinking into molten lava.
Aegir, half unconscious, grunted as she washed the debris away—and with reason. He was burned to the fucking bone.
The healer drenched a clean cloth in a transparent gel-like liquid.
Aegir hissed and flinched as she carefully placed the cloth on top of his wound.
“I know, I know. But it will help with the healing and to stop it from getting infected,” she explained.
The healer looked at Eldric. “Lift him to a seated position.” Then she turned towards me and said, “Here, hold this.” I helped her apply the bandages around his torso.
Eldric and I did not leave his sight.
He slept for hours and I sat there, watching his chest rising and falling. I hadn’t realised I was biting my nails and tapping my feet until Eldric pointed it out. “Eating your fingers and hammering the floor will not improve his condition.”
“He could have died. He—he burned to the bone.”
“He’ll be all right,” Eldric reassured me. He placed his palm on my shaking knee. “When he comes to his senses, he’ll heal himself, but for now, he needs rest. His powers are drained.”
My head shook. “No, he won’t. Not completely.” Not when it was Elemental Fire that ate away his skin.
“He made his decision. All we can do now is wait.”
And so we waited and waited.
I gasped when I glimpsed his eyes slightly crack open. I rushed to him but Eldric had the speed of Fae.
“It will hurt like hell, brother, but we can take you to your bathing chamber. Do you think you can manage that? Or do you want to sleep some more?”
“Yes,” Aegir rasped.
“Yes, what?”
“My room,” he choked.
Eldric carried Aegir all the way to the east wing and up two flights of stairs.
“Fill the bath. Water only,” Eldric ordered, easing Aegir into the bath.
I quickly obeyed. I turned off the valve only when the water reached up to Aegir’s waist. I watched as pieces of ice formed, bobbing at the water’s surface, courtesy of Eldric.
Aegir seemed to have regained some shred of consciousness in the frigid water—his eyes were half open now.
He rested his back against the tiles, his breaths long and heavy.
Eldric held his torso upright while I removed his bandages.
The bigger the crumpled ball of fabric became, the more I felt like I was doing something wrong.
I made to move my hands towards the gel-drenched cloth, but I couldn’t keep them from trembling.
“It’s all right,” Aegir choked, removing it himself.
My throat burned as I beheld the scorched, bony wound once more.
Aegir placed his palms on top of his ribs and squeezed his eyes shut.
His breaths turned shallow, but he kept pushing himself.
I cringed at the sound of Aegir’s teeth grinding together.
It gave me the urge to clench my own jaw.
“Stop,” Eldric ordered. “Aegir, stop!”
Eldric grabbed him by his wrists and moved his palms away. I gaped. The bone was no longer visible. Fresh pink skin was knitted over it. It was still deep and nasty, but the ivory was hidden; it was just melted lava now, with hues of pink and red and brown.
Aegir’s head lolled and I could tell his body went limp.
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked, a rush of panic taking over my body.
“Idiot. He drained himself again. He’ll sleep like a bear in hibernation.” Eldric shook his head at him. “Fucking idiot,” he murmured. “Come on, let’s get him to bed.”
Eldric carefully laid him on the bed and removed his wet trousers, undershorts and all. I took out a thin blanket and handed it to Eldric.
“I need to write to King Ryvar and scout the castle’s perimeter. I need to make sure there aren’t any more of them coming,” Eldric mumbled.
I nodded. “Go. I’ll watch over him.”
I only left him unattended for a few minutes. I needed to bathe, desperately. The Phoenix’s awful stench clung to my clothes, my hair. The water was still cool, but I didn’t mind it. I embraced it, actually. I needed to feel something other than fear and nausea.
I settled for one of Aegir’s shirts, a white tunic that fit me like an oversized dress. I let my own dress soak in the bath for a while and later hung it with the hopes that it would somehow smell nice tomorrow.
Then I sat quietly on the edge of his bed, my thoughts circling back to their faces.
The twins, shaking and crying in Sabriela’s arms. She looked so terrified.
But she did well, covering their faces and holding them near.
Heartfelt pride swelled in my chest. I would visit her once I was sure Aegir was all right.
I tried to remain seated upright as thoughts drifted in and out of my mind, but the day was too long, too spirit consuming. And so I found myself curled up at the edge of his bed, soon after drifting off to sleep.
“Cordelia.” The mere whisper of my name had me jolting awake with a gasp. I saw him extend his hand towards me; with the other, he held his pained side.
“What’s wrong?” I blurted. “Do you need me to get the healer?”
His brow creased. “I want you to come here,” he rasped, running a hand along the other side of the bed.
He must have seen my hesitation, but how could I not blink?
He was not wearing anything beneath that blanket.
“You’ll hurt your back, curled at the edge like that,” he added.
I narrowed my eyes at him, giving him a suspicious look.
“Fine.” He sighed. “I just want you next to me.”
I rose to my feet and moved the opposite way, towards the dining table. I poured him a glass of water and grabbed a handful of grapes. I approached his side of the bed.
“Drink first,” I ordered, extending my arm towards his face. He winced and grunted as he propped himself on his elbows. “Slowly,” I instructed. Then I offered Aegir my palm. “Eat.”
He ate the grapes from my hand, his lips, his tongue, touching my palm when eating the last few.
“You do know that my hands are working just fine, right?” he asked impishly. Even when in pain he found the time to act in mischief.
“Then why didn’t you eat them from your own hand?”
“And pass on the opportunity of Cordelia Wildheart feeding me grapes? I would never.”
I rolled my eyes at him, yet I still found myself moving to the other side of the bed. He carefully lay himself onto his left side, and I lay myself onto my right, beside him.
He smiled softly at me, then whispered, “My hero.”
I broke eye contact and scoffed under my breath. “Hero? You’re the one lying injured in bed like this. You shouldn’t have let yourself burn in my stead.”
“Cordelia,” he murmured, forcing my eyes to lift. “I would let the whole world burn in your stead.” I was still searching for the right words. “I’m still angry, you know. That you put yourself in danger like that…but…if you hadn’t, I would be more than just burned.”
“I…”
“You know you’re truly astounding, right?” he said quietly. I blushed, once more finding it insurmountable to keep his stare. His smile slowly faded. “I shouldn’t have sent all of them away.” I gave him a tight smile. “You think so, too, huh?”
“We could have used Alarik,” I whispered.
He, too, gave me a small nod with a hint of a smile. Then he reached for my face, his thumb brushing my cheek, my jaw. My eyes grew heavy-lidded, my skin melted at his caress.
“I know what you did for me.” The words just left my mouth. They rolled softly off my tongue. “I saw his hanged body. His face was healed.”
His gaze turned piercing, his tone quietly assertive when he dared ask, “Are you afraid of me?” I watched his eyes subtly flicker, desperately searching for an answer through my own.
“No,” I whispered. And that was the truth.
“Good.” He let out a shuddering breath. Then he caressed my face with the back of his fingers. “Move closer.” And so I did. I moved so close, I could feel his every crisp breath on my face. Our eyes locked and lingered in silence.
“Gods, you’re so beautiful,” he murmured. “I swear, you’re the most fascinating thing to ever exist.” My lungs hitched at the unexpectedness of such words. Then he cupped my face in his palms and brushed his soft lips against mine.
Our kiss was shy and slow for the first few strokes, his hands gently cradling my cheeks, my own cradling his. Then it intensified, each graze sending flutters of glowflies to my stomach, lower.