44. Chapter 44
Iwoke up to soft sheets and the smell of citrus.
My eyes adjusted to my surroundings, taking in the small room with minimal furniture. A simple window at the front, beside the only door, shone to reveal there was bright, new-day sun outside. I shifted to rise, hissing momentarily against the numbing pain in my shoulder and opposite hand.
“Let me help.” The soft gruff came from beside me. I turned my head to find Peiro shifting from a chair next to the simple bed. He was free from evidence of the skirmish and wore a simple tan tunic and brown trousers. His sleek brown hair was pulled out of his eyes by a small half-braid.
“Did you sleep?” I asked as he helped me to a sitting position.
He gruffed again but I noticed the dark circles under his eyes. “How are you feeling?”
I raised my injured hand, finding it tightly wrapped in a bandage but nowhere near as painful as it had been before. My left shoulder was stiff but the tension eased as I lightly rolled it. “I’ll be okay,” I said in an attempt to lessen Peiro’s concern.
Without a word he shifted back to his chair on my right, pulling it closer to the bed. He leaned in, rubbed his hands through my loose hair, and firmly caressed my jaw. I placed my bandaged hand on his free one.
“Are you sure?” he asked, gently readjusting the covers around me. “Fyom said you felt harder to heal, despite the injuries.”
“Harder to heal? How?”
Peiro shook his head. “I don’t know. He said he felt there was more to you, but didn’t elaborate further. He can be cryptic sometimes.” He sighed and pushed some of my fallen hair away from my face.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” I searched his features for answers. Like before, something flashed across his eyes. He tensed for a moment then settled.
“Thanks to Fyom, I’ll heal. It’s this place… It feels…different.”
I felt it, too. “Do you think Addis recognizes you?”
Peiro released a short breath and shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m praying to the giants that she doesn’t, because I looked different then.”
“You mean like the vagabond you were when I met you?”
He released a short laugh. “Perhaps I look more dashing these days?”
My eyes trailed his features, taking in his chestnut hair, the way his body had filled out and toned over the past few months.
The top of his tunic was undone, showing the dusting of hair and tattoos within.
The lines around his mouth framed his full lips beautifully, especially when he gave his knowing smirk.
But my favorite part? Those brown eyes that I fell in love with.
“You might look a little better than what she recalls, if that’s the case,” I teased, holding my lips tight in a serious form.
“A little?” Peiro’s eyes brightened as his grin reached them. “That’s all?”
I nodded in response, knowing full well that if I spoke I would easily give away the moment.
“Hmm. Fine. If we’re in the business of lying then, by the indication of your heartbeat.” He smirked as he motioned for my hand. “Let me have a look. How does it feel?”
“Better. Fyom was a miracle worker, as always.”
“Come. Let’s burn those rags.” I looked down and saw I was still wearing the clothes from the day before, now stiff and pungent from the caked blood.
As Peiro helped me off the bed, I waited for my body to wince from pain around my abdomen.
I quickly lifted my tunic and found that the once-large gash at my stomach was now a thick red line.
Peiro’s fingers gently skirted the edge before placing a soft kiss on the skin above my navel.
His gentle attentiveness caused my love for him to flare all the more as he helped me move from the bed to the adjacent washroom.
The small tub barely fit the small room but was already filled with warm water and oils to clean my skin.
Peiro lathered soap into my hair, coaxing a low rumble from my throat as my eyes rolled to the back of my head.
His hand swiped dirt away from my body in a rhythmic motion, careful to avoid adding pressure to my injuries.
Any thought of pain left my mind as I concentrated on the work of his fingers.
“I need to wash this.” His words were coarse in his throat as he cradled my hand in his like he was tending to a wounded bird.
Discomfort ached against the soft movements as he unwrapped the bandages.
I worked hard not to wince when I saw the discolored greens and purples.
The sourness from the crushed herbs tickled my nose as Peiro wiped away the remnants and tossed them into a bin.
He guided my hand back to the soapy water and gently rinsed away the rest.
A flutter of light burst underneath my skin, starting low in my stomach and moving up into my right hand. In awe, I watched the dim light of Healing turn the purples and greens into lighter shades of yellows. I flexed against the tension, finding my hand was now only stiff.
Peiro repeated the process with my shoulder, where light wove next, releasing the feeling of something warm and relaxing underneath.
After the light dimmed, angry red flesh sat bright against my pale skin, now only having a bit of discomfort as I stretched the muscles.
“This is amazing.” I’d been so preoccupied with the Healing that I hadn’t noticed Peiro grabbing a towel and extending his hand to help me up.
“Arm,” he demanded without breaking his stare.
I took his hand and stood face-to-face with him, thanks to the height of the tub.
Ever so gently, he wiped away the droplets from my hand and brought it to his mouth, caressing each knuckle with his lips before repeating the touch on my shoulder then my stomach again.
Soon I was led to the bedroom, where Peiro helped me dress in a simple tunic with matching leather pants. “I am so sorry,” Peiro whispered as he finished tying the last of the laces on my muddy boots.
It was a sight to behold, seeing him kneel at my feet. My fingers found the deep brown locks of his hair and ran through the loose strands, coaxing a low groan from his throat as his eyes closed. “For what?”
“Not protecting you like I should have.” His eyes flared open, glittering against the sun coming through the window. He picked up my bruised hand and kissed my palm. “For this.” He leaned forward; even on his knees, he still hovered over me. “Let me make it up to you.”
“There’s nothing to make up,” I tried to reason, because it was true. “Nothing could have been done differently. You’ve trained me the best you could. Yes, I was in deep water for a minute, but you took care of that before I could.”
He looked like he was about to speak, but I saw the self-written defeat.
Peiro hardly showed how he truly felt, keeping most things to himself, since that was something he had been used to doing for so long.
It was strange yet enlightening to see the rare vulnerability.
But now that we were in this together, he needed to know that even with his best intentions, some things were still beyond his grasp.
“Peiro,” I said sternly as I could muster. “There was nothing you could have done. We were outmatched.”
“They hurt you, Naa’n le’ya. Drew blood. Left marks on your skin. I will pay penance for allowing such a thing.” He knelt down and placed his head in my lap as his hands found purchase on my hips.
My fingers caressed the unkempt beard that had been growing the past few weeks. He lifted his head with dejection in his eyes. I traced the outline of his mouth with my thumb before replacing it with my lips and pulling back to meet his gaze again. “I’m okay. I will be okay. We will be okay.”
Peiro sighed and then leaned in to kiss my lips fervently, drinking me in. His strong arms wrapped tightly around my body as mine wrapped around his large frame, our hearts beating in sync. My breathing slowed, feeling at peace and safe, despite the strange place we were in.
“I love you,” he whispered. My heart bloomed in response, causing me to nestle in closer.
“You don’t have to say it back again, not unless you want to, but…
” He took a breath. “I’ve loved you from the start, Ophelia.
Even when I didn’t know what it was that I felt.
And the thought of you hurt? The thought I couldn’t stop the attack? The thought that you could have died?”
Leaving my heart out in the open felt strange, but the look in Peiro’s eyes erased all of the doubt.
“I love you, too.” There they were again.
The words out loud that confirmed everything I’d felt for so long.
His brown eyes sparkled in delight as his perfect smile stretched wide like he had just been given something so precious.
“I’ve loved you for longer than I could admit, ever since you saw me for who I was and not just some princess or someone weak.
You saw my strength even when I didn’t believe in it. ”
Peiro brought my fingertips to his lips and slowly kissed each pad without taking his eyes off me. His words became low and dangerous. “I will make sure that every last soul that has caused your heart and mind harm will meet the edge of my blade.” The promise shone brightly in his eyes.
I smirked. “Excessive, don’t you think?”
“No,” he huffed. “Whatever the reasons were, they wanted to see you as a shell and not the woman of great power that you are.” I blinked back a tear as my heart threatened to beat right out of my chest. Peiro shifted back and grabbed something off a nearby table before facing me again.
A set of sheets and a dagger that looked freshly sharpened were in his hands.
Quickly he cut a small strip of cloth from the fabric and set to work.
I gave him an incredulous look. “Peiro—while my sister’s coffers are deep, I don’t think she wants to reimburse Graevicks of all people for destroyed cloth.”