Chapter 11 #5
I lean into him as he wraps his arms around me in a tender hug. “This can’t stop you from your work. Next time, maybe someone at the clinic can knock me out first,” I try to joke, but my voice sounds thin.
He pulls back to meet my eyes again. “I can’t stand the thought of hurting you. Of this thing hurting you further. Your well-being is the most important thing.”
“It needs to answer for its crimes. It wouldn’t be fair to the community to stop interrogating it.”
“But what’s fair to you? How much more do you need to put up with?”
“What doesn’t kill me…”
He looks appalled. “No Ada. That’s patently false. You must think of yourself, your own well-being. If anyone expects you to martyr yourself, they are selfish fools. We can still investigate these crimes without bringing the fae out of containment. It’s not all or nothing.”
“Thank you for saying that. But now that we know what happens when it’s awake, I’ll make sure to prepare. It just makes sense. I’m willing to deal with this if it means my magick can be restored and the community can find peace again.”
“I don’t feel good about intentionally putting you in that position while not fully understanding the repercussions on your health. Let me explore other options first. We’ll only do this again as a last resort.”
Worry etches across his brow. The sight brings a sad smile to my lips. “I trust you. So trust me in return. Please don’t let this affect your work. We can’t let it win.”
He nods, still looking conflicted. “This discussion isn’t over. I’ll talk to my team and figure out our options. No matter what we decide, I’ll make sure we minimize the risk to you.”
“That’s all I ask.” I squeeze his arm reassuringly.
I head to my room to change into something cozier than my outfit from this morning.
Sitting on my bed, I consider just going to sleep.
I could easily sleep through the night even at this early evening hour.
But I can’t shake Norrell’s promise that he would be here when I woke up.
I shouldn’t care, but I do. It seems important that he keeps his word for once.
Determined, I walk downstairs again, my energy depleting fast, but there’s still no sign of him.
Did he end up leaving? Again? It would be apropos.
I step out the front door, checking if he’s outside.
Looking around the front lawn, it’s immediately noticeable someone tended it since this morning.
Raked, weeded, edged. It looks almost picture-perfect.
Norrell must have been busy out here while I slept.
Fire and ashes, I’ll need to thank him for his hard work.
When I go back inside, Norrell appears, walking down the stairs, shirtless as usual.
He looks freshly showered. I stop in my tracks, staring at his brawny, powerful body, his pelt and hair still damp.
His stunning form sparks a fierce longing in me.
A curl of warmth settles in my core. I once knew what every inch of his body felt like.
But that was ages ago. The thought cools my ardor a little.
Norrell studies me in return, his mouth pressed in a tight line.
He walks over to me as I stand foolishly at the door glued to the spot.
He halts directly in front of me. He raises an arm over and past my shoulders, leaning toward me.
When I hear a soft thud, I belatedly realize he had to push the door shut behind me.
I must not be as recovered as I thought.
“You are awake. When was the last time you ate?” he rumbles. His brows furrow as I crane my neck up to look at him.
“I had coffee today. And… well, then everything happened,” I respond self-consciously.
“You did not eat dinner last night, Ada. Why are you not eating?” he challenges.
“I don’t know. It wasn’t intentional. I just haven’t felt like it.”
“Were you planning on eating dinner tonight?”
“Maybe later unless I fall asleep again first,” I answer defensively. This is swiftly devolving into an argument.
Norrell’s sigh is long and heavy. “Fire of the frost. Ada, that is unacceptable. I will cook dinner and you will eat it. All of it. You need to keep up your strength. There is no way you are you are getting out of this, not after ending up at the healers clinic like you did. I know you skip meals more often than you would ever admit to me. Come with me to the kitchen. Now. You cannot leave until you finish your plate,” he scolds me like I’m a child.
My steps sound closer to stomps as I follow behind him. “Why does this matter to you?” I ask his sinewy back.
He abruptly turns and my face is inches from his chest. “Because this is not like you, Ada. You are strong and sharp. But you are weakening in front of my eyes. It is not just stress or a lack of magick. This fae has done something more to you. I will keep you healthy until we know what it is doing to you.”
I scrub my hands over my face. I ache to find comfort in that broad, warm chest but I hold myself back. It’s an illusion. He’s not safe. But he’s right though. Something is very wrong with me. “Alright,” I surrender. “Please make me dinner.”
When we enter the kitchen, the boys immediately swarm me, their purrs resonate like little motors.
I fill their bowls and then obediently sit at the table while Norrell fetches ingredients from the fridge.
I watch him in confusion. A lot of that food looks like it came from the farmers market. But I didn’t buy any of it.
“Did you go back last night?” I ask incredulously. I can tell by his face that he knows exactly what I mean.
“I did.” He nods. “It improved since the last time I was there.”
My eyes roll of their own accord. “Yes, that’s true. It doesn’t answer why you went back?”
“Because I inadvertently made you leave. You wanted to shop last night, and I ruined it for you,” he states plainly.
It’s my turn to breathe a long, drawn-out sigh. “This.” I wave between us. “Is too difficult to navigate.”
“It does not need to be,” he remarks as he rinses off some vegetables.
“I’m not sure what that means.”
He sets the vegetables on the counter and turns toward me again. “I hurt you very badly, and that can never be erased. There is nothing either of us can do to change the past. But for right now, while I am here, let me in enough to take care of you. I will never ask for more.”
“Honestly, I’m fine here on my own, just as I have been for years. I need to get used to this new way of life if this is permanent. Having you or anyone here is just prolonging the inevitable,” I insist.
“Mayhap, but I am working with Niven to make sure it will not be permanent,” he lets slip.
“What do you mean?”
He tugs on his beard before he explains, “When the fae’s interrogation began this morning, it was primarily a test to see how far we could restore it to consciousness.
It went as we expected. But that fae is still extremely powerful despite all their safeguards.
It fights him at every turn, but Niven will pry out its secrets by force, no matter how difficult it is.
And as quickly as possible to minimize the effect on you. ”
My brows raise in alarm. Niven didn’t let on how dangerous the situation was for them. “I wasn’t aware. He told me he me he wouldn’t risk my health just to interrogate it. But I told him that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
“At some point very soon, the council will disband and everyone will return to their homes to enact the new safety and security measures they agreed upon. Niven and his teams will remain until their job is complete. So will I. They need me for my ability to dispel the fae’s magick.
The only reason I am helping him is to make sure we force the fae to tell us how to break the spell.
I will see you through this, no matter what,” he declares.
His eyes alight on me and I can see the weight of his promise in them. A shiver whispers down my back.
“Okay,” I acquiesce, unsure whether it’s wise. But if Niven needs him, I’ll put up with it. “You can stay until this is over.”
“Thank you for this gift, Ada. I will make sure you do not regret it.” His eyes search mine, but I look away, pretending to be distracted by the cats.
Wisely, he doesn’t push me any further. He proceeds to make dinner while the cats and I silently watch. It’s a simple meal of pan-seared fish and roasted vegetables. As we eat, Norrell looks inordinately more pleased with each bite I take.
Guilt and weariness nag me as we sit next to each other in silence, so I force my eyes to his. He immediately puts down his fork and gives me his full attention.
“Thank you for dinner. And for the yardwork. I noticed it earlier. I’m not sure how you managed after the interrogation.”
“Handling the fae this morning was not that difficult. Over decades, I took down dozens of them with my fellow hunters. They are incredibly dangerous, but so am I,” he stresses.
When I finish the food on my plate, a triumphant smile curls his lips, drawing my attention to his tusks, reminding me how he’d run them sensually along my neck. I suck in a shaky breath as I remember the feeling of it.
“Very good, Ada,” he praises in a low voice, sending a spike of arousal through me. Somehow my so-called plan has backfired. Now I’m the unsteadied one.