Threads of Fate, page 26
Too shocked to know how to respond she looked up when he stopped at her bedroom doors. Ms. Perri ushered them into the room while she pulled back the covers to Orah’s bed.
“There are more pillows there than when I woke up this morning,” Orah observed, staring at the plush mountain on the bed.
Ms. Perri nodded. “The room seems to know you need them.”
Catching the odd glance Roan gave Ms. Perri, Orah wasn’t sure what it meant but she didn’t care. Her body spasmed from the pain and all she wanted was to be put down somewhere comfortable. Roan leaned down and set her on the bed gently.
Wincing at the movement, Orah whispered, “Ow.”
“Did I hurt you?” he asked, pausing himself to prevent moving her further. Orah couldn’t help but notice his arms were still under her, pinned between her backside and the bed.
Blushing at the heat of his touch, she shook her head. “No.” Her response was barely above a whisper. With a nod, he continued and slowly pulled his arms out from under her. They kept their eyes locked on each other for a moment before a voice clearing behind them forced them to break their trance.
“My Lord, I think I’ll help our guest out of her training clothes,” Ms. Perri said sternly.
Giving Orah a nod and a quick wink, Roan walked towards the bedroom doors. “I’ll return once Jes comes back with the tonics. Take care of her, please.” Roan addressed the last sentence to Ms. Perri before he turned to the bedroom door.
Orah watched while he closed the door behind him. She couldn’t pull her mind away from how his hands felt on her. Ms. Perri cleared her throat again and Orah shifted her gaze from the bedroom door.
“Is there anything in particular that I can grab from the closet?” Ms. Perri asked.
“I think there might be some night gowns that Lahana brought that would be easy to slip on over my head,” Orah replied.
Nodding, Ms. Perri walked into the closet. Orah listened to her rummage around and decided to try and shimmy her leggings off while alone for a moment. Orah’s body felt stiffer with each movement and she was covered in sweat again by the time she kicked the leggings onto the floor when Ms. Perri returned. Orah’s eyes widened, alarmed by what was in the housekeeper’s arms.
“I can’t wear that!” she yelled. Her cheeks went hot and she stared at the very sheer and very short black nightgown. Shaking her head, she cursed Lahana, sure she must have snuck in the outfit with the bags of clothes she’d bought Orah.
With a shrug Ms. Perri walked toward the bed. “This is short and easy to get on over your head. The light fabric also won’t put pressure on the bruise I’m sure you have. Everything else is heavy, or too long for you to be able to move comfortably in.”
Orah shook her head, unsure if she could allow Ms. Perri to help her into something so risqué. “Okay, well what about some of the night shirts and bottoms I know are in there?”
“I just watched you almost pass out from Roan bending down to put you on this bed. Do you think you’ll be able to pull your own pants down to attend to your needs in the bathroom?” Ms. Perri replied with a scowl.
“Fine.”
“Arms up please,” Ms. Perri instructed.
Reluctantly she lifted her arms and yelped in pain. Shaking her head, she stifled a sob. “I don’t know if I can.”
“Let me help.”
Ms. Perri’s callused hands brushed against Orah’s skin while she gently helped pull the shirt off Orah. Sweat ran down Orah’s spine while they worked together, in slow movements. Orah was sure she would pass out from the pain when her top finally came up over her head.
Ms. Perri shook her head in disapproval once Orah’s bruise was fully on display. Orah’s stomach flipped while she stared down at herself, finding a bruise encircling her bust and traveling down her side.
Orah’s arms crossed over her chest in a painful and near pathetic attempt to cover herself and her bra. Ms. Perri laughed. “We need to get that off you. It’s putting pressure on your injury.”
Orah watched while the housekeeper fished something out of her apron. A few seconds later, she pulled out a pair of silver scissors. Orah’s cheeks flushed. Shaking her head, she tried to sound stern through her pain. “You are not cutting this off me and baring my tits out to the open air.”
Ms. Perri let out a loud and slightly rough laugh. “Orah you seem to have forgotten I’m also a woman and I see tits every day I live. If you lean forward, I’ll cut down the back and cut the straps off so it slips off once we get the nightgown over you. You can also hold it against your chest until the last second.”
“Oh,” Orah replied. “Yes, that sounds alright.”
Ms. Perri offered her hand and helped Orah lean forward. “Can you bring your arms up to your chest?” Ms. Perri asked.
“Yes,” Orah replied.
Breathing in and out, Orah pulled her arms up and braced them against her chest holding the bra in place. The cold shock of the scissors sent a shiver down her back while Ms. Perri cut the back and then snipped the straps so they were no longer connected. Orah kept her eyes on the comforter in front of her lap while Ms. Perri grabbed the night gown and slipped it over Orah’s head. Slowly she pulled it down so it rested right at Orah’s shoulders.
“Now, can you lift your arms just a bit to get them through?”
Orah’s vision blurred from pain but she nodded her head. The night gown was now lowered enough and with her still leaning forward she knew she could slip her arms through the straps without issue. Ms. Perri held the first strap open while Orah pulled her arm through. Then they repeated their movement for the other side. The cut fragments of the bra fell to Orah’s lap. Gently, Ms. Perri placed her hand on Orah’s back and helped lower her back onto the pillows.
Orah had forgotten how sheer the nightgown was until the comforter brushed against her while Ms. Perri pulled it up. “Oh!” Orah shifted, trying to find somewhere more comfortable in all the pillows.
“I’m not sure how long it’ll take Jes to come back from the healers. She’s usually very busy this time of year,” Ms. Perri said.
“This time of year?” Orah asked confused. It was warm enough she assumed it was summer and in her world one was less likely to get sick during the summer.
Ms. Perri smiled. “Yes, the children are all out of their tutoring and schools so lots of injuries for her to heal.”
“Ah. That makes sense,” Orah replied with a smile. Summer break appeared to be yet another universal experience then.
“Do you think you can sleep with how much pain you’re in right now?” There was concern in Ms. Perris’ eyes.
“Actually, yes I do.” Orah’s body hummed in response as though celebrating that she finally paid attention to what it had silently been asking for.
Ms. Perri nodded. “Good. Either myself or Roan will be back with the tonics once they arrive. I’ll also make sure he doesn’t forget your drink.” She said the last part with a wink.
Orah watched while she gathered the sweat-stained and smoke-filled clothes while she made her way to the bedroom doors. “Thank you, Ms. Perri.”
With a smile, Ms. Perri looked back. “Orah, please call me Etta.”
She turned to walk out the doors again but Orah called out to her.
“Etta?”
“Yes?” Etta replied.
“Thank you for the ring. I realize I haven’t taken the time to say that. I don’t know what I would have done without it.”
Etta smiled. “That ring is very special, Orah. It belonged to someone who you remind me of.”
“You gave it to me before you even knew me,” Orah replied, trying not to appear too shocked.
Etta shook her head. “It didn’t matter. I knew who you are.”
Orah was left feeling baffled while she watched Etta close the doors behind her. Nothing the housekeeper said made any sense but her exhaustion battled against her mind, taking control of her thoughts. Settling into the pillows, she finally allowed herself the rest she needed, while wondering what Etta could have possibly been referring to.
Chapter 21
Roan paced the hallway next to the kitchen—Jes still hadn’t returned. Ms. Perri assured him Orah was settled and asleep, but he couldn’t handle the thought of her up there with how much pain she was likely in. His pacing grew frantic and he sighed, deciding to check on what was taking so long.
He turned toward the side door when it flew open and Jes stood in the doorway breathing as though he ran to the manor. “I’m so sorry!” Jes yelled. The large bag in his hand clinked as he threw up the other hand. “There were two Godlings that had each somehow broken a bone minutes before I arrived.”
Roan’s irritation vanished. “Thank you for waiting that long. I was about to come check on you.”
“How is she?” Jes asked.
“Ms. Perri says that she’s asleep. We haven’t heard any noise up there so I’m assuming she still is,” Roan replied.
“How bad is it?” Guilt flashed across Jes’s face. Roan walked towards him, setting his hand on his shoulder for reassurance.
“She’s pretty banged up. Apparently, that bruise we saw extends further and wraps around the top of her rib cage.”
Jes’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “I swear Roan, I didn’t push her like in the training room. But I also didn’t know the course would ward something like that.”
“How different was it from what you’ve seen before?” Roan replied.
“Some elements were the same but there were some I’ve never seen before. Those rock arms Orah mentioned earlier, an odd firepit, and a wall like in the training room, but at the top of the wall was a door.”
Roan’s eyebrow crumbled. “What do you mean a door?”
“I mean an almost exact replica of that door in the garden. Like the doors she’s warded in the training room. I couldn’t make out whether or not it had the same engravings on it, but it was the same color,” Jes said.
Roan wasn’t sure what to make of all these doors and what connection they had to Orah. “How did she get hurt?”
“The platforms that usually appear on the side of the mountain, those arms were between each one. She was jumping from one and from what I could see, she miscalculated the jump. The arm slammed right into her side.”
Roan winced. She may have an unknown power inside of her, but she was still mortal. A mortal who could easily die.
“But Roan.” Jes’s tone changed, something similar to pride and admiration. “She got back up. I thought the Fates were playing a trick on me. I watched her fall to the ground and have the air knocked out of her, but she got up and tried again.”
Roan looked down the hall behind him while a smile crept to the side of his mouth. She was so damned stubborn she couldn’t accept she had been injured. Turning back to Jes, he nodded. “What happened after that?” Jes shuffled his feet. Roan didn’t like the change in his body language. “Jes?” he asked.
Jes sighed nervously. “I don’t know what happened exactly. She stood up on that platform for a while. Finally, I thought she might turn back the way she had gone up, but I encouraged her not to. I watched her stand there staring at it. I might be wrong, but I think she started shaking slightly and then everything around me burst into flames. If I had been paying any less attention the flames would have engulfed me.”
Roan’s eyes widened and he stepped back. “What?”
“The entire course was engulfed. I barely made it to her, and the flames didn’t let up until I was able to get her to calm down. Tume barely made it into the air as well. All three of us were just hovering over the course watching it. You might see some large bruises on her arms from how quickly and roughly I grabbed her.”
“And you have no idea what happened?” Roan asked.
“She mentioned something about thinking and traumas?” Jes replied.
Roan’s chest tightened and he thought back on the blurred memories he’d seen in Orah’s mind. How quickly her tears fell before he’d even started. He wondered what the woman had gone through in her life. What horrible things had she witnessed to cause a reaction like that?
“We need to get those tonics up to her. Do you have everything she needs?” Roan said, choosing not to discuss Orah’s own past behind her back.
“There’s a very specific one for today to help heal her now and prevent any further damage. That’s actually here in my pocket,” Jes replied while his free hand patted his thigh. “The bag here is for all the tonics we’ll need to continue her training and ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
The tightness in Roan’s chest shifted to anger. “What do you mean continue her training? She could have died today, Jes.”
“I’m very aware of that, Roan. She insisted though. She wants to learn this power of hers. We don’t have a lot of time before your birthday or the challenge. She needs to be as prepared as she can be.”
“She’ll be home by then.” Roan wouldn’t discuss the alternative. He refused to accept that he would not have found a solution by that point.
Jes stepped forward, placing his hand on Roan’s shoulder. “There is no way you can know that for sure.”
Roan knew he was right. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he knew. “Let’s go get her that tonic. We’ll address the rest later.”
Silently they walked toward the stairs. Roan braced himself for what they would find when they got to her room and hoped she was still asleep. He wasn’t sure how that could be possible given the bruise he’d seen on her out at the stables. Reaching the top of the stairs Roan felt oddly nervous, but that was how Orah made him feel. As though he were dizzy and off balance anytime he was near her or walked in her general vicinity. He laughed nervously and glanced at a smiling Jes.
“She’s not going to bite you.” Jes knocked his shoulder against Roan’s.
Roan suppressed his laugh while shaking his head. “Now we both know that’s probably not true.” Covering his mouth, Jes chuckled and nodded his head. They both knew just how fierce she was.
They approached her door and Roan knocked. Moments passed with no answer and his anxiety built. Possibilities rushed in his mind. She could have just been asleep, or something worse could have happened. Breathing out, he knocked a little more firmly and waited. Thirty seconds passed. Jes nodded at the door, instructing Roan to try and turn the handle. Roan gripped the handle and the door clicked open with ease. He let out a breath of relief.
Quietly they walked into the dark room. Heavy breathing came from the direction of the bed—Orah was asleep. He looked back at Jes and stepped back confused at why Jes’s eyes were glued to the ceiling.
Quickly glancing back at Orah, Roan stopped dead in his tracks.
What is she wearing? He had no idea where she got the nightgown or why she had put it on. Maybe she was trying to tease him again. Maybe she’s trying to kill me and Fates, it’s working.
His eyes scanned her from head to toe, lingering on the too thin fabric along her chest. He shook his head and turned back to Jes, trying to hold in his laugh at how uncomfortable his Beskermer appeared; as though he had never seen a woman dressed that way in his life.
Roan walked up to the bed, making sure to keep his eyes above her neck. His heart beat rapidly against his chest and he tried to control his thoughts while he pulled the blanket over her. He almost had it fully pulled up to her chin when her eyes popped open and her hand grasped his wrist.
Roan’s eyes widened. Fates, she’s strong! He stared into the flecks of gold that looked as though they were on fire. Burning fear and anger radiated from her and barreled right into him. Peeling her fingers from his wrist he tried to calm her. “I promise I had no ill intention. I was trying to cover you again. The blanket slipped.”
Cool embarrassment replaced her hot anger and she glanced down at herself. Roan covered her chest, to his own dismay, until the blanket was resting at the base of her neck. Wincing she shifted to look toward the balcony doors.
“Thank you,” she said.
Roan could barely hear her whisper but felt the pain that came with the movement. Dropping his voice to a whisper, he gestured behind him. “Jes has the tonic for you. Are you doing alright?”
Orah grimaced, shifting in the bed. “Yes and no. The sleep helped, but my body is stiff. Like my muscles have locked up and I have to force them to move.”
Jes approached them both and Roan stepped back, allowing him to move in front of her. Jes sat on the bed. “This won’t taste great going down, but you should feel the effects almost immediately.” Jes’s voice was now soft and soothing. Jes may have been a hardass when training but he always took care of his own.
Orah shifted to move but froze and let out a gasp. Icy shots of pain collided into Roan like a blast and he rushed to the other side of the bed. Her eyes widened when he climbed onto the other side and made his way toward her.
“What are you doing?” she demanded. There was a layer of panic but also, to his amusement, intrigue under the pain while she stared at him.
“I’m going to help support you so you can sit up better. Don’t tell me you don’t need it either,” Roan replied.
Her eyes darted to Roan then back to Jes. Jes offered her a smile then motioned to Roan with his hand. With a sigh she grimaced while she shifted again, nodding her head. Roan moved across the bed until he was seated next to her. His eyes widened briefly at the purple under the sheer fabric of the night gown. Shaking his head, he shifted his gaze, not wanting her to think he was staring at her body.
Gently he wrapped one arm around her for support while she braced against the other and they worked together until she was in a sitting position. The only sound that filled the room were her quiet sobs. The burning cold of her pain was almost enough to overwhelm Roan, but he kept his hold on her. Ensuring she knew he had her.
By the time she was sitting, her face had a sheen of sweat across it. The bed shifted from Jes moving closer now with the small vial in his hands.
“Okay, Orah. I need you to promise that no matter how bad this tastes that you’ll finish it all,” Jes said sternly.
