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"Here," I said softly. "Eat." I tipped the mix into her palm, and she ate a couple of nuts before her hand dropped into her lap. The adrenaline was wearing off, I realised. I reached down, and picked up another, bringing it to her lips.
“I can feed myself,” she said, but her voice was weary.
“Just… I need to take care of you right now, ok? Please.” The admission made me feel horribly vulnerable. It seemed to be a theme for today. Sariel hesitated and then I felt her lips part, and I slipped the nut between them.
Piece by piece, I fed her the trail mix, and then one of the energy bars.
“Water?” she asked.
"Right here." I tilted the bottle to her lips, and she drank deeply.
"Rest now," I coaxed, once she'd eaten her fill. I pulled her closer, settling back against the cool stone wall. Her head found the crook of my shoulder, her breathing evening out as she relaxed against me.
"Alastor?" her voice was a mere breath, a ghostly thread in the still air.
"Shh, I'm here. Just rest."
"Thank you," she murmured.
Her breathing steadied as sleep claimed her, her body melting into mine with an unspoken trust that sent warmth flooding through me. I adjusted my hold as she drifted off, surprised at how quickly she succumbed to sleep.
I allowed myself a moment to watch her sleep, studying the curve of her face, the curling tendrils of dark hair that had escaped the tight bun she had the rest bound up into.
"Looks cosy."
I glanced up to see Theo leaning against the rocky wall. The corners of his mouth tilted in a knowing smile.
"Keep it down," I replied with a half-hearted grumble. "She needs the rest."
He moved forward softly, draping an unzipped sleeping bag over us both.
“I’m not going to wake her, Alastor. She needs all the rest she can get after what she went through back there. She saved me, and probably Carlisle too.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I know.”
“You get all protective, she’s going to hate that.”
I glared up at him. “I know that.”
Theo shrugged. “I’m just saying. I’m betting you have a strong need to wrap her up in cotton wool and bubble wrap and lock her away somewhere safe, cause I sure as hell do.”
I smiled. “You’re not far wrong. But it would just drive her away, and… I’m not sure I want to do that.”
"Never doubted that," he responded, his gaze softening as he looked at Sariel. "You're doing good, boss. She needs this... you both do."
“Since when were you the guidance counsellor of the group?” I asked, though my words lacked their usual bite.
"Theo, master of security and unsolicited relationship advice," he quipped with a wink before pushing off the wall.
"Go get some rest. We'll need your eyes sharp tomorrow," I muttered as he crossed the cave to where the others had laid out another unzipped sleeping bag to lie on.
“I’m turning the lights off now,” I said quietly. The others grunted in reply, already drifting, and I reached out, powering down the lantern and plunging the cave into darkness. If there were other hellions out there, light would only draw them to us, and considering the winged versions couldn’t get down here, my sense should be able to hear the normal ones coming half a mile off.
Silence settled once again, save for the distant drip of water and the occasional snore from the others. I turned my attention back to the woman in my arms, the steady rise and fall of her chest against mine a silent comfort in the darkness.
Theo's voice broke through the stillness, low and laced with amusement. "You're completely fucked, you know that, right?"
I didn't need to see his face to picture the smirk that would be there. "I'm acutely aware, thanks," I muttered, shifting Sariel's weight in my arms.
