“Don’t leave me!” she cries, her arm whipping out to grab my wrist.
Suddenly, she’s breathing so hard I’m afraid she’ll pass out, eyes dilated to black saucers, and tears drip down her face. I’m stunned by how fast her mood changes and immediately step one foot back in the tub so I can hold her.
“You need a dry towel,” I reason, keeping my voice low and soothing. “I’ll only be gone a second.”
“Please. Please don’t leave me,” she begs, like I’m about to abandon her in the darkest dungeon. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Please. Don’t leave me.”
“Okay, I won’t go,” I promise, running my hand down her wet hair, her cries feeling like sharp splinters dug deep into my heart. “I’ll stay here with you.”
“I’m sorry,” she hiccup sobs, wrapping her arms around my waist. Her towel staying on by the sheer fact that it’s painted on her from the water. “I can’t… I need… Please…”
“Shhh,” I murmur, pressing my lips to the top of her head. “Nothing to apologize for. You need me, I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
For several minutes, I hold her, reassuring her she’s safe and not alone, and when she’s calmed to soft sniffling, I call out, “Felix.”
He appears instantly in the middle of the bathroom, looking surprised and confused. “You can summon me? When the hell did that start?”
“I’ve always been able to. I’m the light nephilim responsible for your crossing,” I answer simply. “I’ve just never needed to until now.”
“Well in that case, what can I do for you my liege?” he asks with a sweeping bow, then his gaze takes in the clothes on the floor, me halfway in the tub with a towel around my waist, and Callie in my arms wrapped in a soaking wet towel. “Uhh…”
I sigh, “Whatever it is you’re thinking, it’s not that.”
Felix stands up straight and rubs at the back of his neck. “Yeah, sure, so…”
“Go get Nolan. Tell him we need a few big towels, a pair of sweats for me, and some pajamas for Callie. Something warm,” I instruct, because the steam is quickly clearing and the wet towel is growing cold.
“Yeah, okay,” he mutters then disappears.
I chafe her arms and back to keep her warm, and she winces, hissing with pain.The scratches on her back.
“Why aren’t you healing?” I question, more gently running my hands over her. So much of her life has been shaped by her ability to heal that I fear what will happen to her if she no longer can. And what it means that she can’t.
She shrugs, drooping into me. “I’m tired,” she mumbles.
“We’ll get you dried off and warm in bed soon,” I reply, deciding to step the rest of the way into the tub. I close the glass door behind me, hoping to trap what remaining steam is left.
The best way to get her warm would be to give her my towel, but right now my underwear is leaving nothing to the imagination and...
“I’m coming in,” Mildred announces, the words clipped harshly as she opens the door. “And what the bloody hell is going on?”
“Sorry,” Nolan and Felix apologize in unison, followed by Nolan adding, “She caught me going through Callie’s drawers. Turns out me trying to explain how I’m not a pervert didn’t really help.”
“Please tell me you got everything,” I groan, unsure how Mildred will react if she slides open the glass door.
“It’s all here on the counter,” Nolan assures.
I close my eyes and sigh, “Any chance you could give us some privacy?”
“Not a bloody chance in hell until I see my… until I know Callie is okay,” Mildred insists, a hard sole tapping on the riverstone floor.
Callie has been surprisingly quiet, and when I look down at her face, she looks half asleep. I jostle her a little and her eyes blink open.
“I’m so tired,” she mumbles, coming out as a sort of twisted plea.
“Soon you can sleep,” I promise, sliding the door open and braving whatever is on the other side.
Nolan looks amused. Felix looks uncomfortable. And Mildred doesn’t even seem to notice me at all past the body holding Callie up. Turns out being potentially naked wasn’t what she was worried about.
