He shrugged, his expression sheepish. “Yeah, well . . .” he trailed off and I nodded jerkily.
“Glad to see you’re up again and apparently healthy. Please put some clothes on, have Asha do the same, and I’ll do my routine checkup here in a minute.”
Professional. They’re patients.
“Hi, Fay,” Asha’s small voice called from behind Ben.
I turned to walk out the door.
“Hello, Asha. Please take a moment. I’ll be just outside the door, so knock once you’re dressed.”
I didn’t wait for an answer, just pulled open the door and closed it behind me.
I leaned back against it and blew out a heavy breath, my body sagging with the weight of what I just witnessed.
“I tried to tell you, Bondsmith,” a timid voice said. I cracked an eye open and tilted my head to see the woman who tried to stop me from entering the room.
I didn’t have the energy to correct her on the name.
“Yeah. Thanks. Sorry I was a bit rude.” I smiled wanly. “And I would’ve found out one way or another.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m not surprised.”
But that’s a lie. I’m surprised. I’m hurt. I’m sad. I feel lost and adrift.I came here for Ben and to learn. Now Ben is with Asha and my learning only brought me more pain. Plus, the only person who believed in me no longer does.
I laughed sardonically at the thought.
“He wasn’t for you,” she said, not unkindly.
“No, he wasn’t,” I whispered, shutting my eyes again. The woman took that as the end of the conversation and continued on her path down the hall. I cracked my neck and pushed my emotions down as far as I could.
I’d give them space later.
Maybe.
A soft knock on the door roused me and I turned and entered quickly. Asha and Ben stood together at the foot of the bed, both fully dressed, thankfully.
Ben looked chagrined, but not sorry. Asha, on the other hand, couldn’t even meet my eyes. Pink splotches dotted her cheeks as she fiddled withher hands.
“So, when did you both wake?” I pulled out the journal from where it was still tucked in my waistband and perched on the armchair near the fire. Knowing Ben’s penchant for sex on chairs, I didn’t want to sit fully on it.
Asha and Ben glanced at each other before Ben answered, “Yesterday morning. We woke at the same time.”
“And how did you feel?” I jotted everything down in my notebook to study later and cross-reference against the Bonded Mages and Vessels from Hestin.
“Great,” Ben said, and I raised my eyebrows. He was used to me prying for more information and better qualifiers.
He huffed a laugh. “Better than great. It’s like . . . it’s like I’m constantly rejuvenated. Like I took a dip in the Pool of the Gods. No aches, no pains. Hunger is less, mental acuity is higher. Sex drive is off the charts.”
I wrote it all down but grimaced at the last admission.
“The Sickness?”
“Gone,” he said, and I wrote furiously.
“Asha?” I asked, not looking directly at her.
“It’s the same for me, Bondsmith,” she whispered.
This time, I did raise my head. “It’s just, Fay, Asha.”
