Seraphina leaned into him. Her mouth pressed to his. It only lasted a moment before he pulled back.
“What did they do to you? Tell me. So much blood. Why aren’t you saying anything?”
She grasped his hand and guided his fingers into her mouth. There, he discovered most of her tongue was gone.
“How?”
She kissed his palm.
Rune recoiled from her, his chest rising and falling as he breathed heavily, working himself into a frenzy. His hands were covered in her blood.
“I will end them all,” he growled. “I don’t care if they’re in the service of God. What they did was barbaric.”
Seraphina clung to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face into his chest, begging him wordlessly not to leave her. She shook her head over and over, hoping he’d understand. Not being able to talk to him hurt more than anything. She’d waited so long for the chance to say that she was sorry, that abandoning him had been the worst mistake of her life. Here they were now, she unable to speak, he unable to see. How cruel fate could be. Would they ever be together and whole?
“You don’t want me to leave,” he said. “I won’t, then. I won’t. I promise.”
He held her, his warmth enveloping her. They stayed like that until her grip around him loosened, and he said he would help her wash.
“You’re cold, there’s so much blood…”
He stumbled over a stool as he tried to reach the hearth. Seraphina placed a hand on his arm to calm him down. He wasn’t used to doing these things blind.
“You shouldn’t do everything,” he said. “I should be able to help you.”
She smiled and caressed his cheek.
“No, I’m useless.”
Seraphina lifted herself onto her toes and kissed him again, even if it meant he was forced to taste more of her blood. He was right; she needed to wash. There was water in one pot already, and she filled a second one from a bucket. She looked around the cottage and saw there was a bedroom at the back. The blood stains on the walls and ceiling didn’t escape her. A chill ran upher spine. What had happened here? She saw the unmade bed and the nest of blankets on the floor.
Rune reached for her hand.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” he said. “I don’t deserve you, yet I can’t seem to stop touching you.” He lifted her hands to his lips and kissed them, then turned them over and pressed his nose to the inside of her wrists. “If you want me to stop, hit me. Don’t be subtle, just slap me over the face.”
She chuckled and reached up to nuzzle his chin. That earned her a smile. She looked at him in wonder, barely believing that this was the man she’d shared a prison cell with, the man who’d explored her body and seen her at her most vulnerable. Her hands knew him; her eyes were now learning him. She drank him in, hating that he couldn’t see the awe on her face, the adoration in her expression. She threw her arms around his neck, and he lifted her up until their foreheads pressed together.
Seraphina wanted to tell him she and Idris had a pair of eyes for him. They were green and had once belonged to a boy named Axel. She looked at Rune and tried to imagine what it would be like to stare into green irises. It wasn’t a bad color, rather rare, but would it suit him? It didn’t matter. He’d blinded himself for her and deserved to see again.
What if with his new eyes, Rune would look like a stranger to her? No. He’d never be a stranger. Ideally, Seraphina thought, she’d look into the eyes of someone she loved. Matteo’s eyes? Who knew where they were…
The water was ready, and Rune carried it to the tub in the corner. Forgoing all sense of propriety, Seraphina removed her clothes and stepped into the tub, groaning at how good it felt. She washed her face and her neck, scrubbing her skin with soap until it was pink and raw. She dipped her head back, into the water, and washed her long, blond hair.
Rune waited at a respectable distance. A blush settled high on his cheeks. Seraphina allowed herself to simply stare at him for a while, until he tilted his head and frowned, apparently feeling that he was being watched. She wanted to call him to her.
“Mmm…” She reached out her hand. He didn’t react, so she splashed him with water.
Rune gasped, an expression of confusion on his face. Seraphina splashed him again.
“Do you need me?” he asked as he moved closer.
Oh God, how she needed him! When he was within arm’s reach, she gripped the front of his shirt and pulled him forward. He braced himself on the edge of the wooden tub. She wrapped her arms around his neck and glued herself to him, her wet skin soaking his shirt. His hands came around her, his fingers trembling as they discovered bare skin.
“I’ve thought about you,” he whispered in her damp hair. “All this time. Day and night, only you.”
She climbed him, and he gathered her in his arms and carried her to the bed, where he deposited her on top of the covers.
“I don’t know where the towels are,” he said.
