AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t move!” I snap. “You’re hurt. Let me take a look at you first.”
I can see the laser-focused pinprick of her eyes, those brown ones that keep flashing in my mind, and it makes every one of my limbs tremble.
She smiles, still laying on the floor, and I’m not entirely sure why.
“It’s just a little bonk, darling,” she whispers.
My heart flutters at the use of the endearing word. Great, is she concussed?
“Don’t move,” I order once again.
I use my hands to crack the neck of the demon again, ensuring its demise, and let its dead body slide from the wall to the floor. Its spinal fluid and blood are slimy with a reeking stench of abandoned garbage.
I make a mental note to clean that up later, then retreat to Lana before she tries to rise once more.
I fall to my knees and cup her face in my dirty wet hands. She is still grinning, a smug one, too, her lips and face having lost their blush. Yet, I cannot contain my yearning to lay my mouth upon them, to breathe them back to life.
“Why are you smiling?” I mutter, moving her head delicately side-to-side, searching for injuries.
“You think of me as glass,” she whispers, somewhat out of it. “Fragile.”
I scoff at her, and I’m delighted to find nothing more than what she had initially informed me of, a hit to the head that will likely result in a small bruise.
I move one hand up to her forehead, cradling her neck with the other. I rub it with my thumb, wishing that, with all the powers I have, I could heal her instantly. Meanwhile, her eyes are on me, unwavering, watching concern wash through my multiple eyes.
“I don’t think of you that way,” I reply, running my fingers over the bump. “But it’s not every day that a demon tries to kill you.”
Lana chuckles a dark and malicious laugh that I know will sing through my memory for the rest of my life.
“How do you know what I do on weekends?” she jokes.
I find myself smiling at her. I can’t help it. It is as natural as a rising sun, as a moon descending below the horizon for a night’s rest.
“Let’s get you back to bed,” I whisper.
Lana is resistant and tries to push my shoulders away. I growl at her, just as stubborn as she is trying to be.
“I told you, it’s not that bad,” she mutters.
“Humor me then,” I snap back playfully.
Lana rolls her eyes, which makes me even harder.
She lets her arms drop from my shoulders, laying them limp on the ground. I scoop her up easily with all four of my arms, ignoring the iridescent mess left sparkling in the corner of the castle.
I know what I have done, yet I am not regretful. It is an odd feeling to accept one's fate, to sacrifice something that you once believed was your entire goal for existence. For whatever reason, being able to lift Lana like this and lay her gently back into bed means that my impending death will be worthwhile.
I stroke the bump starting to swell on her forehead, then brush aside her long locks of hair, so they rest on the pillow under her head. It is as fragrant and calming as the sea and just as enchanting.
“I’m getting you a cloth to clean your face and keep the swelling down,” I say firmly. “Don’t move.”
Lana’s eyes are closed, and she grins. Something tells me that no one has ever taken care of her in this way, and it astonishes me. Her bristling at it makes sense, too, which further asserts my hypothesis.
I go into her private bathroom, run cold water onto a cloth, and then ring it out so it doesn’t drip. I run warm water on another and test the temperature on my skin, which is resistant to most temperatures that would cause a human to scald and burn. It feels reasonable, and I return to Lana’s bedside.
She has pulled the covers up to her chin and looks at me peacefully. I don’t think she has a concussion, but I still don’t like the look of that angry bump, which is starting to glow in the color of deep purple. Which makes me think of the dead demon.
“Hold this on your forehead for a bit,” I say, gently placing the cloth on her. “Tell me if it's too cold for you, please.”
