Page 139 of Soul Forge

“Some of these are mine. She did have a nasty gash on her shin that’s now trying to bleed through my leathers, though.”

Elda’s cheeks coloured, but she nodded. “You’ll have to bathe without your trousers then.” He arched an eyebrow, and her blush darkened further in response. “I won’t see anything with some soap in the water.”

“If you’re sure.” He shrugged, watching her disappear into the small private washroom and select a bottle of thick purple liquid from the shelf above the little sink. She returned to kneel beside the bath and tipped some of the contents into it, turning thewater an opaque lilac. Bubbles began to form on the surface, filling the room with the scent of jasmine.

“I’m sure,” Elda asserted, dipping her hand into the water and relaxing when she couldn’t see her fingers wiggling beneath the surface. She averted her eyes so Sypher could undress and slip into the bath.

“You can look now,” he chuckled. She turned to find him sat beside her, back resting against the basin edge with his wings placed carefully over the side. “I never imagined when I met you that you’d run me a bath. I thought you’d sooner drown me in it.”

“I never imagined you’d spend as much time getting hurt as you do,” Elda retorted, reaching for a clean washcloth.

“I can clean myself, you know.”

“You have a hole in your shoulder, Sypher. How do you plan to reach this wing?” She flicked the feathers lightly, and the limb twitched before tapping her back gently.

“I think you just like washing me,” he teased, relaxing when the cloth touched the point where his back ended, and his wings started. Elda kept her lips pressed tightly together, not about to tell him that the rolling of muscles beneath his skin set her heart fluttering or that his scent of vetiver and leather made her mouth water.

She cleaned the soot from his charred feathers gently, careful not to harm the blistered skin beneath. When she finished one wing, she moved to the other, noticing Sypher didn’t protest. His eyes were closed, though he was still awake.

She finished the second wing, and her eyes fell on the exit wound beside his shoulder blade, where the tip of Lazarus had punctured right through him. She carefully moved his singed wing aside and touched the cloth to the ragged skin. His head tilted, but he didn’t stop her, nor did he open his eyes.

Her slow, gentle wipes continued until the wound was clean, and he didn’t object when she tentatively began to clean theblood from his upper arm. He even turned a little so she didn’t have to stretch.

“I think you like being bathed, you know,” she stated, daring to break the silence. His black and red eyes opened to watch her. “I think you’ve spent so long being afraid of being touched that you’ve forgotten what it feels like to be touched by someone who cares about you.”

“Perhaps. Although Julian cares about me, and I wouldn’t let him do this.” A crooked smile lifted the corner of his mouth. “A more accurate statement would be that I likeyoubathing me.” Elda’s blush burned so bright her skin almost glowed, making him chuckle. “Give me the cloth, maite.”

“Mayeet?” she echoed, handing him the washcloth.

He grinned. “Mah-ee-teh,” he sounded out for her. “It means love.”

“You said it to me on the cliff,” she remembered.

“Se maite nireh,” Sypher nodded.

“I didn’t say it back.”

His grin softened. “Nor did I expect you to. I needed to tell you what you meant to me. I don’t need to hear it back, especially if it isn’t what you feel.”

“You’re not upset that I didn’t say it?” she pressed hopefully. He paused in the middle of cleaning blood from his chest and turned to face her properly, cocking his head once more. The smile on his lips made her heart skip a beat.

“El, I never want you to lie to me to keep me happy. Always tell me the truth.” He reached out and touched her cheek, his skin warmed by the water. “If you ever say it back to me, it will be because you mean it.”

“And if I never say it?”

“I’m not some lovesick prince,” he chuckled, letting go of her face and returning to washing off the blood. “I can manage.”

“Technically, youarea prince.”

“Not a lovesick one, though. I won’t turn to dust if you don’t feel the same.”

“Do you want me to feel the same?” Her question came out more quietly than she’d intended. She expected Sypher not to answer, but he paused in thought, considering his response carefully.

“Yes and no,” he decided. “I never imagined anyone who knew the truth about me could trust me enough to choose me over the Compulsion. To be loved the same way I love another seems like more than I deserve.” He smiled softly. “But it would be nice to know I’m precious to you, the way you are to me.”

“Youareprecious to me,” she answered immediately, reaching out and winding her arms around his neck from behind, unmindful of the water soaking through her clothes. “I’m just not sure I really know what love is.”

“You’ll know when you’re ready,” he answered, leaning back against her. “I expect nothing from you, and this, right now, is more than I hoped for.”

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