Page 100 of To No End

“Don’t you remember the blast?”

My head was pounding again as I palmed my forehead, trying to stave off the headache.

I tried to think back to when we were surrounded on the floor of the ballroom with blood pooled all around me, but all I could remember is blacking out in his arms and the vague feeling of wind rushing past me, then waking up here. Everything else was hazy and unclear.

“What blast?” I asked Varro, unable to remember what he was referring to.

Saryn was suddenly at my other side. “Cress, let’s have Varro take you to the healing pools. Get some rest, and tomorrow you and I can discuss your abilities.”

What abilities? That’s when I looked around the room at the rest of my team, noticing the hints of hesitation and fear in their expressions. Theory looked at me with accusing curiosity.

The healing waters sounded lovely. I turned to look up at Varro, giving him my arm as I didn’t trust myself to walk the entire way down on my own. I didn’t bother to look back at Trace as I left the room. Saryn and Theory can praise him all they want for securing the mission, but this went deeper—this was personal. This was betrayal.

Varro escorted me the entire way in silence, which I was content with because, honestly, I didn’t know what to say. My head and body ached. I was trying diligently to remember more about everything that had transpired, but my mind was blank. I remembered stabbing Nix; I remembered Varro and I being surrounded and that traitor abandoning us. I remembered the piercing feeling of the arrow…but then nothing much after that.

When we got into the room, I tried to lift my arm and immediately winced at the pain. Nori had stopped the bleeding and mended the wound, but it still felt incredibly sore.

Fear lingered heavy in my heart. What if I wouldn’t be able to fly again? I gasped at the thought, but then Varro grabbed my chin and lifted it toward him. “You will fly again. I promise.”

I pulled my chin away. “Stay out of my head,” I retorted in annoyance. I was too tired to maintain my mental shields.

Nori or Gia must have removed the dress that ruined it all and put me in looser clothing while Nori worked on repairing me. I tried again to lift my shirt, but felt the sharp pang again.

“Let me help you,” Varro commanded.

I was too sore to argue when he stepped behind me and gently began to tear away at the fabric, ever so slowly as to not jar my shoulder.

Well, that was one way to undress without lifting my arm. I saw the bloody fabric fall to the floor, and Varro remained close behind me. I could feel the heat radiating off his body, unsure if I wanted it to be from him or just the steam room.

But then he gently ran a finger down the fresh scar along my shoulder blade. “The waters should take care of this, though battle wounds look good on you.”

My mouth was dry, unable to come up with some quippy reply. I swallowed the awkward lump in my throat, surprised by both his compliment and the fact that he’d left me exposed in barely-there undergarments.

He gently grabbed my shoulders, turning me to face him, and bent down to his knees. He placed his hands on my hips at the top of my pants. Gently, he began to slide them down my legs. Slower than necessary, and with fingertips grazing my skin.

His head hung low, avoiding my gaze but allowing him to drink in the length of my legs. They were still covered in dried blood from my injury; it must have seeped through the dress. I wanted to ask him what he was doing, should have stepped away, but I just stood there still and nervous, unsure of what washappening. I would have apologized for the blood, but silence enveloped us and there was no need to speak.

He stood before me, casually removing his shirt and tossing it to the floor beside my bloodied garments. He grabbed my hand and carefully led me down the steps into the pool. Once the warmth of the water hit me, I felt like I could breathe again for the first time since I awoke on that table. I inhaled the steam, letting its warmth fill my lungs.

I went to pull my hand away from Varro’s grasp. “I’m fine now.”

But he did not release me and just kept walking me farther into the cavernous pool. Once I was sitting on the ledge across from him, he finally dropped my hand and took his usual spot, perched on the other side.

He sank into the waters, rolling and relaxing his shoulders, but still keeping his gaze fixated on me.

“Why did you stay with me?” I asked, itching to know the answer.

Why was it so easy for him to stay, when Trace had left me behind, seemingly with no issue? He could have died.

“You saved Nori. Do you not deserve the same?”

That was different. Varro put himself in the path of imminent danger.

“I suppose I owe you a blood debt,” I said discouraged, knowing that maybe I wouldn’t be as brave if the situation was reversed.

Now that my headache had subsided a bit, I could feel that nuisance of a hum itching at my skin again. I hadn’t mentioned it to anyone until now.

“Do you ever experience a weird sensation, sort of like the feeling of humming against your skin? Sometimes it itches and prickles, occasionally it’s more like a tickle.”

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