Page 53 of Tales of a Monstrous Heart
I kissed her damp forehead, brushing her wild curls back. ‘It’s not your fault. Although my hair is mighty pleased you’re back.’
The remark made her laugh quietly before she winced, her hand finding my own where it rested at the back of her head. As if she could hold onto mortal form by anchoring herself to me.
‘Her breathing is too erratic,’ Emrys commented as he pressed his fingers against her pulse on her other wrist, where her hand gripped the sheets in a white-knuckled hold.
The door flew open and William entered with a pot of steaming water and a stack of towels balanced on his shoulder, an extra healing pack dangling precariously from his fingers.
‘Put it on the side here, William.’ Emrys moved around the bed as Alma continued to shift unwillingly.
Once relived of the tray, William went to stand awkwardly in the corner, eyes wide with concern as Alma continued to writhe on the bed.
I gently untangled myself from her and moved to my desk, opening my bag. I pulled the cursed root out of its container, measuring the right amount and putting it in the pot to brew. Then I added the rest of the concoction, releasing a horridly sweet smell into the room as I carried the pot towards the bed.
I was startled to see Emrys had pressed a cold cloth to Alma’s forehead, and she was holding onto his wrist as if it was me, her eyes closed tightly as she dragged in deep breaths. He seemed unbothered by the razor-sharp claws that would emerge sporadically from her fingertips.
Then I realised where his gaze was focused: the skin of her wrists. Heavily scarred skin, still pink despite the years that had passed. Deep gouges and marks from chains left to chafe too long.
Marks I’d forgotten about because we had other dangers to fret over than where she’d come from. How the menagerie had chained her so she didn’t escape and how desperatelyshe’d struggled against those chains … leaving reminders she could never forget.
Emrys turned to see me, his eyes dark, knowing, and yet his face giving nothing away.
I couldn’t contemplate the consequences of revealing those truths, not now. I quickly poured the concoction into a cup and brought it to Alma’s lips.
‘Alma, drink this and we’ll get you settled,’ I ordered softly, her trembling so great she spilled most of it, but I got her to swallow a healthy amount. Emrys was waiting to take the empty cup from my hands as another tremor moved through her.
‘It hurts,’ she whispered, tears running down her cheeks as she hiccupped and fought for breath.
‘It’s all right,’ I soothed, holding onto her, pressing my palms against her burning cheeks, taking up the icy cloth Emrys handed me. He’d pressed an enchantment into the fabric to keep it cold.
Her hands formed claws, movements erratic as I felt the tearing of my sleeve, but I didn’t let her go as she cried out from the pain of it. I pulled her closer, knowing she could hurt me, but I didn’t care.
‘You’re safe with me,’ I whispered into her ear as her back bowed. Holding her tighter so she knew I wouldn’t let her go. I wouldn’t leave her.
A promise made on a cold winter’s night between two lost girls who needed each other: that I wouldn’t leave her behind. Not then. Not now.
I closed my eyes, seeing her in my memory, skinny and shivering in the corner of the room, where the guard had dumped her. Wounds on her wrist bleeding with infection, feet blue with the cold as I extended my hand to her. She’dbeen fearful, with pain in her eyes and the expectance of cruelty, and I’d never wished to banish a demon more.
With trembling fingers she’d taken my hand, her grip weak and frail. Promising to take care of her right there, in the middle of that freezing dormitory in a cruel place neither of us should have been. Yet, after all this time, the guilt remained that I still couldn’t save her from herself.
‘Kat,’ Emrys called softly, making me open my eyes to see how closely he watched me. How deeply concern darkened his gaze.
‘She’s fine.’ The words barely a whisper as Alma grew heavier in my arms as the mixture took hold.
Emrys waited a moment, to be sure. Then he nodded.
‘Come William, let’s give them some privacy.’
I almost sagged in relief, feeling Alma’s calmer breath against the curve of my neck as I heard the door click shut with their departure.
‘I wish I was stronger,’ she barely murmured, her words slurred with tiredness. The small spasms of her muscles lessened and her breaths deepened as the colour crept back into her cheeks. The cursed root was doing its job.
‘You’re the strongest person I know.’ I wished more than anything she believed that truth.
‘I … I hope Blackthorn isn’t too angry,’ she whispered as I pressed her gently back into the pillows, watching the twitch of her nose and restless movement of her eyes behind her closed lids.
‘He can deal with me if he is,’ I reasoned as I tucked her in, but she was already asleep. I made the fire roar in the hearth with he barest summoning so the heat of it brushed over her.
Then I retreated to the edge of the bed and let my head fall into my hands, exhausted with all the things I couldn’t change.
