Page 123 of Seven Oars
Pity.
Sadness.
A savage, untamed male, he lived in a world without light. He gave pain, but he expected nothing more in return. He wouldn’t regret anything.He wouldn’t ask for mercy.
Rosamma told herself she wasn’t going to do it.
I hate him. He’s my jailer.
She eyed the thick arm he kept braced against the wall.
A strong wrist. A hand with six fingers.
Like Phex.
She extended her hand, then retracted it.
Even at his weakest, he intimidated her. Even dying, he was powerful.
She reached out again and laid her fingers on his wrist. Her touch was light as a feather, barely a touch at all.
His Rix skin was cool, and he was not Phex.
She studied this scarred animal.
He didn’t respond to her touch. His slitted nostrils fluttered, sucking in hot, dry oxygen that did nothing to cool him.
Rosamma licked her lips and concentrated on releasing some of her energy into the place where they touched.
Nothing happened.
His nearness crushed her senses. Her mind screamed at her to let him be. One less pirate would be good for the world.
She repositioned her hand, trying to calm herself.
Think about Phex. He’s just like Phex.
But he wasn’t.
A uniquely his essence swirled around him like a dark, super-fine mist. It thrilled her more than Phex’s golden glow.
That realization horrified Rosamma.Her block worsened.
She gripped his wrist, but it didn’t help. She couldn’t summon a whisper of her healing energy.
“I can’t do it,” she said out loud.
It had never happened before.
Slowly, he pulled his wrist away. His lips moved, and she read the word he said:Go.
She dropped her hand.
It was for the best. He was, after all, a bad man.
Theoargroaned and screeched, briefly drowning out every other sound in the room. In this suspended moment, Rosamma could no longer hear Fincros breathe.
She lunged at him, wrapping both hands around his thick neck. Her palms picked up the erratic thrum of his multiple hearts. She felt the roughness of the burn scar that descended from his face down his throat. His soft, sweaty hair caressed the backs of her hands.
