Page 11 of A Balm of Healing
During the dark hours of night, the pain drenched him in his own perspiration. He threw off his shirt and tried to escape the confines of his blanket as he tossed back and forth, only for drowsiness to latch onto him and drag him underneath unforgiving waves. He transitioned between the sweats and the chills while fighting against the terrible pain consuming his legs.
When he woke again, the light of morning seeped through the window and lit up the entire bedroom. He blinked sluggishly, fighting against the heaviness in his head as he tried to make sense of his disorienting surroundings.
He lay beneath several thick blankets he didn’t remember placing there before. A soft pillow cushioned his head, with several more pillows resting beneath his legs. Pain still coursed through them, but it was more of an intense ache rather than a fiery agony.
He stared at the ceiling for far too long as he tried to gather the courage to attempt to move his legs. If he was unable to, he feared the crushing disappointment. But if he managed the feat…
Taking a deep breath, he curled his toes. On both feet. At the same time.
Emotion caught in his throat, his eyes misting over with happiness. When was the last time he could move his legs at all, let alone his toes?
Something bright caught his attention from the corner of his eye, and he turned his head to find a waterless vase filled with a bouquet of pink and white paper flowers. His lips parted in surprise at the crisp folds and the skillful talent, and his heart warmed when he realized who they were from.
Gwen…
Where was his chair?
He located it near the foot of the bed, and he frowned at just how far away it was from his immediate grasp. Perhaps he should have continued to lay in bed, but he couldn’t bear staying still for too long, even if only half of his body worked.
Gritting his teeth, he braced against the pain flaring up his legs as he attempted to maneuver himself closer to his chair. His feet protested. His legs screamed. Even his hip cautioned against the movement.
When the feat proved too difficult, he gave up and tried to lay back down on the bed but missed his mark. His body slipped off the edge, and with the foreignness of feeling, of movement in his lower extremities, he was taken off guard by the unfamiliar sensation and ended up crashing to the floor, unable to catch himself properly.
The vase tumbled after him, and although the glass didn’t break, the paper flowers spilled all over his body and onto the floor beside him.
He groaned, and moments later, Gweneth rushed into the room, eyes glancing about until they rested on him where he pushed himself to sitting on the floor. Pink tinged her cheeks when she glanced from his eyes to his bare torso, her gaze lingering for several seconds. A part of him felt embarrassed for getting caught without a shirt. Another part of him felt relieved that he’d kept up with his exercises to make sure his top half remained strong even when his lower half withered in weakness.
“Did you try to walk?” she asked in a tight tone as she knelt beside him and straightened his legs out in front of him.
He shook his head. “I tried to reach my chair.”
“It isn’t near you for a reason, Emeric. You are not quite ready to move about.”
“I can’t keep lying in bed. It’s agonizing.”
“Because of the pain?” Her hands gently felt up his leg as if looking for broken bones or damage from the fall.
“Well, that, too. But staying down is torture. I need to be up and about. I need to be moving.”
Gweneth’s mouth turned upward as she released a breathy laugh. “Kin spirits, you and I. I’ve never really had a home. I enjoy traveling too much, going from one adventure to the next.”
A spark of pain shot up his leg when she touched his knee, but a cooling relief soon chased away the discomfort as her magic flitted through the pained area. “I envy you. Life has not afforded me such adventure.”
“You want to travel?”
“I’ve always wanted to explore the world. There has to be more out there than forest and more forest.”
Her hands paused on his leg as she glanced up and met his eye. For a moment, his nostrils flared as he caught her flowery scent, and he swallowed when he realized he enjoyed it quite a bit.
When her gaze dipped again to his chest, a sense of satisfaction burned through him. Although he hadn’t been on the marriage market in a very long time, he thrilled in the recognition that she felt at least a degree of attraction for him as he did for her.
“You wouldn’t mind if you had to move a lot?” she asked almost distractedly as she returned her administrations to his legs. “Wouldn’t you want a permanent home? What about your family?”
True, if he traveled—hypothetically—then seeing Bastien, Nyana, or his grandchildren would be more difficult. But… “I love my family. But if I got the chance to live my life, I would take it in a heartbeat.”
The sweet floral aroma wafting off her skin moved closer as her touch shifted to his upper thighs. He clenched his fists where they rested against the plush rug beneath him to keep from reaching out to her.
“What do you do, Emeric?” she asked, glancing briefly at him and returning her attention to his legs. “Or, what did you do as the chieftain? I’ve never asked you before.”
