Page 118 of Tortured Soul
“No.”
His eyes finally left mine to briefly look over my shoulder as he wiped the blade of his sword against the fabric of his trousers.
“What’re you doing down here?” he asked, taking a few careful steps toward me. “It’s dangerous.”
My jaw dropped. His face was covered in the disgusting dark substance and somehow, I wanted to reach out to touch him. My eyes drifted on the deep slices on his chest and side and my heart constricted in my chest.
“You really should get those looked at, it’s not—”
“No,” he said again, his gaze searching mine in a way that made my stomach flutter.
His hand cupped the side of my face, sliding over my jaw. He was dangerously close. What if he tried to hurt me? He could try and crush me with his size alone.
“He won’t,” the distant voice crooned in my head. “He’s ours, can’t you feel it? Ours.”
“You’re bleeding out,” I insisted, voice trembling but firm. “At least, you should clean up the wounds.”
One of his eyebrows lifted in surprise and I forced myself to hold my ground. To not lean into his touch.
“There’s a source farther down the cave.” I pointed behind him. “It’ll be cleaner than the sea, and it’ll help prevent infections from spreading.”
“What if the beast had some friends waiting for it down there?” the man asked, his voice now playful. “Are you willing to cross paths with more Hellhounds?”
Hellhounds.
Father had mentioned that some had been spotted recently, and worried that the Astral’s spell keeping Hellrisers and Divines mostly confined to their own worlds was weakening.
But here? In the cave? The water would kill any being who didn’t have human or Astral blood if they drank it.
“If there were any, we’d know,” I answered, lifting my head higher and turning it to the side, making his hand fall off my face. I walked past him to step deeper into the cavern. “The water is just behind this crease in the corner.”
Surprisingly, he followed me with a chuckle, dropping his sword on the floor with a loud clunk.
For a second, I was worried he wouldn't be able to go through the narrow opening, but he only struggled for a couple of seconds before joining me on the other side, freezing at the sight before him.
“What is—” He stopped himself, taking a careful step forward until he was standing right next to me. “How?”
The milky blue water glowed like trapped stardust, illuminating the small cavern walls.
“Come on,” I said, grabbing his arm, not thinking about how his bicep felt under my hand. He followed me without a word, looking around us with admiring eyes. “Sit.”
He frowned at me then.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, but did not pull his arm away from my grasp.
“I’m going to clean the wounds.”
He scoffed again as I sat down, pulling him with me. With a grunt, he obliged.
“I can do that myself.”
“I’m not allowed to bring people here and leave them unsupervised,” I said.I want to do it. I want to help you. I want to keep touching you, I thought.
What was happening to me?
With a long exhale, he pulled the shredded shirt over his head, displaying all the wounds. It stopped bleeding, but the drying blood was covered in the black slime.
“You’re not bleeding anymore,” I mused, inspecting the long slashes on his side.
