Page 12 of Upon Buried Embers
I startle, but then the taste hits me. I don’t care if the meaty liquid is too hot, or if I get hit for it.
Grabbing the bowl with two hands, daring to remove it from his grip, I slurp the stew. There may be some vegetables in here too, I’m not sure. I’m too busy moaning while chewing a piece of meat, clutching the bowl tightly so no one can take it off me. Even as my fingers protest in pain.
They easily could if they tried, they’re much stronger.
“She’s like a stray dog,” Darcia says, and I come back to the now, blinking rapidly as my eyes lock with Rohan’s.
He’s crouched in front of me, elbows on his knees as he watches me.
My cheeks heat, and I slowly lower the bowl with trembling hands, my eyes lowering in shame, but I don’t let go.
Animals were treated better than me, they got fed well, had clean beds, and warm places to sleep… I should know, I had to take care of them while I slept on the floor in a back room. A sack to call my bed.
I look down at the little stew left in the bowl, and it jostles when I place it on the cave floor, suddenly not hungry anymore.
I shuffle back a little, wrapping my arms around myself, not looking up.
The Dragonbond has other ideas though.
He grabs the bowl, then grabs my arm, yanking me to my feet, ignoring my cries of pain as he moves us over to bed rolls on the ground further away from the group.
“Make sure you eat too, Rohan,” Darcia calls. “You need it more than her.”
“Enough, Darcia,” Kaldar barks. “Eat your food or go to sleep.”
I don’t even try to dislodge myself from Rohan’s harsh grip. What’s the point, the pain is making me a little numb now anyway, so I know it won’t be long until I won’t feel a thing, my mind taking me somewhere no one can reach.
Arriving at the furs, he places a hand on my head and applies pressure. I don’t hesitate to sit, and he makes a soft sound I haven’t heard before.
My hand lands on the fur and I still, my fingers slowly stroking through it. I’ve never felt anything so soft before.
A noise has me looking up to find Rohan studying me, and I yank my hand away, moving off the fur to not dirty it, worried I did something wrong to inflict his wrath.
“No, go back where I put you.” He nods to the fur and I slowly move back onto them. “Here,” he says, and I glance down at the bowl and the rest of the stew. I eye him, unsure. “I cannot have you dying on me when I haven’t even begun to get what I want from you.”
Nerves take over as he comes closer, and I flinch back, waiting for the sting from a hit, the rattling in my brain from a punch to the head.
But all I feel is fingers wiping my chin, and my eyes fly to his.
Rohan moves the back of two fingers to his mouth that are covered in stew and licks them clean. Once he’s done, he brings the bowl to my lips again, tipping it slightly until I feel the liquid.
“Drink.” My lips part on the low command, relishing the warm stew going to my throat with a soft sigh. “Good, Elf.”
Something unfurls through my body at that, and my eyes close.
No one has ever called me good before, or praised me.
He makes me drink until nothing is left, then pushes my shoulder until I’m lying back on the fur. He ties the rope around my waist, jostling me, and I prepare for the worst, but he lays down next to me, pulling a fur up over us and closes his eyes, not seeming worried that I may hurt him.
Not that I can.
I look at his axe lying next to him, the two blades on either side glinting in the lava’s light, and sigh.
I couldn’t even lift it if I tried.
I look at Rohan, arms behind his head. I’ll wait until his breathing evens out and then I’ll try to untie the rope and escape.
I’m silent enough that I know I can do it. I’ll just rest for a while.
