Page 42 of Upon Buried Embers
“Are you trying to make me as bald as Calian?” he splutters around the apple.
Oops. I must have pulled too tight.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“Try again.” He rubs his head.
I do. I try so many times, redoing each one I manage, only pausing when Rohan tells me to eat something. My fingers are cramping, my clothes are just slightly damp now, but finally… as my eyelids begin to droop, I make a braid.
One single braid.
It’s a little wonky, messy even, but I made it, even tied it off with a little strip of leather.
I beam at my work, feeling a sense of accomplishment.
Rohan grabs my wrist and makes a purring sound. My eyes meet his, my smile wide until I realize what I’m doing, and make my face blank.
I can’t show I liked doing it. He’ll take it away from me.
“Does my hair fascinate you, Elf?” His murmur is softer… deeper.
I look at my hand, still on the braid and I realize it’s twined around my finger.
My cheeks heat as I let it go.
I was playing with the Dragonbond’s hair.
I peek at him as he inspects the braid. “A child could have done better.” His words scold me, but to my surprise, he doesn’t takethe braid out, he just tucks it under another one. “Don’t mention this to anyone.”
“I won’t.”
“Understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” How many times do I have to agree?
He looks at my hair and sighs. “We need to braid yours. So youmustlearn. Our hair is important to us; however, we can’t have it loose. It will get in the way when we need to fight.”
When, not if.
I nod, resisting the urge to touch my own hair, feeling self-conscious. I don’t know how to take care of my hair, having it down all the time keeps my ears hidden, which is for the best. But if Rohan wants my hair braided…
“Time for sleep.”
Rohan stands and strips down until he’s just in his pants, and I stand there awkwardly trying not to look at his bare skin, until he throws a tunic at me.
There’s a buzzing inside of me, one I’m unfamiliar with, but it heightens when I look at Rohan, so it’s best to avoid it.
I quickly pull the clean, dry tunic on, Rohan once again paying no attention to my nakedness, thank the Gods.
Rohan gestures to the fur bed.
I walk toward it, and he grabs the rope, tying it to his wrist this time before taking me down with a yelp.
I don’t breathe properly, aware of every move I make as he places me half beneath him like before.
