Page 178 of Upon Buried Embers
"Why didn’t you tell me?"
I look down. “I’m an elf, Rohan. No one cares what I go through.” He releases a harsh breath. “But I thought maybe you would care.”
“I do,” he says fiercely.
My eyes snap to his, seeing the intensity in them, the honesty. “I thought I would get in trouble.”
“Never.”
I nod. “I… I think I know that now. I did try to tell you at one point, but I couldn’t seem to release the words.” I bite my lip. “Come, you still have some blood on you, you need to bathe again.” He eyes me unwrapping the ribbons, and when the firstone falls to the floor, I lift his forearm to my lips, placing a soft kiss there.
He tenses, but when I grab the other arm and do the same, I look up as I place my mouth to the scars, and his eyes darken, the purple glowing and his nostrils flare.
“Come on.” Ignoring the fluttering in my stomach, I take his hand and guide him over to the tub. “She was the only one who hurt me like that. And Rhett… he just watched.”
He stills. “Promise me.”
“Promise what?”
“That was it, no one else. That if anything like this happens again you will come to me.”
I stroke his forearm, the bumps and dips of his scars under my fingertips. “I promise.” His shoulders instantly relax at that, then he begins stripping out of his clothes and getting into the tub, bare arms resting on the sides.
I grab the cloth and apply soap, waiting for the suds before I start washing his arm gently, making sure to pay extra attention to his scars.
“Can you feel it?” I ask, and he eyes his forearm.
“Yes, but it’s a little numb in places.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Only in The Games.”
I frown, but I don’t ask as I continue to wash him, showing him how thankful I am to have him in my corner.
“I uh, I have something to tell you…” I say after a while, gaining courage.
Just three seconds, I can do this.
“What is it?” he asks, eyes pinned to my face.
I wipe the cloth over his chest, trying to gain some courage, and then tell him about Sigrid.
He lays there, not moving, staring off into the distance, and then…
“Are you out of your mind?!” he roars, but I’m not frightened of his anger.
“She’s trustworthy.”
“She’s a Dragonbond!”
“Exactly!”
He growls, hands clenching on the rim of the tub. “She could tell the others.”
“She won’t.”
“And how are you so sure, hmm?”
