Page 84 of Upon Buried Embers
I leave him like that quietly to the bath, knowing it’s what he would ask me anyway, not wanting to be on the receiving end of his anger.
I strip and enter the tub, sighing at the warmth, my eyes drooping. My thighs ache, not used to sitting on the hard leather of Drogonah’s saddle. My knees are also a little red from hitting the ground of The Graveyard, but at least they aren’t bleeding.
I lift a hand to my cut on the side of my head and feel the thin line that’s left. Whatever Rohan put on them worked really well. The same can be said with my hands.
You wouldn’t know they were injured if you didn’t focus too hard. You can barely see the indents where my skin has healed.
Just how Master loved. Almost brand new every time someone got out of hand.
Which was always.
I let the heat soothe my body, turning on my side and wrapping an arm around myself. I can’t stop my eyes from closing for what feels like a moment, only to wake with a start, a cloth running over my arm. I freeze, blinking at Rohan as he glides soap across my skin, being particular on the bruises left by Karag’s hand.
“He’s not a nice man, Elf. Stay away from him.”
“Okay,” I say softly, moving an arm across my breasts that are already out of sight.
“If you’re ever near him and I’m not there, go the other way, even to Drogonah.” He won’t stop staring at the redness on my arm, eyes full of anger.
“Okay.”
“Say more than just okay!” He shouts, and I jolt, a whimper escaping as I back away from him as much as I can in the tub, my arms curling around myself. Eyes closed.
“Fuck,” he breathes after a tense moment, but I’m too scared to open my eyes.
I hear rustling, and then the splash of water before I’m suddenly lifted and placed onto a lap, a very naked lap, as he gets in the tub with me.
My eyes fly open, his gaze already upon me as he shushes my panicked noises. I squirm, my hands gripping the sides of the tub, trying to get out, not even bothering to cover myself.
“Still.” I do as he commands, his tone clearing through the panic, the water heating up. “Tell me what is on your mind, and not what you think I want to hear.”
“I…” I gulp, crossing my arms over my bare breasts.
“Anything, Little Whisperer, I need to hear it.” He slouches back against the tub, eyes heavy as he moves me up a little to rest on his toned stomach. Leaving his hands on my bony hips.
“I do not want to be near him,” I mumble in regard to Karag.
“Good, go on.”
“Drogonah scares me, but a dragon is better than a man.”
A pause.
“He is. Men are vile beasts in a human body. They’re not to be trusted.”
“Even you?”
“Even me.”
“Will you hurt me?”
He opens his eyes. “I would never raise a hand to you like that.”
Words are just words, they mean nothing.
“And I can trust that, after you’ve told menotto trust you?”
“Yes.”
