Page 18 of Awariye

CHAPTERELEVEN

AWARIYE

Iblinked awake, on my side in the bed, only to feel my spirit lifting from my body a bit—I saw myself lying there. It had only been a couple of weeks, but already I had more color to my skin and more healthy life to my cheeks. My hair was mussed and sweaty, but otherwise I looked to be doing all right.

Wren slept right next to me, and he looked so cute I concentrated and tried to pull myself back down into my body. There he lay in front of me, each breath puffing his bangs from his face. A faint golden light ran over his arms and across our fingers where we connected, then up my forearms to cascade over me. Leave it to Wren to still find a way to nurture me back to health even though his lover had begged him not to, by coming to nap with me during the day while Ulbrecht was out training with his fighters.

But then I noticed someonewashere with us, sitting up in the bed right behind Wren. Pulling away and up, I found the king watching Wren snooze, a hand on Wren's shoulder and love in his eyes.

The door opened and Ulbrecht glanced up, though he continued petting Wren’s hair. "Igor."

"Sir."

"Come to check on Awariye?"

I zipped back into my body skittishly, even though neither of them could see me floating. Having Igor nearby meant I might get some cuddles and I wanted to feel them.

They fell silent as Igor came to stand by Ulbrecht next to the bed, from the sound of it.

The king spoke very softly. "Wren is so glad to have Awariye. I’ve been worried that Wren didn’t want to spend the winter here and would rather go back to the monastery."

Wren had surely told Ulbrecht that Diana Monastery usually wouldn't take in her prior students for very long unless they could pay their own boarding. They trained you as a youngster, then sent you out into the world, and only those with further training such as future instructors or doctors stayed.

Igor's steps circled the bed and the mattress dipped, jostling us enough I blinked my eyes to see Wren through my eyelashes.

Ulbrecht spoke again. "He looks much better these days. I'm sure we could find another place for you to sleep so you'd have your own bed, Igor. You need to heal that shoulder. Don't feel pressured to keep sharing your life force with him now that he's going to pull through."

My heart leapt into my throat and I barely stopped the shout of protest that made it all the way to the back of my teeth.

"Kein Problem," Igor assured the king. "I'll go when Awariye kicks me out."

I lurched awake, unable to let that stand. But just as I wrenched my eyes open, I got to see Ulbrecht lift Wren from the bed and settle his lover in his arms. The expression Ulbrecht gave to Wren, of pure contentment and love, was so honest and genuine it struck me silent.

Then Ulbrecht's brown eyes found mine—I'd unconsciously reached for Wren—and the king smiled and said softly, "You kick Igor out when you're tired of him, okay?"

"No—I mean, yes, sir, thank you."

He nodded, then carried Wren from the room.

Now awake, I rolled onto my back to find Igor on his side. Stretched out on the bed with his chin in his hand, elbow propped on the blanket, his eyes held laughter as he scanned me, looking for my thoughts.

"Stay," I ordered, then reached out and cupped his cheek. "Please stay, if you want to."

"I want to," he answered, and the low rumble in his voice thrilled me. I had just enough energy for my body to start running away with ideas. If I continued to get my life force replenished and my health back, it was going to take more self-control than I was capable of to keep from pouncing on this gorgeous man.

Igor's smile was soft, private. He sifted his fingertips through my floppy hair, pushing it back from my forehead. It seemed a favorite thing of his to do.

"I've started dreaming I'm holding you. You said you do that as well, but I’m not sure you remember all our conversations due to the medicine," Igor said with some humor, self-deprecating.

Igor dreaming of holding me sounded like the best thing in the world.

"Do you kiss my hair sometimes," I asked, "or did I dream that?"

His blue-grey eyes widened, and it took him a moment to recover. "I did, a few times. And then I scolded myself for kissing you when you didn't know it."

Oh, but I knew, and I wanted him to do it more.

"Will you kiss me again?" I asked before shyness could stop me.