He didn’t argue with me; he knew he would lose.
I sheathed my daggers on me, then my stakes, and grabbed my go bag, which had a little bit of everything in it because I never knew what I might face out there.
I walked out of the room, brushing past Nox as he stared daggers at me.
“Serina…” he trailed off.
“No. You can either come with me or don’t. I’m going,” I said over my shoulder as I walked down the stairs toward the front door.
“Serina, you’re—” Nox started but didn’t get to finish because when I opened the front door, Thorne was standing there as if he was about to walk in.
He seemed, off—distant. His normally kind eyes now carried a heavy sadness behind them that sent a pang of pain through my chest.
“Thorne…” I whispered as I reached for him, and it was as if my touch brought him out of whatever trance he was in. I gripped his hand and pulled him into the house for a hug.
He wasfreezing. I knew the cold didn’t bother them, but he was ice-cold, and I hated it in contrast to his typically warm touch.
Nox doesn’t say anything; they shared a look, and I felt like they both knew something that I didn’t, but I pushed that thought aside because Thorne seemed so out of it. His clothes were dirty, his knuckles bruised and bleeding as if he’d been fighting for hours. He looked sotired.
I pulled him along behind me like a puppy on a leash, and Nox just followed us with his gaze as Thorne and I went up the stairs.
“I’ll be in the garage if you need me,” Nox chimed, and without another word he left us. Thorne followed me easily as I opened the door to his room and pulled him inside.
“Thorne… what happened? Are you okay?” I pressed.
He nodded his head, letting me know he was fine before he cleared his throat.
“I’d rather not talk about it,” he said, and I nodded, both of us sharing an understanding. I didn’t know what to do, but as I looked around the room and then back over at him, I did the only thing I could think of.
Take care of him.
“Sit down,” I murmured as I head over to the bathroom and ran him a hot shower.
He followed me in there a few minutes later, and I helped him undress, admiring all the hard lines and taut muscles as I did. When the pleased sigh left him as he got under the searing hot water, I knew he had really needed it.
I got in the shower with him still fully clothed.
“Serina, you don’t—” he stammered.
“Shhh, I know, I want to,” I whispered before I turned him around and washed his back, then the rest of his body and his hair, before I moved to paying extra attention to his knuckles.
They were healing, but slowly. while he stood under the hot water, he watched me with eyes filled with so much emotion I had to swallow past the lump forming in my throat.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me under the stream with him in a hug so tight, I did the best I could to match his strength. It was one of those hugs that you could tell was needed. The ones you never wanted to end.
Eventually, he let go, kissing my lips softly before I stepped out of the shower to dry off and change.
I laid in his bed and waited for him with anticipation. When the water stopped, he dried off and walked over to the bed, still naked, and crawled into bed with me. He didn’t say anything; I sat up a little more in the bed and moved his head to lay on my chest as I ran my fingers through his silky, damp hair.
He wrapped his arms around me instinctively, and I stayed there. Long after his breaths were slow and even with sleep.
I never stopped moving my fingers through his hair until even my arm felt weighed down from how tired I had become. I held onto him, letting the worry that had been twisting inside all day ease away as I fell into a slumbering darkness.
25
Serina
IwokebeforeThorneand put on my now dry hunting clothes. Nox must have dried them for me after what happened last night.
