“He’ll be fine.” I said roughly “he’s Stryker. Matthew, your back’s bleeding. All your shirt is soaked through.”
“Fuck.”Jack cursed, whirling back round.
Matthew winced “it’s…I’m fine.”
“You need to get these checked.” Jack replied, running a hand through his hair anxiously “and I need to speak to Henry. Uh…” his head turned back towards me, who was watching the scene with furrowed brows and worry festering in my chest. I didn’t care about Matthew. Ididn’t. But the pallor of his skin and the grimace on his face and the trembling hand he had pressed against the wall would be enough to worry anyone.
“Get him to sit.” I heard my voice saying.
Two pairs of eyes snapped towards me; Jack, upon inspecting Matthew again, did as I had suggested. I felt mildly triumphant about that, since all he’d done was mock me up to now.
“Can you watch him if I step out for a moment?” Jack asked tentatively, rubbing his jaw. He looked conflicted.
My nose crinkled in what I hoped looked like disgust before I replied “yeah, sure.”
Jack nodded once, shared a look with Matthew, and sidestepped me to leave the room.
I was left with him. In silence.
"It hurt?" I asked after a long, awkward moment.
Matthew hardly glanced up at me "stings" he grunted.
"Hm."
More silence. I tapped my fingers against my leg.
"I don't bite, Danes." Matthew grunted "you can sit."
"I'm good." I mumbled. I ran a hand through my hair, pulling at my roots. All I’d wanted was my bed tonight, yet here I was. With Matthew Wells. Again.
“What was it like?” I asked gruffly, mainly because I felt awkward just standing there.
He raised an eyebrow “what was what like?”
“Getting dragged off by the Fleshbinder.”
“Oh.” He put on an expression of deep thought, brows furrowed exaggeratedly and nose scrunched. Ialmostlaughed. Almost.
“Let’s see…it attacked me out of nowhere, knocked me unconscious and dragged me into it’s dark, stinky den, hung me upside down with a load of literal rotting flesh underneath me, appeared out of nowhereagainwhilst I was trying to find my way out of it’s stupid den, scratched the shit out of me, and then I slammed it’s extremely ugly and admittedly terrifying-to-look-at head into the wall and managed to escape. What would you say it was like?”
Jesus.I gaped at him for a few long moments, a shudder going down my spine at the very thought of being put through such an ordeal, then settled on “interesting. Definitely interesting.”
He snorted “interesting.” He repeated, as if he were testing how it rolled off his tongue “not the word I would have chosen, but yeah. Interesting.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I said nothing at all.
"So." Matthew squinted up at me "we'll be back soon."
"Hm?" I blinked, gaze flickering back up to his face, meeting his hazel eyes.
"They'll burn it." Matthew mumbled "the Fleshbinder. Then we'll head back. They're talking about a transfer."
"Oh?"
"Not for long." he added quietly "me and Jack and a few other lads. They said Draelon's short on soldiers and having trouble with Stadal."
I shifted where I stood, shrugging edgily. I’d heard the same, about Stadal. I hadn't considered that we’d have to go up against them.
