It was hard going, and was starting to wear on her even though she knew it was for her sake.
The tension about his jaw eased as he rounded the pavilion and took a seat beside her.
His injuries had disappeared after she’d helped him shift back and forth the day of the bomb blast, but she’d been stunned to realize that he and Ryan, as well as all the others who’d survived the explosion—fourteen out of twenty guards—had to deal with the pain of their wounds.
It was bizarre to her.Like phantom pains an amputee experienced was the only way she could reason it out in her head.
Trip had been badly burned, and the explosion had torn at his belly, over his side and down to his leg; a great big gash that had oozed blood.
The wound was gone.There was no scar.And yet, he acted as though it were fresh.
Even now, a week later, he was cautious as he took a seat on the step beside her.She nuzzled up against him; memories of his laying so still before her, and the urgency in which she’d had to shift to save his life, making her soften up and remember what mattered.
It was fucked up that it took fear of loss to get her out of her head, but hell, she’d accept it.
He let out a rumble of pleasure at her nuzzling and lifted an arm to curl about her shoulders.
She wasn’t unaware of his wince as he did so and had to stifle a sigh at the sight.
“When will you feel better?”El asked quietly, hating to see him suffering, even if on the outside he seemed fine.
“A few more days.We’re healed instantly, but the pain stays—just not as long as it would in a human.”
“So, if a human would suffer two weeks, you’d suffer one?”
“Something like that.”
She shook her head.“That’s stupid.”
He snorted.“It’s not actually.It keeps our heads attached to our bodies.Means we don’t totally lack caution, you know?”
“Yeah, I guess that does make sense.Pain limits the crazy shit we’d do, doesn’t it?”
She knew about people who were born unable to feel pain.They often died early on because they weren’t limited by their body so weren’t scared by where even angels feared to tread.
“The Mother’s wisdom.But I’ll be better soon, I promise.”He pressed a kiss to her temple.
“I’m glad.I hate seeing you like this.”She shivered, meaning the words—she’d almost lost him.
It was a thought that wouldn’t stop reverberating around inside her head.It was why, even though she was mad at being followed, she was so quick to forgive.
At the forefront of her mind was the fact they were in danger, and that she could lose one or even all of them.
She bit her lip, and asked, “How long do we live?”
He tensed a little.“It depends.”
“On what?”
“The usual.If we challenge someone or not.If we’re in an accident or are threatened.Just like humans, we don’t live forever.”
“No, but we live longer.How much longer are we able to survive?”
“The Eldest among us are around three hundred.Some have survived into their four hundredth year, but they’re very rare and they’re very frail.”
“Wow, four hundred years?”She gawked at him.“They could have sailed over with the first settlers.”
He quirked his lips.“Yeah.It’s a distinct possibility.Or been around in Queen Elizabeth the First’s court.”His shoulders wriggled.“It’s not as grand as it seems.We don’t want to live that long; after two hundred and fifty, it’s no longer considered a boon.”
