Before I could say or ask anything more, before I could thank her profusely, she shooed us out of her shoppe. Rosie tried to say goodbye, but the door shut before she could manage the words.
“Well! That worked out better than I thought!” Rosie turned toward Hesper and me, her eyes alight. “Tea?”
“No,” I said too quickly.
“Oh.” Rosie looked crestfallen.
“I just have a lot of work to do.” I smiled at her, forcing any hope I could muster into my eyes. “We’ll do tea another time!”
“When?” she asked.
“Soon.” And then I turned and walked away, my heart shrieking at leaving her after all she did to help me today. But there was no other choice. I must keep things in balance for my plan to work. Spending time with Rosie, I’d only manage to focus on how much I’d miss her when I left. My heart was already too oversaturated with grief, there was no sense in adding to the pain.
Hesper and I walked silently back home. It wasn’t uncomfortable, though. I didn’t want to do much talking, and Hesper couldn’t manage much speaking without considerable amounts of pain. Her lip looked worse by the second, and her eye swelled completely shut by the time we arrived at the cottage.
“I think I’ll sleep outside tonight,” she managed to say through a swollen mouth.
“Is a cottage floor not nice enough for you?” I asked, each word dripping in sarcasm.
“I like the stars,” she whispered wistfully.
Oh, Goddess, she’s aromantic. But whatever her sentiments were, she was my guest—an unwelcome one, but a guest nonetheless. Eldrene probably wouldn’t take kindly to me leaving my bloodied protector outside in the elements.
“Sit,” I told Hesper, pulling out a kitchen chair and pointing to it. She quirked an eyebrow but did as I directed. She groaned a bit when she sat down, clutching her side. One of her ribs was probably fractured.
Luckily, I had some extra Sylvie balm on hand. Sylvie swore she held no healing magic, just a proclivity for all things honey, but her salves could mend any cut and, in some cases, repair bones. They couldn’t heal severe breaks, but I didn’t think that was what we had on our hands here. Maybe her honey magic could soothe Hesper for the evening at least.
I grabbed a few linen cloths, filled up a pail with clean water, grabbed Sylvie’s balm from my cupboard, put on my work apron, and pulled up a chair in front of Hesper. She spread her legs wide, allowing me closer access. I leaned in, the heat of her thighs warming the outside of my legs.
“Come here,” I said, avoiding eye contact with her. She obeyed.
I dipped the cloth in the water and began dabbing at her bloodied lip. She tensed, letting out a sharp breath as I wipedaway the worst of it. But soon enough her breathing steadied as she faced the pain head-on.
Once I cleared her lip of blood and debris, I rubbed the balm over my fingers, letting the heat from my hands soften the salve. Hesper took in slow, even breaths, her eyes glassy and unfocused.
“Are you in more pain than before?” I asked, worried that a worse injury lay underneath the surface, but there was no way for me to know what her pain level was, what with her remaining still like a damn statue.
“Sort of” was all she said.
The balm finally softened, and she leaned in closer so that I could apply it to her lip. I used my thumb to gently graze her mouth. I feared I would make things worse and reopen the wound, but Hesper seemed to ease as I applied more balm—her breathing less calculated and more human. Still, I couldn’t tell if I was doing her more harm than good.
My heart started racing, and my hands began to tremble. Hesper touched my wrist softly.
“Don’t worry,” she whispered, her spiced breath falling over my mouth. “You’re not hurting me.”
I audibly gulped.
“Shame,” I tutted. She laughed.
I repeated the process with the scratches on her face and hands. We both remained silent as a draft picked up in the cottage; sweat trickled down my back.
Her ribs were the final bit that needed healing.
“Which rib is hurt?” I asked, standing up from my chair and brushing the salve off on my apron.
She motioned high up on her back. Too high for me to apply the balm with her shirt still on. Hesper grimaced, a look of apology in her eyes.
“It’s fine, Hesper. It’s not like I haven’t seen a shirtless body before.” She made a move to take off her tunic and sucked in a sharp breath, doubled over, and almost tumbled right out of the chair. I rushed to steady her before she could fall, my hands firmly grasping her muscled shoulders. Hesper pursed her lips in pain as she tried to sit back up. She couldn’t take the tunic off by herself.
