“You should have told me,” he whispered, reaching out to wipe some of her blue hair off her sweaty temple. The other hand slipped the dropper into her mouth, and before she could yank away, he emptied it and pulled it back out. “Swallow.”
She did.
“Good girl.” His thumb continued to rub her forehead, and now he could feel her warmth under his skin. Usually, she was a touch cooler than him, but now they were almost matched in temperature. “You have a fever, Aofe.”
Her brows pinched, and he could tell she still wasn’t fully awake when she said, “Don’t be mad at me, please.”
Kizros leaned forward, uncaring of the sweat as he pressed his forehead to hers in relief. “I’m not mad, Aofe. I just want to know these things so I can help. You shouldn’t have to hurt or push through pain because you think I’m going to be mad.”
She hummed contentedly, face turning into his palm as he continued to stroke her hair. Her eyes were still closed as she mumbled, “Are you staring at me?”
“Yes.”
Her dry lips twitched into a smile.
“That’ll kick in soon, and you need to eat something when you wake up again,” he instructed, andthen, because she likely wouldn’t remember any of this, he whispered, “Please take care of yourself. I miss your company.”
Kizros realized he missed a lot about the human, even if she was just in the other room. He’d gotten so accustomed to an empty workroom, he often forgot he wasn’t alone until she stepped into the doorway. Then, he remembered how joyful it was to have someone to talk to who actually listened and cared.
Or, gave the impression she cared. Tholvich had seemed friendly, at least until he’d pulled the rug out from under Kiz’s feet with his betrayal.
“You’re so warm,” Aofe mumbled under his hand that had absently moved to stroke her cheek. “It’s cold here.”
“What?” he asked, finger stilling.
“I miss…” she trailed off, body relaxing in a soft breath, but he caught the tail end of her whisper.
The sun.
Kizros would have smacked himself in the forehead if his fingers hadn’t frozen, still tangled in her hair.
He was a fucking idiot.
Sunlight. Humans neededsunlight. They were like his bred flowers, needing the sun to stretch their leaves and petals toward warmth.
No wonder Aofe was always in a long sleeve, sometimes with a shirt underneath. No wonder she had been so concerned about their daymoon. No wonder there was a massive pile of blankets on her bed that she’d collected from the linen closet.
An idea bloomed in the back of his mind, and he slowly slipped his fingers from her hair.
She let out a whimper and a mumbledstaythat tugged at something in his chest.
“Sleep, Aofe. I’ll make this right.”
With one last gentle brush of his knuckle over her cheek, he retrieved another blanket and extra pillows, nestled them around her, then went downstairs to get to work.
7
THE GIFT OF WARMTH
Aofe
It was early when Aofe woke. For a while, she just lay there, staring out the window at the starlit sky. There were just enough lights visible from the street that she suspected it was closer to morning, and she would have confirmed it if she’d had the energy to roll over and check the clock on the shelf behind her.
But despite her current awareness, there was still a hazy fog over the last… how many days? Selfish sugar, Kizros must be so upset with her. She had to have missed a day of work, possibly more, but she had no recollection of how long she’d been in bed. Sweat had dried at her temples, and she felt the stickiness of a fever lingering in her muscles, but the pain had receded to just a mild headache, which could have been a lack of food.
With great effort, she swung her legs out of the bed, clutching her head until her empty stomach and hollow bones could settle. She blindly fumbled for her crutches, then reconsidered trying to hobble to the bathroom with her eyes closed. Blinking, she tried to focus on the blurry outline of her walking aids leaning against the nightstand.
The throbbing in her head stuttered as she set eyes on her bedside table. There was a tray of food set out—little pastries, diced fruit, nuts, and a glass of water—but also a tiny vase with a single blue flower. It was rose-like, but the petals were more flared, and with such a rich blue, it could only be from this realm to be so bright.
