Killian couldn’t answer. His tongue thick and heavy in his mouth. He thought he was drooling a bit.
“Tick tock, del Torau. You’re wasting time. If this were any stronger poison, your patient could be dead by now.”
Cursing softly, Kade began to move.
Deliciously cold hands roamed Killian’s body, peeling his eyelids back one at a time, to his neck to check his racing pulse, to his abdomen where Kade pressed down and made him gasp and groan when his pain spiked. Killian swore at one point, Kade took a needle—a terrifyingly huge needle—and stuck him, collecting a drop of blood that Kade then slid across his tongue.
Disgusting.
Hokda snorted.
“Don’t try to speak,” shushed Kade. “Just breathe.”
Helpless to do anything but obey, Killian let his head fall back and closed his eyes. It felt like he was drifting away. Spinning and spinning and spinning.
It was grounding when he felt traces of Kade’s magic, this time beautiful and light and warm. It was like the sun. It felt good. Everything Kade did to him felt good.
Killian made a low sound of distress when the sun disappeared.No. No. Come back. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Just come back.
The sun never came back.
There were muffled sounds of conversation happening around him, but Killian couldn’t make out any of the words. He was slipping. Darkness was closing in. It crept along the edges of his consciousness. The pain was too much and for some reason, he was very focused on the fact that he was sweaty. His skin slick with it.
It felt awful. He wanted a bath.
“Oh, shit. You’re awake.” Killian woke to Hokda’s disappointed tone. “I’d hoped you’d stay asleep for this part.”
Killian forced his heavy eyelids open. He slurred, “What part?”
And then he was burning again. His skin was bubbling and bursting and it was allpain pain pain.
“You motherfucker.” Killian slumped, too exhausted to keep his head up. He had a splitting headache and all he wanted to do was fall into bed and sleep for the next month. “I’m going to kill you.”
“I had to,” said Hokda simply. “Or did you want to keep that big ugly scar your brother left?”
The healer had reopened the wounds on Killian’s stomach, redoing all the damage he had done the first time just to heal himagain.
Hokda had sent Kade out of the room while he did it, ignoring any and all protests from the younger elf. Killian couldimagine Kade pacing, back and forth and back and forth, as he waited for Killian to appear.
“I can’t believe you poisoned me.”
The healer shrugged. “When else would I get the chance? I couldn’t let this golden opportunity just pass me by.” He sighed dreamily. “My prayers were answered. I’ve always dreamed this day would come, and I have to say, it was just as fun as I’d imagined.”
“Lunatic.”
“Yes. Well. I’m still the best.”.
And he was the best. When Hokda had been healing Killian, the second time around, there had been none of the burning and stinging throughout that he’d experienced when Kade had been the one healing him.
It was jarring, but Hokda’s healing was the exact opposite of his personality, soft and gentle and all flickers of gold.
Kade rushed to Killian when the door opened and he staggered through, his legs like jelly underneath him. With a hand on Killian’s chest and an arm around his waist, Kade helped support his weight. He didn’t really need it, but it was a nice gesture, and he leaned into the contact.
Hissing, Kade glared over Killian’s shoulder at the healer that leaned lazily in the doorframe, smirking.
“Get back to your room safely, Captain.” Hokda waggled his fingers. “del Torau, join me in my office when you’re done fawning over your brother like an idiot. Honestly. He’s fine.”
Killian sent the healer a rude gesture. Hokda rolled his eyes and then turned with a flourish, his robes fluttering out around him, and retreated back into his office.
