A tiny, one-person bed. Even as a child, my bed was never that small.
“What is this place?” I cradled my injured arm, eyes still fixed on theonebed.
Dommik let out a loud, pained groan as he shuffled two dining chairs to face each other. “It’s a safehouse. On the outskirts of vampire lands.”
“So, it’s deteriorated by design?” I blurted. My homemaker reflex was a tenacious weed. Even during our chaotic arrival, I’d begun compiling a list of things that needed tending and fixing from the moment I laid eyes on the estate.
“Charming,” Dommik grumbled to himself.
“What are you doing?” I asked as I watched him arrange a makeshift sleeping arrangement with two dining chairs and a laughably small blanket. “Get in the bed.”
“I’m fine,” he declared, but his stumble betrayed his lie. I wished for nothing more than his statement to be true, but what little strength the blood had given him was fading quickly.
“You’re weak and you need rest.” After the events of the evening, a long sleep in a proper bed sounded like a greater treasure than all the precious gems in Illica. But my wound was minor in comparison to his, and between the two of us, his health mattered more.
I placed a guiding arm around his waist. “Please. Lay down.”
His gaze flicked down to where my hand met his middle and back tomy eyes. His stare was tense, measured, hesitant. After a long, silent moment, he finally let out a surrendering breath and did as I asked.
I pulled the blanket over his shoulders and he grumbled something about ‘not being a child’ and ‘never calling him weak ever again’.
On a nearby shelf, I discovered a small cache of books and reveled in the idea of erasing the traumatic memories of the night. I pulled a thin red novel boasting a great tree printed on the cover.
I helped myself to an apple and returned to the improvised nest beside the bed. The book crackled open, mimicking the storm outside. Its pages were yellowed and fragile. I held the apple in my teeth as I flipped to chapter one.
Dommik’s eyes slid to me. “You’re humming,” he grumbled.
“What?” Apple juice spilled down the side of my mouth.
He chuckled, winced, and then sighed to the ceiling. “Read to me.”
I couldn’t tell if he was telling or asking me. A sarcastic retort bubbled in my throat, but as he strained, I decided he was in enough pain. I swallowed my snarky comment along with another bite of apple.
I cleared my throat and read the opening pages aloud. A tale of a woodland princess, the guardian of the forest, whose betrothed was killed in a battle with the neighboring human realm.
“That’s not what it says.” Barely halfway through the first chapter, Dommik’s interruption sliced through my narration.
I laid the pages face down on my lap. “I’m tired, I paraphrased.”
“Don’t,” he insisted softly, eyes falling shut. “It’s a devastating love story. Each word deserves attention. Don’t rush it.”
My heart softened at the romantic sentiment from the wounded vampire commander.
“You’ve read this before.” I narrowed my eyes.
“Many times,” he admitted with a small smirk twitching his pale lips.
I tipped my head, stretching my neck muscles. “I’ll read quietly to myself then.”
“No.” His insistence was clear and immediate.
“Are you always this full of demands?” I asked, lifting the book. My comment earned a pained chuckle from Dommik.
“You have no idea.” He sighed and turned his head to me. “Keep going, please.”
His plea was simple. His gaze was soft. Laying there in his vulnerable state, he almost seemed…human.
For one fleeting moment, my armor slipped, and I fought the urge to push loose strands of obsidian hair from his forehead.
