“How...how the hell are you here? I thought you could only appear in times of great peril or something.” Completely bewildered, I glanced around the room for the catastrophe that brought him about, but I see nothing but tangled sheets. Shaken by the dream and abrupt wake-up, I take a deep breath and settle back into the bed, propping myself up with pillows and moving so Knots can sit down on the edge next to me.
Smiling at my gesture, he sits down and tucks his wavy blond hair behind his ear before he shrugs. “I have no clue. I felt your panic and next thing I know, I was drawn here. You were crying and thrashing around. See, you even hurt yourself,” he points out and reaches for my hand, turning it over to show me the cut on my palm.
My breath hitches as I stare down at the gash from my dream.Is that possible? Was it real?I look around to check if I might have possibly cut myself on anything in the room, but nothing stands out.
“What are you doing, having a seizure?” Knots asks, and his voice shakes me enough for me to chuckle.
“No. I was looking around to see what I might have cut myself on,” I explain.
“Unless you used your teeth, I don’t know what could have caused that jagged cut,” he admits, seeing my dilemma now. Without warning, he pulls a wet cloth out of nowhere to wipe away the dried blood. Sure enough, the cut looks jagged and the skin around it is puffy and red. “It’s probably infected. Come.” He gently coaxes me out of the bed, and I follow in a stupor, not even caring that he’s going to see me in a simple cami and hip huggers.
How the fuck is Knots standing here? And was my dream real?I’m not sure which one I’m more shocked about and I know I need answers to my questions, but I can’t focus on anything right now.
Sitting down on the closed toilet seat, I watch as he pulls out a first aid kit from under the sink and takes out what he needs. “I’m just going to clean and bandage it for now. I suggest having one of the medical staff come fix you up in the morning.”
“I’m supposed to see one of the staff members tomorrow,” I reply numbly. As Knots kneels down to clean my palm, I use the opportunity to take in his human form. He’s massive by anyone’s standards, taking up more space in the bathroom than I would even if there were two of me. His broad shoulders are clearly defined and unquestionably powerful from how I saw him fight. A fine dusting of blond scruff is along his jawline, and a smile crosses my lips as I watch him concentrate on cleaning my hand. The tip of his pink tongue pokes between his pillowy lips as he carefully cleans around the tender edges of the cut, and it’s hard to think of the quirk as anything but endearing. Ok, it’s sexy too. So sexy. A scent catches my attention in our close proximity, and I realize his long hair smells like cedar and almond.Mmm. He took the wood thing to the extreme, but it fits him.As he runs his finger over my hand, instead of callused hands like I would have expected, I notice they are warm and soft as he handles me like fine glass.
“There. All done,” he proclaims, standing up and giving me a goofy smile before putting the kit back in its place. “How does one cut themselves while sleeping? I would have thought that impossible—well, until I met you, Nerezza.”
“I didn’t cut it while sleeping,” I inform him as I head back into the bedroom. Crawling back under the covers, I scoot over to make room for Knots as he sits on the edge of the bed once again. “Knots, you’re a magical...creature...ah, person, right?” I worry my bottom lip as I look up at him. Even sitting down he towers over me.
“I don’t remember if I started out that way, but yes, as are you.” He gives me a mischievous smile, and it reminds me of Lynx. The emptiness in my soul throbs and intense feelings of his loss rush back in. “Hey, what’s the matter? You can tell ole Knots what’s wrong. I will try to help you as much as I can. I think that’s why I was pulled here.” He frowns and a couple of cute lines form between his eyes.
Releasing my breath in a huff, I realize keeping things bottled up might not be the best thing to do.Dr. Fisk would be so proud of me.“I don’t even know where to start, Knots,” I admit as I tug the covers up to my neck and pull a pillow up for me to hug.
Knots slides down to the foot of the bed and turns to face me, leaving one leg hanging off the edge. “Well, why not start with why you were just frowning.” He gives me an encouraging smile, and that begins my info dump about Lynx and how he reminds me of him. Knots sits there listening while I catch him up on who Lynx really is but leaving out the mate part.
“You mean that fur bag can actually grow legs and wield an axe like he was threatening?” Knots throws his head back and laughs so hard the bed starts shaking.Well, that’s one reaction I don’t usually expect when I open up my heart and pour out my sorrow, but he does help keep me from wallowing in it.
Rolling my eyes at his knee-slapping antics, I sigh before continuing on. “Knots, the point is, you know Lynx is gone—”
“Not gone, just misplaced,” he interrupts. “I have the other Door Knights looking for him.”
“Yeah, but they are probably looking for a huge cat or a Marten,” I whine.
“Nah! I overheard the part of him being able to change into a human, so I spread that around also. Don’t worry, we will find him,” he states confidently.
“Wait a minute,” I hedge, narrowing my eyes at him. “If you knew he could become human,” letting what he said about overhearing that information go, “then why the over reaction with the laugh and knee slapping?”
A huge grin spreads across his face, “Someone has to keep you from drowning in your heartache until Lynx comes back. I gotta keep you on your toes. So it’s a good thing I have my body back…at least for now. I still have no clue how this works.”
He makes sense, but watching his smile drop into confusion pulls at my heartstrings. I wish I could help give him the answers he’s looking for.
“Has this ever happened to you before?” I ask, motioning to his human form.
Pulling the shimmery fabric away from his chest, he takes in his form. “I haven’t seen this body since before I was transformed along with my Lord.”
“Lord?” I ask, my interest piqued. This is the first time I’ve actually had one-on-one time with Knots, human form or not. Come to think of it, how often has he had a one-on-one beyond students like me coming and going? I couldn’t imagine the harpies taking time out of their day to check in with their Door Knight. The fact I get to see him in person is just icing on the cake… And speaking of this yummy cake, I kinda want to lick off his icing.
“Rez, are you asking for a bedtime story?” He quirks an eyebrow, and I laugh. I guess that is what I’m asking for before I was distracted by icing fantasies.
“Do you mind if I take a shower and change into clothes from this time before I tell you my dreadful story?” He gives me a pleading look, and I suddenly feel like shit.
“Oh my God. I’m so sorry, Knots. I…I didn’t even think of how you might—”
“Be flesh and blood?” He smirks one of the most charming smirks I’ve ever seen and gets up off the bed. I feel the blush rush to my cheeks as I bite my lip and give him a nod. “It’s okay. We’re both learning how this works. I just all of a sudden feel dirty, and I would like to try out those magical closets as well,” he teases as he wiggles his eyebrows.
“Okay. I’ll just hide here in embarrassment,” I add as I pull the covers over my head.
