Come Fairies, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like flame.
~William Butler Yeats
The white magic is pretty, not as pretty as the colors but—hey, why is it grabbing me? Hey, that hurts! Pain fills me like a hive of angry bees.
Yelling as my eyes jerk open, I fight to keep in another one as agony flashes hot through me. Gods, that flipping hurts! Taking gasping breaths, I fight to relax, hoping that’ll ease it.
For the first few seconds the room is blurry but then it comes into focus. The healer is shoved to the side as Ciar’s worried face pops into view and an almost full-sized dragon blocks out the rest of the room.
“Keri?”
“Hi,” my voice is hoarse, “fancy meeting you here.”
A glass of water appears as he lifts my shoulders for me to sit up enough to drink. I notice he’s not wearing a shirt. Drinking it greedily I wait for him to refill it and I chug it too. Feeling a bit better, I sigh when he lays me down again.
“Why do you smell like puke?” Why do I smell like puke?
“Because you puked on both of us.” He says it as an afterthought while he uses a claw, I’m sure the gaping healer sees, to cut off my smelly shirt. My bra is next and then a warm cloth replaces them.
“I’m sorry,” I say, as bits and pieces of what happened before I passed out and the healer yanked me out of near death, because I don’t doubt I was dying, start to coalesce in my head.
Actually, I puked twice or more, it’s possible I did it and don’t remember. That’s some love right there, him cleaning puke off me. Wait, love? The warm cloth pauses, and I meet his gaze.
Yes, he loves me. There’s not a single shred of doubt about it.
The cloth begins to move again, and I decide to not comment about the love thing, not yet. I’ll do that when I don’t smell like vomit-y cupcakes and have more clothes on. Or am at least naked in better circumstances.
“Who’s hiding?”
He shakes his head, a smile on his face. Is that relief I see? It looks like relief. I wonder if I take him out for a steak dinner if it will make up for the puke?
“The other two idiots of your Triad. You—unfortunately—called ones who don’t know how to act civilized, no matter how strong they are.”
“You’re a Puca who eats people.” I say deadpan, He full on laughs and then gently wipes off my face and neck.
“I can pretend to be civilized, Keri. We’ll talk about this later, soon enough they’ll show themselves.” He turns to the healer, “I need a blanket to wrap her in… you’re dismissed.”
“You should be nice to her, she saved my life,” I chastise.
“She barely saved your life, I had to give her a bit of encouragement. She informed me you were too close to death to save.” Well, that explains his short temper with her.
Still, “Thank you for saving my life.” After a fearful glance at Ciar she nods and practically runs from the room.
“Why didn’t you check your food, Keri?” I shrug, or at least I try to. My shoulders are stiff and tender and don’t want to move.
“Cupcakes, who blasphemes them in such a way?”
“Apparently whoever is trying to kill you.” Fudge. “I think we need to go to the house early, it might be safer for you there.”
“I promised Lucinda she could go.” He gives me a dirty look but still wraps me in the blanket like I’m a fragile piece of glass.
It’s sweet, annoying, but sweet.
“Fine, but Saturday morning instead of later.”
“Okay, okay. Can we go to the room now? I need a shower and to sleep awhile I think.” Healing requires rest, the healers can only do so much before your own body needs to kick in and do the rest of the work.
Lifting me into his arms like I’m a feather, he carries me in a brisk walk to our dorm room. I’m pretty sure I nap most of the way considering I don’t remember the trip.
Staring at the shower from his arms I sigh in defeat. There’s no way I can stand right now, and a bath is a drowning waiting to happen. I feel his eyes roll.
Stripping me down he sets me on the lip of the tub and strips his clothes off. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before, but I stare anyhow. Wow. My clothes are next, and I don’t fight him one bit.
Reaching past me he turns on the taps and waits for steam to come rolling out of the door. Lifting me up he steps into the shower and I sigh in absolute bliss. Setting me on my unsteady feet, he keeps me in between him and the wall as he thoroughly washes my body and then helps me wash my hair.
No dilly dally time today, he washes himself just as fast and before I know it I’m washed, dry, and wrapped in my warm robe. Ciar is my hero, especially when he crawls into the bed with me pulling me into his strong, safe embrace.
Zag appears out of nowhere and curls up around my head, his throat vibrating against me with little warbles of worry as he strokes my neck with his tail. It’s adorable. Love you too bud.
Sleep isn’t gentle as she pulls me under in seconds.
* * *
At some point, the warmth surrounding me in a cocoon of tranquility disappears. Of course, I roll over and go back to sleep only to be woke up later by him climbing back in bed with me smelling like copper and fear.
Snuggling back into the comfort of his arms I sigh. Yeah, I’m pretty sure he went out and hurt someone. But right now? I don’t care.