The firelight flickered across the room. Brightening her pale and trembling face. I sat by the hearth where I was whetting my blade, the rhythmic sound my blade with the stone made was the only thing that cut through the silence
She was barely awake now. Her eyes flickered open and closed, her breaths coming shallow and uneven.
Her lips trembled, but she hadn't said much since the first word she whispered when she woke: "Run."
It was like she'd used up all her strength just saying that.
I glanced at her again, her body frame too fragile to match the weight of the unease I felt. I didn't know what to make of her what she was, what had happened to her, or what she might bring down on me just by being here.
Now, she didn't seem to be soundly asleep. Her eyes kept on opening and shutting, and she breathed shallowly and unevenly.
Her lips trembled, but she hadn't said much since the first word she whispered when she woke: "Run."
It was as if she was so weakened that she had no more left to speak the simple word.
She looked frail and fragile, and that was what worried me the most. I was puzzled by her—what she was, what she had experienced, or what she might bring down on me just by being here.
This was, indeed, a mistake.
I ought to have left her there lifeless by the river, in preference to pulling her into my life, my space.
I was already in enough trouble as it was, keeping to the edges of society, staying far from the whispers of the elementals and the chaos they brought.
She was a headache that I wanted to remedy with sleep, but couldn't.
And I couldn't bring myself to throw her out. Not yet.
Her position slowly changed, her fingers clutching the thin fabric around her.
Her eyes opened once more, gold and black on the pale gray of her face. When her gaze met mine, there was no challenge, no malice. Just fear.
"What's your name?" I asked, keeping my tone neutral.
She paused, her lips parting as if she was not certain whether she wanted to let me know.
"Kael," she whispered finally.
I accepted, calculating her name mentally. "Okay, Kael. You have approximately two minutes to explain to me why I should not drive you back to that river and let nature finish what it started."
Her lips dilated a little, and for a moment, I was sure she was going to burst into tears. But she didn't.
She just glared at me, her hands holding the blanket even tighter.
"I—I don't know," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't even know how I got here."
Her words didn't do much to ease my suspicion. "How convenient," I muttered, shifting in my chair. "You don't know who threw you by the river? You don't know why you look like a ghost?"
She shook her head, her emotions were very furtive and unstable. "I remember running. Fire... screaming. Everything else is a blur.
Fire. When this one word had been said, it was like a stab in my chest. Fire is a regular topic of discussion in the villages.
There are cases of villages being destroyed as a result of these uncontrolled fires. But somehow, it felt different to me when she said it.
"You were running from something," I said, watching her closely. "Or someone."
Her hands trembled against the blanket. "I—I think so. I don't know who. I just... had to get away."
I listened to her carefully and put all her words into consideration. At that moment, my eyes were steadily looking toward the door; it was like I was expecting someone to rush into the room. If she was lying, Then God she is good at it.
"You don't look like a fighter," I said, keeping my tone sharp. "Why would anyone be chasing you?"
She looked away, her jaw tightening. "I don't know," she murmured
The fire, lit on the logs crackles, throwing small sparks onto the hearth. I looked at her with a feeling of an irritated knot in my stomach.
She didn't seem to be a threat, but it didn't mean she wasn't one. People like her had always been a problem with my relationships—silent, frightened, and fragile—they had a knack for causing a commotion wherever they went.
I went to the other end of the room and, finally, told the truth. "Ok," I said, my voice bravely cutting through the silence now.
"You sleep, eat, and stick to your version of the story. You're not getting any more of the hell that you went through to invade my life. You got me?"
Fast as lightning, she nodded, wearing an expression of acute fright. "I won't… I promise."
I studied her with a look only slightly softer than the stone severity there. "For the love of all things holy, you had better mean it."
After, I returned my eyes to the fire, the heaviness of the decision I'd just made in my stomach. Not so sure about what I had inserted into my life, I still felt like I'd repent for it soon.
The fire popped once more; its light formed sparkles, making the darkness leap to the sides of her pale face.
I turned away from her, the ideas kept spinning in my mind. She shouldn't have followed me here.
"Don't trust me," was what she barely said.
I stopped still. The placidity of her voice was eerie to the extreme, it wasn't even real.
I grabbed her by the shoulders, facing her, but she had already shut her eyes, her breathing deep and calm, it was as if she hadn't said anything at all.
Before I could make a decision, a faint creak was heard from the door.
My hand immediately reached for the blade at my hip.
Someone—or something—was outside
We had to be at high alert .