Page 24 (1/2)

No&039;One woke up to a great, horrifying screa that accompanied bloody murder

It took her athe sound, heras she exhaled

Fortunately, she had left the lights on, and she frantically looked around at the bedroom&039;s toile-covered walls and drapery and bedspread Then she focused on her robe yes, she had her robe on, not a thin nightgown

It had been a dream A dream

She was not in a root cellar in the earth

She was not at the mercy of the sy, she jerked back against the padded headboard Tohr just inside the room, the door closed behind him

"Are you okay?" he said

She yanked her hood up into place, hiding beneath it "I" Memories of what had happened between theh"

"I can&039;t believe that," he said in a hoarse way "God I&039;m so sorry There&039;s no excuse for what I did And I won&039;t couish in his voice bit into her as surely as if it were her own "It&039;s all right - "

"The hell it is I even gave you a nightmare - "

"What awokea deep breath, she said, "It&039;s strange, I have not dreaht of it often, but when I sleep, I have only darkness"

"And just now?" he gritted out

"I was back underground In the root cellar The s her arms around herself, she felt the draft sure as if she were once again behind that rough oak door "Salt licks I&039;d forgotten the salt licks"

"I&039;m sorry?"

"There were salt licks down there for the animals - that is why my scars stuck with me I&039;d alondered ifto alterotten about theotten so rowled curse caested he wished he could kill that syain - but he covered it up, as if he didn&039;t want to upset her

"I don&039;t think I ever told you I was sorry," he said softly "Back then, in the cottage with Darius He and I were both so sorry that you had - "

"Please, let us speak no longer upon the subject Thank you"

In the aard silence that followed, his stomach rumbled

"You should eat," she ry"

"Your tu up at his still figure, she was astounded by the difference in him: even after such a short tihter, his eyes much , she thought

"I will feed you again" As he regarded her as though she had lost her mind, she kicked up her chin and ain"

To see this improvement in him in such a short time, she would endure those moments of terror anew She was e&039;er trapped by her past, but oh, the change in hioing to keep him alive out in the field

"How can you say that?" His voice was gruff to the point of cracking

"It is siation shouldn&039;t take you that far down into your personal hell"

"That is for me to choose, not you"

His brows drew in hard "You were a lahter in that pantry"

"If that were true, I would not be breathing right noould I"

"Did you like the dream you just had? Have fun with it?" As she recoiled, he stalked across to the shuttered s and stared with fixation as if he could see through thearden "You&039;re more than a maid or a blood whore, you know"

With proper hauteur, she informed him, "To serve others well is a noble endeavor"

Looking over his shoulder, his eyes found hers in spite of the hood "But you&039;re not doing it to be noble You&039;re under that robe hiding your beauty and your station to punish yourself I don&039;t think it has anything to do with some kind of an altruistic streak"

"You do not know me or my motivations - "

"I was aroused" At that she blinked "You had to have known that"

Well, yes, she had But -

"And if I aain"

"You were not thinking of h," she pointed out

"Would that make a difference"

"Yes"

"You sure about that," he said dryly

"You didn&039;t do anything about it, did you And that one feeding is not going to be enough - youfor you You have already co to need more soon"

As he cursed, she lifted her chin oncewhile, he shook his head "You are so odd"

"I shall take that as a compliment"

From across the bedroom, Tohr stared down at No&039;One and had to respect the shit out of her - even though it was clear she was nuts: She was utterly unbowed, in spite of the fact that she had biteoff with a Brother

Christ, when he&039;d heard that scream, he&039;d all but broken down the da hell&039;s own ae, had thrown him into action But all there had been was her on thebut whatever was playing in her head

Salt licks Fucking hell

"Your leg," he said gently "How did it happen"

"He put a steel cuff around my ankle and chained me to a beam When he came to me the cuff bit into es "Oh, God"

He wasn&039;t sure what to say after that He just stood there, powerless, saddened wishing that so s had been different in both of their lives

"I think I knoe&039;re here," she said abruptly

"Because you screamed"

"No, I mean" She cleared her throat "I&039;ve alondered why the Scribe Virgin brought ht I ao"

"I didn&039;t save you, reh" He was shaking his head when she cut him off "I used to watch you sleep - back in the Old Country You were always to the right of the fire, and you slept on your side facing low from the peat played over your closed eyes and your cheeks and your jaw"

Suddenly, the roohter, smaller warmer "Why?"

"Because you weren&039;t like the sy and he was thin You were kind tothat keptcompletely mad"

"I never knew"

"I did not want you to know"

After ayourself"

"Yes"

"Why not do it before the birth?" Man, he couldn&039;t believe how candid they were getting

"I did not want to curse the babe I had heard the rumors about what happened if you took matters into your own hands, and I was prepared to accept the consequences forinto the world in such sadness to begin with, but at least it could make of its destiny what it could"