leave you alone...” She trailed off, voice becoming weak as he brought his eyes to hers. His hand relaxed, yet he didn’t let her go. His shoulders loosened. His lips parted on an exhale.
Her eyes were so blue...and too big. He forced himself to believe that she was no beauty, forced himself to remember that she was a pawn for Auro and Lyne and wanted nothing but his demise. She was surely working with them, he thought, turning his head from her.
If Talon hadn’t been so weak, he would have cleaned himself. But as it was, he found himself letting her hand go, not pushing it away but letting it sit there, the damp cloth turning cold in the frigid air.
There was a tense silence in which he thought she was pull away. Instead, slowly, the cloth was pulled from his chest and replaced warmer than before. He glanced at her face, turned down from his gaze. Talon felt uneasy when he saw the blush overcome her face, her shoulders tensing with every second.
She turned so stiff her hand started to shake. Talon sighed, and did something he hadn’t done for months.
He spoke. “Stop.”
The woman squeaked, her hand stopping. Even to his own ears his voice was rough, like colliding rocks. It boomed through the room, even though he hadn’t said it loudly. It almost hurt to talk, he thought, closing his eyes briefly.
He tried again, wondering how he was going to get her to calm down. The shakiness in her hands could only be catastrophic to his torn chest. If she were to dig the cloth too sharply into his chest he would only feel pain, might only attack her.
Talon spoke uneasily. “Don’t be scared. I won’t kill you until you do something wrong,” he said, hating how deep his voice was. Not only was it deep, but it was scratchy and it hurt to talk.
For a second, her face shown only confusion. And then fear as realization dawned on her. He watched her face pale a second before she stood, rushing to the door in the corner. Talon felt like an ass as he heard the rushing water, could imagine her crying silently, alone.
He started to sit up, grimacing.
No one had ever bothered to take care of him. His ravaged body had taken a fierce toll. He pushed aside the blanket and stared down at himself. His skin was loose, bones showing. He no longer had a perfectly tanned, perfectly formed body. Disgust rolled through him.
He sat up, drawn to the woman in the bathroom. She had just been trying to help. While she may be a pawn for Auro and Lyne, it was unlikely they had told her to clean him, to even use warm water on him. It stung, but it was better than ice cold water.
Soft steps on the carpet drew his eyes to her. She had a cup in her hand, but her face was still pale. And dry — meaning she hadn’t cried. Relief coursed through him, then anger. He hated himself for caring, even if it was just a small amount.
Yet, as she came forward, the dress flowing behind her with an ethereal grace, he didn’t take in the room as he would have. He saw nothing but her, but the calm masked that sat upon her face. He wondered how hard it would be to break her, how long it would be till he could rid himself of her.
First, though, she would clean him. His shaking arms collapsed under him, his strength sapped. That he had even thought of using such precious strength to go to her was alarming.
“You sound like something crawled in your throat and died,” she said nervously, holding the cup. She didn’t seem to notice when she drew the covers back over his hips, up to his pectorals.
He took offense, eyes narrowing on here. “You look as if someone died.”
Talon did not expect the acceptance that entered her eyes. He expected to see pain, maybe even a spark of her own anger. Instead, she wasn’t even hurt. Talon almost said something else, something worse, just to get a reaction.
“Might as well,” she sighed, putting the rim of the cup against his dry lips. The water was like liquid heaven. Sliding down his throat, filling his mouth, moisturizing his mouth as it hadn’t been in so long... he sighed, drinking more, grabbing her hand when she tried to pull it away.
“Let go, I don’t want you to get