Page 33 of Broken Hearted
“Forgive me.” I used my power to throw a ball of ice at the small window next to the knob, and the sound of crashing glass filled the space.
I winced, but there were no shouts of alarm. I thought we were safe, so I reached in and twisted the lock, throwing the door wide open.
“Hello,” I called, but there was no answer.
My shoulders sagged in relief. I’d leave coin for the broken window, but I really needed sleep.
I went back to the wagon and hoisted Adrien against my side.
“Why are you trying to kill me?” he asked. “I want Elisana. I love her. That soft skin, those brown eyes. Ineedher.”
I wanted to tell him to shut up, but I knew it was just the effects of the potion leaving his system and took his renewed obsession with her as a good sign.
“She’s on her way,” I lied. He was delirious at this point.
“She is?” He perked up a little. “My love?” He stumbled into the cabin, his boots crunching the broken glass as he walked, before collapsing onto the couch. One more heave into the bucket I’d had the sense to grab from the wagon and then he was lights out.
The living room, kitchen, and dining area were all in one main room. The space was sparsely furnished, but looked to have everything necessary for a hunting cabin. There was a narrow hallway at the back that might have led to a bedroom, but I didn’t have the energy to search for it, let alone try to get Adrien up and moving again. I went back and shut the door, and then fell onto the bearskin rug in front of the couch. I just needed a few hours of sleep.
* * *
Sunlight danced across my skin and my eyelids flew open. My gaze shot frantically to the couch where Adrien was shivering, a waxy pale ghost.
Oh, stars!
I sat up, rushing to feel his head and pulled my hand back with a hiss.
Fever. This evil hag had such a grip on him that her spell wouldn’t leave him without a fever.
“I’ll kill her,” I vowed.
“Elisana,” he mumbled in his delirium. Even in his darkest hour, he wanted her. I hated her even more for that.
Was it because I wantedmyname mumbled on his lips?
I shook myself, pushing those thoughts out of my head. Then I got to work. I did everything Mother did for us when we were sick. I rinsed the bucket in the stream and fetched water with a clean pail they had in the kitchen. I swept the glass from the entry and left the coins on the table with a note so I wouldn’t forget.
Then I got a cool bucket of water to give Adrien a sponge bath. Wrestling him out of his shirt and shoes and pants. He lay there in his under garment and I couldn’t help but stare. He was all muscle, toned in every area, and deeply tanned all the way down to right above his hips.
Clearing my throat and focusing on the task at hand, I brushed his teeth as he mumbled Elisana’s name and spit into a cup for me. Then I ran the cool cloth along his face, his cheek, and his neck, cleaning off the remnants of the mud I’d smeared on him the day before. I dipped it back in the bucket and brought it to his forehead, and he moaned.
His face felt a bit cooler, but when I touched his stomach it was scorching. After rinsing the cloth in the bucket again, I ran it along his abdomen, my cheeks heating with a blush I was surewas redder than a tomato. I leaned forward and blew across his now wet skin like our mother did, and he sighed.
“I love you,” he whispered, and I froze.
The shock of those three words, even if they were not aimed at me but his fever dream, hit me hard. It was something my mother and father had said to each other countless times. I love you. In the end, the I love yous meant nothing.
I tossed the rag in the bucket and stood, working to clean up the space a bit more and hunt for food in the cupboard. After finding some dried meat and canned fruits, I fed myself and poured some of the fruit syrup into Adrien’s mouth.
By the time night fell again, I was exhausted. Adrien’s fever was still high and I’d given him three sponge washes. I was starting to worry this love spell detox might kill him. If he wasn’t better by morning I’d have to leave and search for a healer, risking Elisana finding him. I lay on the floor next to the couch where Adrien slept fitfully and ran the cool rag over his face as long as I could before sleep took me.
Chapter Eleven
Adrien
Iwasn’t dead, but my body hurt so bad I almost wished I was.
I could only open my eyelids to slits, and even that was brutal.
