Page 163 of The Knucker King

He wiped his mouth before adjusting Avice against his chest, so she was resting comfortably against him in the shallows. He managed to loop her pendant around her neck, knowing it would reassure her when she awoke.

“It will make you better. It must.”

Trewoofe eventually dozed off in his vigil over Avice. When he finally awoke, his hands and feet were wrinkled, and despite the warmth of the water, his exposed shoulders prickled with the temperature difference of the cavern air. Trewoofe rolled his neck, it was stiff after resting his chin on the top of Avice’s head.

He studied his soul-bound. Her skin was pinker and her breathing more regular. Hope bloomed in his chest. She looked better; he was sure of it. Trewoofe tucked snarls of her soaked hair behind her ear and rested his clawed fingers on her pulsing jugular. It was strong, firm, and regular. He grinned and nuzzled against her, dotting her with sloppy kisses.

“Lord?”

The Knucker startled, not quite believing his ears. He pulled back from his affections and stared down at her in wonder. Avice focused up at him in the soothing crystal light.

“Little witch?” A silver tear streaked down his cheek. “You are… you are…” Trewoofe cupped her face; he needed to make sure she was truly there, truly living.

“I am here,” she croaked, covering his wrinkly hand with her own. “Are we in the Underneath?”

“We are home, in the healing waters next to my nest,” he replied.

Avice smiled. “Home.”

Her eyes fluttered closed again.

Trewoofe lingered in the sparkling river. He touched her face, her hair, and ran his thumb over her plump lower lip, circling her knotty scar. He allowed himself a moment more to take in her visage, before gathering her in his arms and standing. Water poured off them in cascades, sparkling and chiming as it dripped from their bodies and into the flowing river. Trewoofe awkwardly shuffled Avice in his arms and hooked her medical satchel onto his shoulder. Once he was satisfied that he had everything, he took his soul-bound into his nest, ready to tend to her every need.

61

Chapter 61

Avice

Avice awoke clean, moisturised, and in a fresh chemise. She was upon a bed of furs, cushioned by a lush rug of wildflowers, surrounded by towering walls of ancient branches. Flat on her back, she squinted up. The sky was dark and dotted with stars in a rainbow of hues.

Not the sky and stars. I am in the Underneath.

Avice slowly sat up, waiting for a jolt of agony that never came, and clutched what had been her injured side. She stroked the raised pearlescent scar through the linen and then pressed her ribs. No pain, blood, or bruises. She rubbed her nape, her fingers brushing against her hair. She ran her hands through her mane. Her tresses were smooth, clean, and tamed.

Her fingers shifted to her pendant as she tried to clear the shadowy images from her mind. Avice recalled Trewoofe had come for her; an illicit thrill swirled her belly at the memory. He had decimated the men who guarded the gallows. Had he killed Father Peter and Robert Shepherd? She hoped so. But where was her Knucker? She licked her dry lips, wetting them so she could speak.

“Trewoofe? My Lord?” she croaked. “Are you there?”

No answer came but the gentle hum that emanated from the giant purple geode standing in the centre of their nest. Avice felt that was right, thinking of it as ‘theirs’. Trewoofe had said she was welcome to stay, and that this could be her home. Now, more than ever, she wanted things to be that way.

She spotted her belongings neatly organised beside the furs. She grabbed the bottle of healing waters, swigged, and sated her raging thirst.

“My Lord,” she called out again, louder now she was not so thirsty. “Are you there?”

His handsome Knucker head peeked over the edge of their nest. “Little witch!” he exclaimed. “I am so sorry I was not here when you awoke, I needed to pass water.”

Avice beamed up at him. She had never been so delighted to see him. He looked so beautiful in the dim, shimmering light of the crystals. Trewoofe glittered in a rainbow of hues, the geodes refracting their shades off his scales.

“No need to apologise, I only just awoke.” She scooted forward and tested the flowers with her toes. They were softer than finely spun wool, so she attempted to stand. “I am so happy to—”

Avice had not anticipated how weak her muscles would be as she stepped. Her leg gave way, but Trewoofe was faster than lightening. In a blink, he slid down the side of their nest, shifted to his human form and caught her in his strong arms.

“My soul-bound,” he whimpered. “You nearly passed through the Shimmering Veil. I beg you to take things slowly. You have been sleeping for some time, allow your body to adjust.”

She blew her hair up from her face and saw the concern shining in his eyes. Avice was also aware that Trewoofe was naked – very naked – and there was only her thin chemise separating them. Her cheeks reddened at that knowledge, and she clenched her thighs together.

“Thank you,” she said, unable to tear her eyes from him.