Chapter 10: Chapter 10

SILVER

“~No~!” I cry out, twitching and struggling wildly on the flat, heavy wooden table. I try to push the lady away, and I feel hysterical and in extreme pain all at once.

“Stop it, ~pipsqueak~!”

I see a head of burned-silver hair and raging golden eyes appear directly above, and I cry out again in pain…the pain of seeing the one who accepts our bond but prefers me nowhere near.

His hands encircle my wrists and firmly but gently hold me down until I stop struggling.

I can feel a pull and tug at my skin on my shoulder as the healer—I believe it’s a Gypsy— stitches my wounds.

“I hate you!” I almost scream at the top of my lungs as Storm holds me down, and his eyes narrow with feigned anger, but truly, his aura is suddenly hurt.

“I hate you, I hate you, ~I hate you~,” I hiss.

“Don’t worry,” the Gypsy reassures her Dragon Lord. “Extreme emotion is common; she’ll pass out again soon.”

Even with the words that I want to fight against, I find my body switching off, unable to move, my eyes trained on Storm’s burned-golden gaze.

I glare right through his eyes, hoping he feels the pain I feel.

“My Broken Fire could not heal her,” Storm growls to the Gypsy. “The wounds are so large… Why are some younglings so ~reckless~?”

“Storm.” The Gypsy puts down her tools, and she sounds angry at her Lord. “You should know better than to break a young girl’s heart. You should never have thrust her aside.”

“But I have not…,” Storm scoffs and sounds confused by the woman’s scolding words.

I gaze at him even as I lose consciousness, unsure of what it is he says next…but my brain does register one thing.

Storm feels guilt.

Extreme guilt.

Elena’s plan has worked. Bloody and cruel manipulation.

***

I wake up much later. I feel tender, but the extreme pain is all gone. I look around me and see that I am covered in silks and velvets, all red.

So I am still in Storm’s bed, and for once I am grateful, and I also feel calmer. I’m not excited to see Storm…but I am relieved to be looked after.

I slowly sit up and pull off my red sheet, looking at my bruised, naked body…and the stitches on my shoulder…at least thirty.

And my head… I feel it with my hand, and I feel a lump. Just gently touching it brings some tears to my eyes.

I then twitch in fright when I hear a chair scrape back, and I watch as Storm appears from nowhere; he’s been sitting around the bend, slightly hidden from the nest of the red blankets I’m surrounded in.

I hold the blankets close to my chest, and I see Storm is wearing nothing but his gray leather pants, and he is also barefoot.

His silver hair is out in its usual messy mane, and his face is contorted with emotion as his body from the neck down betrays the true extent of his feelings.

Storm is steady as he leans a knee onto the bed, and he gently reaches out a hand, so smooth and without a single tremble.

I do not smile or frown; I just wait as I feel his hand very gently cup my jaw, his thumb running over my cheekbone very slowly.

“I am astounded,” he says in a husky tone, which gives away to me that he may have even shed a few tears in privacy. “Astounded by your stupidity…and my own.”

I am glad he twists it at the end to put the blame on himself…because at first, his words make me furious.

I blink slowly as I look down at the sheets and avoid his gaze, hoping for any other words from him so I can work out how to best react to the guilt my mate is now expressing.

“If I had kept you by my side…I could have guided you away from such an accident.”

“You don’t have to sound so condescending.” I now raise my gaze, and my hurt pours forth, along with an uncontrollable statement. “How did ~you~ heal?”

“From wha—” Storm is confused only for a moment, until he realizes I am referring to my stabbing him and knocking him out with the hot poker.

His gaze darkens, but it doesn’t change his guilt… It simply confuses him…so he falls back on a bad habit of his…which is insulting my competence.

“Ill-advised a week ago, and ill-advised even ~now~.”

Storm does not retreat; he simply keeps his hands to himself and leans back against one wooden part of the nest and spreads his legs out so his feet touch the other end, blocking me into my nest.

Not that I have anywhere to go in a hurry.

“Let’s change the subject…,” I murmur. “Can your Broken Fire heal my cuts now? How come they could not heal me sooner?”

“Rejection,” Storm growls and can barely look at me as he explains. “From you…of our bond. You weren’t open to accepting my channel of magic… You were resisting the help.”

“Then let’s make a deal,” I pipe up now that I can be satisfied by his aura’s message that his guilt is staying and isn’t leaving any time soon.

“I’ll let down my resistance…but you need to help a friend of mine who’s stuck in this area…”

I have his full attention now, and I assume he is instantly jealous that it might be a male until I explain further.

“A Rogue female Dragon I knew from awhile back is…holidaying about and was wondering if she could gain safety to roam your Horde’s territory…without…you know…being ripped to shreds…

“She’s a good Dragon.”

I am confused when Storm does not reply right away.

His eyes narrow, and I feel nervous all of a sudden.

“You lied,” Storm growls, “about that last part.”

“What last part?” I act like I’m daft, and he suddenly leans forward, closer to me, and his eyes brighten up with knowledge.

The dull vibe in his gaze is suddenly very shiny with comprehension. I feel a pull…~within~ my mind as he looks at me as I think about it…and a shiver runs down my spine.

As I realize what he’s just realized.

Heart Knowledge.

He grasps onto my lie, sees through my anxiety and my thought process…

…and he sees the fall and what happened before the fall.

I know because his aura is suddenly filled with…oh God…not just fury, but what Elena mentioned…a Blood Rage.

This isn’t good.

“Storm, please—” I beg him, but he holds up a finger, slowly smirking with menacing intent.

“I knew something was strange about your ‘accident,’ pipsqueak.” Storm’s eyes roll over my body, and his rage only intensifies as he gazes up to meet my wide eyes.

This isn’t meant to happen… I didn’t count on him finding out.

“It was an accident, I swear.” I try to convince him again, but it just adds to his frustration on top of the fury.

“Rogues don’t naturally cooperate with Silver Breeds,” Storm explains.

“You lied about her being a good Dragon, and I was able to see what happened as you thought so heavily about it in a moment of vulnerability. She is the cause for your injuries, and she will—”

I cut him off.

“~Please~ don’t kill her,” I blurt out. “I don’t like what she did but ~please~ don’t kill her.”

“She will be appropriately punished for her actions, then.” Storm lowers his tone, and I now see his fury isn’t just directed at her…but at me.

“You conspired with her…to get my attention. Congratulations, ill-advised pipsqueak. You have it.”