Chapter 6

"She's still out. Is that normal?" The voice was deep and strong, it was the type of voice that soothed the nightmares and promised all manner of carnal sin. Every syllable spoken pushed back the bleak dream and pulled her to consciousness, but it wasn't enough to break free from skeletal figures that threatened to drag her back to the nightmare realm that held her.

"She technically died. When she does wake up, she'll be pretty weak for a long time." This voice was familiar, the high-pitched soprano of a women.

"When can we take her home?" Another familiar voice, low and male.

"A few weeks maybe? We're lucky that we got her back." The feminine voice, Shelia replied. Yeah, her name was Sheila. Sheila, the most caring person on the planet with the gifted hands of a healer and probably the only reason that Cyan apparently wasn't dead.

"We need to get back to Clear Water, you're the only healer in town and we can't leave the shop unattended." That was Temlar of course. How could she forget his name? Was it possible that she had brain damage?

Shit.

She couldn't break out of the darkness or open her eyes to tell everyone she was fine. More boney hands grabbed her and tried to drag her back, desperate for her to return with them. She tried to free herself or use her magic to make it stop but there was no mana left in her entire body.

The bed dipped as someone sat down near her and a warm hand brushed her cheek. The hand was a beacon in the black nightmare that kept her hostage. She wanted to follow that hand, break out of the never-ending darkness that had ensnared her for so long.

"You can leave her here if she can't be moved." It was the soothing male voice again only much closer, probably the owner of the warn hand caressing her cold skin. His touch was so gentle and tender despite rough calluses, the touch of a lover and a warrior.

"The captains are going to be busy cleaning up and since the Wizard King is out of commission, you're not going to have time to watch her." Sheila sounded tired and a little annoyed. She got like that when she had been up for several hours with no sleep. Cyan had heard that tone several times in her lifetime and the many injuries she'd accrued.

The hand was gone suddenly and the cold set in again. She had to wake up, fight through the fog of the dark and get warm, she had to follow that hand back to the waking world.

"She'll be safe here at the Vermillon palace and close to the court healer. Beside we have an army of maids to watch her." The voice held the undertone of worry and tug at a memory from years ago. "You guys need to get packed and get some rest. I'll send her home once she's all sorted out."

No. No! She needed to wake up and tell them not to leave her. She was dying again, her body hurt all over and couldn't even life a finger. She couldn't fight the nightmare anymore; her strength was draining away, and the monsters were winning. Sheila had to stay to…

…To do what? She couldn't think anymore, and the dark sucked her back in. If only that warm hand would come back and pull her from the cold.

Someone was talking loudly, so loudly in fact that Cyan was hauled to consciousness to find a bright room and a really nice bed. Her head pounded and her extremities felt like they were weighed down by sandbags. Her skin was ice cold, but fire ran down her throat as if she'd taken a bite off fresh out of the oven bread.

The person was talking loudly again, ordering around people about cleaning and changing sheets. "Will you shut up." She had meant to yell in order vent some frustration, instead it sounded like dry wind.

Footsteps sounded on the hard wood floors and a kind, concerned face came into view. "Hey, there you are." He sat on the edge of the bed and laid a hand on her head. "Your cold, that's strange. Hey Tinny, can you get more blankets and make sure the fire is stoked in here."

There he was in all his massive glory, Fuegoleon the violet eyed man that haunted the late sleepless nights with his easy smile. Oh yeah, she still had it bad for him and being near him, having him touch her helped with the pain and grogginess.

"Your pretty good at ordering people around." Cyan commented which caused a nasty coughing fit with the effort.

Fuegoleon helped her sit up, handling her like fine China that could break at any moment. Tinny, a cute maid with chestnut hair ran over with a thick, soft blanket before going to a bed side table and pouring a glass of water. Fuegoleon accepted the offered glass and placed it to Cyan's lips.

It might just be that she was so thirsty that she might die but that water was the most amazing water ever. She greedily sucked it down and started coughing again.

He rubbed her back and waited for the fit to pass. It was a few moments before she could get air into her lungs. She wiped the spittle form her mouth with the back of her hand and looked up at the red-haired delicious man holding her. Then she screamed.

His entire right arm was literally on fire! How was that possible, he didn't have a freaking arm to burn? None of the maids seemed concerned by the fact that he was burning, they were more shocked by her sudden screaming. He flinched at her scream and followed the line of sight to the inferno. "Oh sorry." The fire went out replacing a rolled-up sleeve neatly clipped around the slump.

"What the hell was that?" She whispered, craning her neck to see if his jacket had been burned at all.

"Fire magic, a gift of having the Salamander." He stated simply as if any of that made sense. She just nodded and relaxed into his hold. It didn't take long before she started to relax, all ready exhausted beyond reason. Being awake for only a few minutes was too much for her fatigued body.

She must have fallen asleep at some point because when she came back around the room was dark and the legion of maids had disappeared. Cyan looked around and found Fuegoleon still keeping her propped up with his shoulder as he read thought a stack of papers scattered around the bed. He hadn't moved at all since she passed out and from the wet stain on his nice jacket had even let her drool on him.

Great.

She watched him for a few moments trying to keep her breathing as steady as possible to not alert him that that she was awake. She just wanted to appreciate his furrowed brow and how his lips moved when he read. It was cute.

Cyan finally cleared her throat after getting her fill. "It would probably be more comfortable to catch up your work in an office." Her voice sounded a little better, and her head didn't feel like a ton of concrete anymore. She still couldn't move her arms or legs much and her energy was nonexistent. But at least she was sure she wasn't going to die anymore.

He blinked and looked down at her as if he forgot she was there. "I didn't know how to handle the situation, it's a little new to me." He was a man of few words that offered no explanations, it was a privilege of the rich and powerful.

An eyebrow popped up. "Situation? What situation?" She attempted to sit up a little more and almost fell. He dropped the papers and his strong hand steadied her by snaking around her waist. It was in that moment she realized that she was wearing a very thin silk slip and nothing else.

He nudged the stack of papers off the bed with his knee onto the ground before sitting back. "It's not every day a woman saves my life, confesses her love for me then promptly dies. It seemed like the gentlemanly thing to do to make sure you didn't wake up alone."

Her heart stopped. Confessed her love to him? What?

"I can see by the confused look on your face you don't remember that part." A smile played around his mouth, relishing in whatever look he found.

She licked her dry lips and reminded herself to breath. "What, you've never had a women save your life before?"

"No, I didn't mean that part. My sister has saved my ass more times than I can count." He looked out across the room to the window and sighed. He seemed thoughtful for a moment, his hand at her waist flexing. "I can't think of a single time someone confessed to me."

Her stomach tensed at the disapproving look of his face. "Well for one, I doubt I said I loved you. And really, no girl has come barking up that tree before?" She mumbled suddenly uncomfortable.

"No, no one barking at any trees." His eyes darted down, and he glared. "Was that a joke at my height?"

She smiled and hid her face in the soft velvet jacket. They didn't talk anymore after that; he went back to his papers and Cyan fell back to a fit filled sleep of darkness and violence.

It was a couple of days before Cyan could get out of bed or even sit up on her own. The captain had gone back to work at the Crimson Lion King headquarters leaving his thousands of maids to watch her. They made sure to sponge her down in the morning to remove the sweat caused by night terrors and made sure she took all her medication. She kind of liked to be doted on but it got old fast.

By day three she was ready to pull her hair out. She still had no energy and no mana which according to the royal healer was normal after dying. He prescribed tonics and herbal supplements to help boost her mana and blood production. As far as she could tell they hadn't been working.

Tinny had been nice enough to bring her books and paper to keep her occupied and even brought her up to date on what has happening in the kingdom which was fun to hear. Talking to her had been refreshing. Tinny didn't know anything about Cyan's heritage and didn't seem to care, she had even been nice enough to not comment on her eye or hair.

That night Cyan woke from a particularly horrible nightmare, freezing and covered in more sweat then humanly possible. She needed a bath, not a crappy sponge bath but and actual bath to scrap off the dead skin.

She sat up in the soft bed and was instantly overcome with nausea. It took several minutes and a few tries to get off the bed without hurling up bile and stomach acid. It again took some time before she could get to her feet and stand up. Cyan allowed herself to laugh when she reached the door to the massive bedroom which caused her to dry heaved for a few moments.

She was proud of herself when she made it halfway down the hallway before her legs gave out. She managed to pull herself into a window seat and leaned against the cold glass, closing her eyes till everything stop spinning. There was almost no feeling left in her fingers and her toes didn't feel attached to her anymore.

It was cold outside, the temperament of the capital being colder than Clear Water and promised an early autumn. She needed to get back to her simple home and get in ready for winter before the pipes froze. Footsteps down the hall altered her that she was no longer alone.

"Are you okay?" She couldn't make out the face hidden in shadow but knew it was Fuegoleon.

She nodded her head and hugged herself tighter against the cold. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

He reached her perch and set down a pitcher of water at her feet. "I was about to, just got back from a captains meeting. Why aren't you sleeping?" He asked.

"I don't usually sleep. It's nothing new." She squeezed her eyes shut as a new wave of nausea washed over her. "I just wanted to take the hottest bath possible so I could feel clean for once." The words came out strained as she held back the vomit.

"I can help you to the bathroom." His voice was light and concerned which she liked.

She finally looked over at him and quickly looked away. He was not wearing a shirt and that man looked good without one, especially with the low hanging cotton pants that exposed his lower belly and hip bones. She had also got an eye full of his missing arm, the scar tissue pink and angry.

"Naw, I can't take a bath right now, I'll fucking drown. It was a stupid idea but I'm so cold." She spoke fast, trying to keep herself from starring at him or his missing arm.

She saw him wrinkle his nose from her peripheral and gasped as he grabbed her off the window seat.

"What are you doing!" Cyan yelled, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Shhh, you'll wake everyone up. You are going to take a bath and I'm going to make sure you don't drown." He began walking down the hallway, pitcher or water forgotten.

"Umm I guess that's fine, it's not like you haven't seen me naked before." He turned down the hallway not minding the dark and heavily shadowed corners. He ignored her which made her giggle as he tried to avoid the conversation. "I woke up this morning in new clothes, if you could call them that, and when I thanked Tinny, she had no idea what I was talking about."

He cleared his throat obviously uncomfortable. "I checked on you before leaving this morning, you must have had another nightmare because you were covered in sweat. I didn't see anything, promise." They arrived at a heavy oak door which he toed open and flipped a light on. The bathroom was nice with tiled walls and floors with a large sunken tub in the middle and a wall of old polished brass mirrors.

She got a good look of herself as he passed by the mirrors, her skin was paler then usual and eyes sunken in from weight loss. She still couldn't eat which had a lot to do with her steady diet of herbal teas. She looked like an emaciated rat, real sexy.

He sat her down on a tiled bench and made sure she didn't slide off before turning to the pipes to fill the tub. "How hot do you want it?"

The light reflecting off the tile and brass giving her a headache and made her teeth ache. Shutting her eyes, she laughed sardonically. "As hot as you can possible make it. When you have no mana, everything feels cold."

She almost fell passed out on the bench waiting for the tub to fill, comforted by the hot steam filling the room.

"Did you fall asleep?"

"No, my head just hurts." She turned her mismatched eyes to his violet ones. "How are we going to do this?"

Fuegoleon looked away quickly as he grabbed her shift one handed and pulled it up over her head. If she didn't know better, she thought there was a cute little blush spreading down his neck as he tried not to look at her naked form.

"This is going to be difficult if you don't look. I don't want to get dropped." It was charming that he was being all gentlemen like, but she wasn't sure she was willing to die for a bath.

He mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'shut up' as he helped her descend the stairs to the steaming bath. She hissed when frozen skin met the steaming hot water, pins and needles rekindled the feeling of deadened nerves. He sat down on a step and pulled her down on his lap, careful not to touch anything but her arm.

The cotton pants he wore instantly puffed up as he sat in the water with air bubbles. Cyan covered her mouth and giggled at Fuego's scowl as he tried to push the air out.

"Is it warm enough for you?" He asked angrily as pushed his pants down.

She leaned into his chest and tried to cover her breasts as much as possible. "It's warm but I need to be boiled, like a carrot."

Fire laced down his side as an arm formed with the 'gift of the Salamander' or what ever he called it. He sunk the arm into the water which immediately shot up several degrees to a delicious molten lava temperature.

"Yes." She breathed slowly, soaking up the hot water and allowing him to steady her as she went limp. "Is this too hot for you?" She asked a few seconds later.

His answer came out sluggish and breathless as if he too was loving the heat. "Vermillion's are fire users who train in volcanos, this is nothing."

Cyan looked over at his arm as he spoke watching the water around it turn to steam. Curiously she poked at the arm expecting it to burn her or be nothing but fire in a shape. It wasn't hot when she touched it, in fact it felt warm and was solid. She ran her whole hand down his arm feeling the tendons and bones under the flames, appreciating the tingling sensations under her palm.

"Hmm." His chest rumbled through her back.

She turned slowly so her side was against his chest and folded her hands under her chin as she looked up at him. "So, you met the Wizard King today?"

"How'd you hear that?" He popped an eye open and looked down at her, making sure to make eye contact and nothing else.

"Maids get bored and gossip about anything and everything."

He laughed. "Sounds about right. It's funny that you bring it up since the meeting was about you. He's interested in learning about your magic."

"Really? Why?" Intrigued she sat up more.

His eyes dipped down for a frication of a second before he leaned down to get a better look at her face and nothing else. His face flushed with the heat and sweat ran down his temples. "He's like that. I believe he wants to give you an accommodation for, and I quote 'risking your life for the betterment of the kingdom'."

She snorted and laid her head on his chest listening to his slow rhythmic breathing, so he wasn't battling himself on where to look. "If only he knew that I did it for entirely selfish reasons. You know barking up a big red-haired tree and all."

He took a deep breath. "See, I'm pretty sure your making fun of my height."

"You started it with all the 'little one' nicks names." She huffed back.

"You remember that huh?"

She was treading in dangerous waters. She liked that he was worrying about her and being nice, but it was only because he felt responsible, and she wanted to milk it until going back to Clear Water and her uneventful life. But if she talked about the first time they met five years ago when she was a 'little one', a damn child, then the illusion would be ruined.

So, she did what she did best and changed the subject. "So are you going to clean me off or will I have to do that myself with these noodle arms. I can barely hold my own head up."

"Your just taking advantage of my kindness now." She could hear the amusement in his voice and shivers ran down her spine. His voice, the feel of his chest beneath her cheek, even the warmth of his skin was like a drug. A drug she was already addicted to.