The week raced by, punctuated by frenzied wedding preparations and increased Order duty. Dumbledore had just introduced several new initiatives, and combined with the increased Death Eater activity, the six of them were working long, grueling hours. One evening, James and Mary were due to relieve Lily and Frank.
"Mary had to swap shifts, and now James is going to pester her all night about making up with Sirius," Lily said, slipping out of their hiding spot in the corner of the warehouse to peer out the window. "And it's not like there'll be much to distract them, seeing as there's nothing happening in this stupid warehouse."
"She'll forgive him." Frank stood up and stretched his cramped limbs, shoving the rickety chair back into the corner of the room. "She must really love him, if she wanted to snog him even while he was Polyjuiced."
Lily giggled, then clamped her hand over her mouth. Through the window she saw several masked figures appear, levitating two unconscious people in front of them. She ducked out of sight and dragged Frank back into their hiding spot behind a pile of crates and empty cardboard boxes.
"They've got two captives," she whispered. "Or, at least, I think they do. Let's stay here. We can try and help whoever they've got, or at the very least, we can spy and figure out what they're up to."
Frank nodded and Disillusioned her, the tap of his wand sending a cold trickle down her spine. When he repeated the motion on his own head, she had to squint to make him out in the dim light. They huddled together in silence, straining to hear the scuff of feet and the rise and fall of voices from the floor below them. Lily's body thrummed with fear and anticipation, and she felt the same energy in Frank's rapid breathing and the soft tap of his fingers against his wand.
A scream rent the air, then another – the desperate shrieks of pain and misery elicited by the Cruciatus Curse. Lily's body propelled her forward before her brain had time to catch up.
"We've got to try to help them," she hissed, beckoning to Frank.
"We're meant to wait for backup."
"James and Mary will be here any minute." There was another panicked cry, echoing through the empty room and tensing Lily's limbs. "Come on, we don't have time to wait."
They slipped out into the corridor and descended the stairs, their wands poised in front of them. Their footsteps kicked dust into the air, and Lily's foot slid over a yellowed newspaper and a crumpled crisps wrapper as they reached the first floor. The screams were louder here, and they drew to a stop in the doorway to plan their next move. The Death Eaters stood in the cavernous room, circled around the two captives who lay on the ground among broken glass and more rubbish. Behind them, the wall was covered with faded graffiti and spatters of a thick red liquid Lily hoped wasn't blood.
"We can't take them all on," Frank breathed into her ear. "I'm going to try a distraction, and then we can try to take out as many of them as we can. Maybe a detonation spell–"
"Too risky," Lily argued. "Might make the ceiling collapse. I could probably aim a Stunner so it hits two of them, though."
Before Frank could comment on her suggestion, the Death Eaters were heading for the door, leaving the captives bound and gagged on the floor. As they slipped outside, a spell whooshed by Lily, coating the doors and walls in a faint glow that faded to nothing.
Frank's eyes widened in alarm. "Anti-Apparition wards."
"Shit." An acrid scent filled Lily's nostrils, and something bright flickered in the corner of her eye. She turned and saw flames creeping across the floor, devouring the debris as it crawled closer to the captives and to Lily and Frank. "That's not Fiendfyre, is it?"
"If it was Fiendfyre, you'd know it." He sent a spurt of water at the flames; they sizzled and paused before bursting into life again. "I don't think it's regular fire, though. It doesn't go out properly, see? And it moves faster than regular fire."
They pushed forward into the room, shooting water at the flames to beat them back. Soon the air was filled with the hiss of steam and the crackle of flames, drowning out the piteous cries of the two captives.
"Did you not take their wands?" Two of the Death Eaters had returned and stood in the doorway, frowning at the flames. "It's no fun if they can put out my fire–"
The sharp, disdainful voice broke off as Lily's spell missed her by a fraction of an inch. Gritting her teeth, Lily tried to hold her shaking hands steady as she blocked the spell that came hurtling back at her. It hit the wall behind her, showering her with sharp little fragments and dust. Somewhere nearby, Frank was battling the other Death Eater, shouting swears just as loudly as he shouted his spells. Beads of sweat formed on her upper lip as the heat of the fire crept up on her. The air was thick with smoke and spells, and it was getting harder to see. She caught a glimpse of more figures running into the building, one of them with very untidy hair…
"Lily!" James darted toward her, dodging jets of light, but then another Death Eater blocked his path and they started dueling each other. Lily cast a Shield Charm, then inched backwards, groping blindly for the door, desperate for clean air. Flames curled across the floor, and she shot another jet of water at them, but they came back as insatiable as ever.
Shouts and screams filled the air, layered on top of explosions as spells missed their mark. Lily lost track of her surroundings, dueling on autopilot as hot air and ash filled her lungs. Another figure ran past her – was that Sirius? She was losing focus, fatigue dragging at her limbs as the fire raged on. Any moment now she was going to falter and fail to block a spell. She imagined the hungry flames lapping at her clothes and hair before devouring her body and her screams.
Then something pierced through the haze of smoke and exhaustion to catch her eye – a cry of agony, the bright bloom of blood, a figure slumping to the floor. James. Adrenaline surged through her body, propelling her forward through the fire and spells. Flames singed the bottoms of her trousers and a spell stirred her hair as it passed over her shoulder, but she stumbled on until she reached James. Sirius was there, standing over James's body as he dueled a thin Death Eater. Mary circled around him, extinguishing flames in and simultaneously fending off attacks from another Death Eater.
"Cover me!" Lily shouted, stooping to pull James upright. "I'm getting him out of here."
"We've got you." Sirius raised his wand in the air to absorb a jet of purple light just before it hit him in the chest.
As Lily draped James's arm over her shoulder, he moaned and gritted his teeth. Large, cruel gashes covered his chest and arms, splashing blood onto the floor and soaking into Lily's jumper. A sheen of sweat covered his pale face as he forced his eyes open and tried to take a step forward.
"Lean on me," she urged when the movement made any remaining color drain from his face.
"Get yourself out," he mumbled as they began to move forward with slow, labored steps. "Leave me here. Pads won't let me die."
"Don't be stupid. I'll drag you out if I have to. But do you think you could try to keep the flames back? Mary seems to be slacking."
She glanced back at the flames that were inching toward them and saw Mary's body crumpled on the ground. Sirius crouched beside her, firing off spells even as he shook her shoulder.
It was just a Stunner, she told herself. It was just a Stunner, and she'll be fine. She put the thought from her mind, because getting James across the huge warehouse took all of her attention. More Death Eaters had joined the fight, as well as a few more Order members, and she had to block both unfriendly and friendly fire as she struggled toward the door. James had kept up a steady stream of water, but now he sagged against her, his wand hanging limply at his side as he drifted in and out of consciousness. With a last burst of strength, she pulled him forward and out of the door – except they were repelled by an invisible force.
"They've sealed us in," she growled, pounding at the door with every spell she could think of until the barrier flickered and they tumbled out into the night. Without pausing to wonder whether the anti-Apparition wards extended past the building, Lily turned on the spot and concentrated on bringing James safely to St. Mungo's.
When they arrived in front of a dilapidated department store, Lily was afraid she had splinched James before she realized his wounds were worse than she had thought. In the dim, smoky warehouse, she had overlooked the true extent of his injuries, but now they stood out, stark and unavoidable and terrifying.
"He needs help!" she said to the mannequin in the window. She couldn't remember if this was the correct St. Mungo's protocol, but the blood seeping through James's shirt was too pressing to allow her to feel any embarrassment. "He's been injured – he's lost a lot of blood–"
The mannequin nodded, apparently unphased by even this grievous injury, and beckoned her forward. Lily tightened her grip on James and dragged them through the window and into the waiting area. The other occupants cast a cursory glance in their direction, then gaped in alarm at the blood now dripping onto the linoleum floor. Lily ignored them and forced her way up to the front desk.
"I need–" she began, but the Welcome Witch widened her eyes and held up a hand.
"We're going to need to take this one up right away," she called, and a wizard in lime green robes looked up from a clipboard and hurried over.
"Barry, I need you for this one," he said, waving to another Healer who was inspecting what looked to be a nasty bite. "Looks like Dark Magic. Go ahead and bring him up to level four."
The other Healer gave a brisk nod and pointed his wand at James. Lily slumped with relief as James's body was hoisted into the air, and she swayed on the spot before the first Healer steadied her with a strong hand.
"Come with me," he said, and they made their way through a corridor lined with many doors. When they reached a set of stairs, Lily's legs wobbled, but she clenched her hands into fitsts and forced herself to climb all the way to the fourth floor. As they climbed, the Healer asked questions and jotted down her answers on a clipboard.
"What caused these injuries?" His tone was calm and even, as though he saw wounds like this all the time. He probably does, Lily realized.
"It was, er, a spell," she stammered, her gaze fixed on James's lolling head. His glasses were about to slide right off his nose, but the Healer called Barry didn't seem to notice. "I don't know exactly what it was. I wasn't there when it happened."
That was what Moody had trained them to say, wasn't it? Her brain was foggy, as though the smoke from the enchanted fire lingered inside her skull, obscuring her thoughts. The answer must have satisfied the Healer for now, because he nodded and moved on to the next question. When they reached the fourth floor and Barry levitated James into a room, the first Healer ushered Lily into another room.
"You can wait here." He gestured at a narrow hospital bed. "Someone will be in to see to your injuries." His eyes traveled to her right arm, and Lily followed her gaze. To her surprise, she saw the flames had melted a hole in her jumper to reveal a shiny burn. A bead of sweat rolled down her face, but when she swiped at it, her hand came away red.
"I'm fine. I want to stay with James." The image of his face, pale and twisted in pain, was etched into her mind. She had to stay with him – what if he woke up and she wasn't there? What if–?
"We'll come and get you when it's time," he said, tapping his clipboard with his wand and removing a crisp piece of parchment. "Are you his wife?"
"Fiancée. But–"
"Would you please fill out these forms?" He handed her the parchment, then turned to leave.
"Wait! You've got to let me stay with him." She felt angry tears prick her eyes, mingling with the blood from the scratch on her cheek.
He glanced back over his shoulder. "Let us do our job. I'll let you know if his condition changes." He hesitated, his expression softening, then added, "I think he'll be alright. Looks like you got him to us just in time."
And he bustled out, leaving Lily to drip tears and blood onto the hospital intake form.
Lily couldn't say how long she sat in that little hospital room. Yet another Healer arrived to pour salve on her burn and mend her various cuts, but she had no information about James's status. After the Healer collected the completed forms and left, Lily rested her head in her hands and sobbed.
When the first Healer invited her to visit James, she bolted from the room and down the corridor without listening to his update. The door to James's room stood open, and Lily rushed in and knelt beside his bed. His skin was still pale and his hair was plastered to his forehead, but they had cleaned away the dried blood. Through the thin fabric of his hospital gown, Lily could see the outline of his cuts. Her heart twisted as she saw the extent of the damage, and she clutched his hand, swallowing back a sob.
"Evs?"
His eyes fluttered open. They had removed his glasses, and the absence gave his face an uncharacteristic vulnerability. She tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat as she stared at the slash marks peeking out from underneath his sleeve.
"Don't cry, Evs." James squeezed her hand, then squinted up at her. "You are crying, aren't you? I can't see a fucking thing."
She laughed and took his glasses from the bedside table, wiping them on a clean part of her jumper before settling them on his face.
"I'm fine, see?" He struggled to sit up.
"Don't." She bent to kiss him, careful not to brush against his healing cuts. When she pulled away, tears dotted his face. "I'm sorry, I'm crying all over you."
His cracked lips lifted into a smile. "You literally carried me through fire. You don't have to apologize for anything."
She didn't return his smile. "I can't lose you. I couldn't bear it. Not after…" Her voice trailed off as she remembered the swooping feeling in her stomach when Petunia had shown up at her flat. "You're my family now."
He reached up to wipe away her tears, wincing as the movement jarred the gash on his chest. "You're not going to lose me. We're getting married next week. Do you think I'd miss that?"
She sniffed. "I love you."
"I love you too. Now come kiss me a bit more, because the Healers said snogging actually speeds up the healing process, believe it or not…"
Sirius and Mary rushed in a few minutes later, stinking of smoke and covered in ash and blood. They both visibly relaxed when they saw James propped up against his pillows, smiling and holding Lily's hand.
"You alright, Prongs?" Sirius's casual tone couldn't hide the quaver in his voice.
"I'm fine. Thanks for looking out for me back there."
Sirius shoved his hands into his pockets and gave a jerky nod.
Lily looked at Mary, frowning. "Are you alright?"
Mary nodded. "I was only stunned. And then Black Rennervated me with enough force to wake up a dragon–"
"I thought you were fucking dead," Sirius muttered, casting a reproachful glance in her direction.
She rolled her eyes. "I was breathing."
"Well, I didn't see your chest moving."
"That's because you don't look with your eyes." She grinned and slipped her arm around his waist. "But it was very sweet."
"Don't call me sweet, Macdonald. I have a reputation to maintain." He scowled, but he couldn't disguise his unbridled happiness as he wrapped his arm around Mary and she leaned against him. "Anyway, Moony and Pete should be coming soon. The bitch downstairs wouldn't let us all up right away, but I told them– Evans, what are you doing?"
Lily had thrown her arms around Sirius and Mary. She didn't respond for a moment, then released them and looked up, unabashed as tears filled her eyes.
"You two are back together."
Sirius raised his eyebrows. "And you're crying about that because…?"
James grinned and beckoned for Lily to join him again. "Don't mind Evans. She's a bit emotional today."
Lily laughed as she perched on the side of his bed. "Don't mind James. He's on a very strong pain potion."
James glanced up at Sirius and nodded. "That's true. I dunno what exactly they gave me, but I feel fucking great."
Sirius shook his head and settled into the chair across from James's bed, shifting so that Mary could sit on his lap. "And I bet you didn't save me any. Bloody selfish, Prongs. I showed up at that warehouse when I wasn't even on duty, out of the goodness of my heart–"
"You told me to use the mirror to let you know if things ever went sideways because you didn't want to miss anything exciting!"
"You say that like you didn't tell me the exact same thing," Sirius said, grinning.
Remus and Peter arrived a short time later and crammed into the little hospital room. James looked at the group of them crowded around his bed and chuckled.
"This reminds me of all the time we spent in the hospital wing, annoying Madam Pomfrey."
"Yeah, except it's usually me in the bed," Remus said with a wry smile."
James patted the mattress. "You can come join me, if you like."
"That's alright. It's a nice change."
"I can go down to the Welcome Witch and see if she's got a chess set we can borrow," Peter offered. "Watching me beat Padfoot at chess always makes Moony feel better. Maybe it'll work for you too, Prongs."
While Sirius and James debated the merits of Peter's suggestion, Remus and Lily slipped out to get tea for everyone. After the crowded atmosphere in the hospital room, the cool silence of the corridor was soothing.
"You alright?" Remus asked as they climbed the stairs that led to the tea room. "That must have been horrible for you."
Lily remembered watching James fall and experienced the paralyzing terror all over again. "He's going to be fine," she said, forcing her lips into a smile. "That's all that matters."
Remus looked pensive as they ordered drinks and began to levitate them back to James's room. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, he cleared his throat and broke the silence.
"Pete and I had an idea," he began, studying the steam rising from Mary's tea. "But if you feel we're overstepping, just tell me to sod off."
Lily looked at him, intrigued by his hesitance. "Alright."
He ran his finger over a frayed but of skin around his thumbnail. "Well, I don't know if you planned to have anyone walk you down the aisle, but Pete and I were thinking maybe we could do it, if you like."
She stared at him, taking in the uncertainty in his smile and the anxious quality of his movements. Since they had moved up the wedding, she hadn't allowed herself to think about actually walking down the aisle. A raw ache nagged at her whenever she imagined her father beaming and taking her arm. You'll just walk yourself down the aisle, and it'll be fine, she had told herself before closing off her mind to further thoughts on the subject.
"I understand if you hate the idea." Remus's smile faltered as he dug his nail into his cuticle. "It was just something we–"
She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. There was a crash as she lost control of the levitation spell and one of the mugs of tea shattered on the floor. Remus guided the rest of the drinks safely to the floor, then patted her back gently.
"I don't hate the idea," she said, pulling away to look at him through a glaze of tears. "I love it."
A smile lit his face, easing the worried lines around his eyes and softening his scars. "Oh, good. Pete will be thrilled." He hesitated, his eyes drifting to his ragged cuticle before darting back up to look at her. "We love you, Lily. You're… You're like family."
She sniffed and nodded. "I love you, too. I don't know how I'd get through this without all of you."
Remus gestured at the spilled tea and shards of broken teacup that covered the floor. "I think that one was yours."
She made a sound halfway between a sob and a laugh. "I don't need tea."
A Healer passed them, casting a curious look at the mess on the floor.
"Come on," Lily said, Vanishing the mess and levitating the remaining cups of tea. "Let's go back before I embarrass myself more."
By the time visiting hours were over, Peter had won three chess matches and Sirius had been told off by both Remus and one of the Healers for smoking in the hospital room. They all filtered out, promising to return tomorrow, until only Lily remained. She lingered beside the bed, clutching James's hand as she imagined falling asleep in the cold, empty bed in their flat.
"You've got to go, Evs. They'll be back to tell you off if you don't. I'll be okay." He squeezed her hand and smiled, but she could see a slight tension in his mouth.
"You need more pain potion."
"I'm sure they'll give me more. They know what they're doing." He rested his hand on her knee, and she saw the remnants of his wounds, cruel and red against his skin. "Go home. You must be exhausted."
"Do you have the Invisibility Cloak with you?"
He frowned. "It's in the pocket of my coat." He gestured at the folded pile of clothes in the corner of the room. "They took them out to be washed. I hope that didn't hurt the cloak – it's never been washed before."
She wrinkled her nose. "It was probably due, then." She strode across the room and pulled the cloak from James's magically extended pocket, then knelt down and wedged herself underneath the bed.
"What are you doing?"
She tossed the cloak over her legs, nodding with satisfaction as they disappeared. "Washing doesn't seem to have hurt it any." As she covered the rest of her body with the cloak, James's face appeared beside her. His hair flopped into his face as he leaned over the side of the bed.
"You're going to hide under the bed so the Healers don't kick you out for the night?"
She nodded before realizing he couldn't see her. "What's the point of having an Invisibility Cloak if I can't use it to break silly hospital rules?"
A grin spread across his face. "I love you so much."
She pulled the cloak away from her face so she could kiss him. "Make sure you ask for more pain potion."
Lily lay there trying not to make noise as the Healer applied more salve to James's cuts and gave him another dose of Blood-Replenishing Potion.
"Is there anything else you need?" he asked as he prepared to go.
"No, I should be–" James gave a startled cry as Lily reached up and poked his leg. "I mean, I would take a bit more potion for the pain, if you can give me some."
Once James had gulped down the requested potion and the Healer had left for the night, Lily turned out the lights and snuggled up beside James. Light peeked in through the crack in the door, and there were occasional sounds from out in the corridor, but it was warm and cozy in the little room.
"You sure I'm not hurting you?" Lily shifted over so she wasn't putting pressure on James's injuries.
James heaved a contented sigh. "Nothing hurts right now." The pain potion gave his words a soft, blurred quality.
"Aren't you glad you listened to me?"
"I'm always glad when I listen to you."
She chuckled and brushed her lips against his shoulder. "I'll remind you of that next time you tell me I'm wrong."
They lay there in silence for a few minutes as his slow, even breath stirred tendrils of her hair. Lily's eyes drooped and her limbs ached with weariness. She was halfway to sleep when James's voice roused her.
"Thanks, Evans." The bedsprings creaked as he shifted over to kiss her. "You saved my life today."
An image sprang to her mind of James, crumpled on the ground as blood seeped through his clothing, but she forced the thought aside and focused on the rise and fall of his chest. "I know you'd do the same for me. Besides, I couldn't just leave you behind. That would be extremely un-Gryffindor of me."
"Mmm, that's true. Still…" He slid his hand under her shirt and traced the curve of her waist. "It was very sexy."
"Yes, that's what I was going for. I was going to buy some lingerie, but that seemed a bit cliche, so I decided to drag you through flames and spellfire instead."
He chuckled and draped his arm across her body. She thought he had drifted to sleep when he spoke again, his voice a slurred whisper in the dark.
"I think it was Snape."
Her eyes snapped open. "The Death Eater who cursed you?"
"Yeah. He had the right build, and I think I saw a bit of hair that looked like his. And…" She could sense him scrabbling for words in the potion-addled recesses of his brain. "The spell felt personal. Do you know what I mean?"
She shivered despite the warmth of the room and the cozy layer of blankets. The best attacks should be a bit personal, Severus had told her once. That's what gives your spell some bite – when you really hate someone.
"I do know what you mean," she murmured, thinking again of the vicious slash marks across James's skin.
"The Healers had never seen a spell like that," James continued, his tone detached, as though his words could float up to the ceiling. "I heard them talking, when they were patching me up. But it was definitely Dark Magic – I could feel it under my skin. I can still feel it."
She reached for his hand under the blanket. "It's awful, isn't it? It'll fade."
"I know." He ran his thumb along the back of her hand. "This is probably the pain potion talking, but I feel better when you're touching me. Like you're driving back the Dark Magic somehow. But…" A huge yawn interrupted his thought. "But like I said, you probably shouldn't take anything I'm saying right now too seriously."
He nestled into her neck and tightened his arm around her. After a minute, she felt his breathing shift as he slipped into a deep sleep. She lay there for a long time, watching his eyelids flutter as she mulled over what he had said. Even when exhaustion won over and she fell asleep, she didn't manage to shake the sense of unease that had crept in at the mention of Severus's Dark Magic.
James spent the next three days at St. Mungo's, with Lily sitting beside his bed during the day and sleeping curled next to him at night. During that time, his friends stopped in at various points, as did Frank, Alice, Marlene, Moody, and Dumbledore. Fleamont and Euphemia arrived on the second day much to James's chagrin, as he had made a point of keeping his injury from his parents.
"Never you mind who told us," Euphemia said after giving James yet another cautious hug. "It wasn't Sirius, so don't go telling him off. I won't have my favorite son shouted at."
After the Healers proclaimed James well enough to go home, Lily was glad to return to the quiet familiarity of their flat. The dishes in the sink and the empty takeaway box on the coffee table were comforting rather than irritating after so much time away. James grinned as he walked around the corner and spotted a sign scrawled across a ragged piece of cardboard: Welcome home, tosser.
"That's quite thoughtful, for Padfoot," Lily said, laughing. "Although if he'd been in hospital, you would have filled the flat with balloons and had confetti go off as soon as he walked through the door."
"Well, not everyone is as thoughtful as I am." James took her hand and led her to the bedroom. "Fancy a nap?"
A beam of afternoon light pooled on the braided rug in front of the bed. The duvet was rumpled and there was a pair of Lily's pajamas tossed across the foot of the bed, but the sheets smelled of James's soap and the mattress was deliciously soft after three nights on the cramped hospital bed. She ran her hands down James's back and kneaded the knots from his shoulders, enjoying his soft sighs of pleasure. When he rolled over to face her, his eyes were bright and his cheeks were flushed for the first time in days.
"Before, when I said it was really bloody sexy the way you got me out of that warehouse?" He leaned close, pausing every few words to trail light kisses down her neck and collarbone. "I wasn't kidding. I can't stop thinking about it."
She closed her eyes as his tongue grazed the hollow of her throat. "I didn't do anything impressive."
"Shhh, Evs, let me sing your praises."
A shiver of pleasure ran through her as he lifted her shirt aside and circled his tongue around her nipple. "James, you're supposed to rest. Your wounds aren't fully healed."
He looked up at her, a mischievous smile on his lips. "It'll be fine. Just be gentle."
She moaned and dug her nails into his shoulder when his tongue resumed its slow, teasing movements.
"That's not very gentle." He brushed his thumb over her other nipple until it stiffened. "It's okay, though. I'll allow it."
She pressed her mouth to his, desperate for the greedy, insistent pressure of his lips. His heart pounded under her hand and his breath was hot against her skin and he was so alive. The moment stretched out as she savored his vitality, her fingertips picking out the rhythm of his heart beat. She pulled away, gasping for breath, and admired him. His glasses were askew and a strand of hair flopped into his face as he unbuttoned her trousers. She drank in every detail: the glaze of desire in his eyes, the dark curl of hair below his navel, the urgency in his touch as he slid her trousers down. When he tugged his own shorts down and moved to straddle her, she saw a flicker of pain cross his face.
"Hey." She pressed a hand to his shoulder and eased him down onto the mattress. "Don't you dare reopen those cuts. I don't want to spend another night in that St. Mungo's bed. We won't be able to do this."
When she lowered herself onto him, she moaned and drank in the blissful expression on his face. She moved slowly, gently, breathing his name as he filled her up. Her fingers rested on his chest, hovering over the cruel slash marks that marred his skin. Darkness lingered in those red marks, foreign and sinister. She pressed her fingertip to the biggest cut, sensing the Dark Magic left behind by the curse, but underneath it was just James, his skin dewy with sweat as he moved inside of her.
"I love you." Her lips brushed his ear and her finger traced a light path across his cuts while her hips drew him deeper.
"I love you too." His words were barely comprehensible as he inclined his hips to meet hers, his fingers scrabbling against her lower back. He moved faster and faster, gasping for breath and murmuring her name against her skin. As she sensed his pleasure building, Lily's anticipation grew with each thrust and desperate cry. When the moment of release came, the darkness under his skin receded, leaving only James lying underneath her, his chest heaving as he pulsed inside of her. She moved with him until he shuddered and fell still. Warmth trickled between her legs and down her thigh as she rolled off and settled beside him. He heaved a contented sigh and slung his arm across her body, his breathing returning to a normal rhythm.
"Fuck, Evs. That was… Fuck."
She smiled, relishing the satisfaction of reducing him to sighs and profanity. "And look – you didn't reopen any of your cuts."
He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. "You're amazing."
She laced her fingers through his and drew the blanket over them, too sleepy and comfortable to bother getting dressed. As they fell asleep, Lily was grateful for James's breath tickling her shoulder and the soft flutter of his heartbeat under her fingers.