Page 124 of A Curse of Hope and Shadows: Part I
Dimitri rolled onto his good side and tried to sleep. He felt weak and exhausted, his left arm was pulsing, and yet he knew sleep was almost certain to avoid him.
The door creaked open. “Are you asleep?”
His heart skipped at the sound of her voice.Adeline.“I most certainly am not.”
He heard a soft snort as she shuffled into the room, dressed for bed and carrying a lamp. Her hair was bound in a loose, damp braid, and she smelled of fresh lavender soap.
“You look nice,” he remarked.
She hugged her shawl closer to her body. “I lookclean.”
“Perhaps I just have low standards but I rather find you look fetching in everything.”
“Working on those flirting skills, I see.” She placed her lamp down on the bedside and took his face in her hands. “You look brighter.”
“I’ve eaten well.”
“How’s the arm?”
He swallowed. “Hurts.”
“I should have checked on it earlier.”
“You were exhausted.”
“Pain trumps tiredness.”
He shook his head. “You’re too hard on yourself.”
Adeline turned to root through the basket of bandages and ointments that had been left by his bedside. “No, I’m just hard enough.”
“For what?”
“To keep myself together.”
Dimitri reached out and touched her arm. “You don’t have to keep yourself together in front of me,” he reminded her. “And I don’t want you to exhaust yourself on my behalf.”
She spun round, scissors in hand, and began to snip away his wrappings. “Some people are worth being exhausted for,” she said breezily, and hushed him when he tried to speak.
He averted his gaze when the bandages fell away, not wanting to see the mangled mess of it. He bit his lip as Adeline touched the swollen knots of muscle, trying not to hiss.
“Stitches need to come out,” she said. “I’m afraid that won’t be very pleasant.”
“At least I’ll have the joy of your company to distract me.”
“Verysmooth.”
“I try.”
“Stay on your side,” she instructed, moving the lamp to a better angle. “Stare at the wall.”
“I’d rather stare at you.”
“I don’t perform well under pressure.”
“Liar.”
She seized his chin and angled his gaze away from her. He clenched his good fist as she snipped and tugged at the thread in his shoulder, trying to think of anything else.
