Page 34 of A Curse of Hope and Shadows: Part I
“Oh.” Adeline’s chest swelled, brimming with understanding. “I see.”
She leaned forward and pulled him into her arms. He tensed only slightly before melting into them. “I will never do anything for you that makes me feel uncomfortable,” she assured him. “And when I hold you like this, it’s not because it’s my job. It’s because I care about you.”
Dimitri stiffened and softened in the space of a moment. “Thank you…”
“You don't need to thank me for liking you,” she said, stroking the back of his head. “Now eat some soup. I won’t say a nice thing about you until you’ve had at least five mouthfuls.”
“You drive a hard bargain.”
She smiled at him. “You look brighter.”
“I have an excellent nurse.”
She pressed her hand to his forehead. “You seem cooler now. How’s the head?”
“Room’s not spinning any more, so that’s nice.”
“Are you still in pain?”
His throat bobbed. “Always,” he said. “But it’s manageable.”
“I’ll make you up another compress.”
He said nothing until she was back by his side, and closed his eyes under the soft weight of the towel. “That’s nice,” he breathed. “You’renice.”
You’re nice, too,came a thought unbidden, but she could not find the strength to speak it.
Adeline stayed by his side until the end of the day, reading to him, forcing him to eat, keeping him warm and comfortable. By the end of the day, he was feeling more himself.
“It comes and goes that quickly?”
He nodded. “I know some of the servants think it’s all in my head, and I guess a part of it is, but… it isn’t all my head, you know?”
Adeline looked down. “What’s it like?” she asked. “The curse, I mean. Apart from the obvious… what can you see? Is your hearing any different, or—?”
Dimitri smiled, as if this question amused him. He pointed to his left side. “This eye isn’t as sharp as my other, and it can’t see colour, so using them at the same time causes the vision problems, and the headaches. But it can almost see in the dark. So there’s that.”
“And, the ear…”
“Much sharper. Excellent for overhearing what people are saying about you.”
“I’ll bear that in mind when I’m complaining about my unreasonable employer.”
He snorted.
“What’s it like having a tail?”
A smile twitched in the corner of his mouth. “I was wondering if you would ask about that. It’s a bit of a pain, I must say. Makes getting comfortable hard at times, and has a habit of acting a little bit of its own accord. Twitching when I’m nervous and wagging when I’m happy.”
“You can be happy?”
“Very funny.”
She flashed him a grin, and noticed there was some colour back in his cheek. “I think it’s rather sweet.”
He frowned. “You think so?”
“I do.”
