Page 49 of A Curse of Hope and Shadows: Part I
She wondered how Dimitri was doing. She was still clueless as to what the transformations entailed, exactly. She’d assumed she would be told, at some point. He really hadn’t wanted her to stay.
And she really hadn’t wanted to leave.
I’m coming, Dimitri,she thought to herself, keeping the words locked away, like the voice of a ghost. A strange feeling gripped her as she trod the path between his house and hers, as if home were both behind her and ahead.
Chapter Thirteen: Letters
Adeline appeared in the kitchen a good half hour before her duties were expected to begin, but far from the cheery welcome she’d grown used to, she was swept up by Mrs Minton and yanked into the corridor.
“Where have you been?” the woman demanded, her white cheeks flushed.
Adeline froze. Had Dimitri forgotten to tell her? “He told me to—”
“Never mind what he told you, he—” Mrs Minton broke off, rubbing her temples. Dark circles rimmed her eyes, and her usually immaculate hair was loose in places.
Something hard gripped Adeline, worse than nerves, worse than worry over disappointment. Fear. “Is he all right?”
Mrs Minton sighed, voice weary. “More or less. You need to hurry up there. He won’t have anyone else see to him. I set some things aside for you.”
“Things?”
“Hot water,” she said primly. “Bandages. He’s a bit of a mess. I thought he would have—if you’d been here last night…” She shook her head. “It’s no matter now. It’s done. But get up there quickly.”
Adeline’s panic had not quelled. She barely offered the housekeeper a curt nod before hurtling up the servants’ stairs and flinging herself into Dimitri’s room, quite forgetting to knock.
His head snapped up from the bed. “Well,” he said, “you’re a sight for sore eyes… literally.”
Adeline held back a gasp, her stomach recoiling. Her basket dropped to the floor.
Scratches and bruises covered Dimitri’s human arm. His furred cheek looked like it had been ripped away. His working eye was swollen beyond recognition. And yet, somehow, despite it all, he wassmilingat her.
“You... you... what happened?” She flew across the room and seized his face, inspecting the damage up close. Dimitri winced as she touched his eye.
“Didn’t bat an eyelid when you first met me... and this is what makes you look horrified?”
“Of course!” She seized a cloth from the tray Mrs Minton must have set aside for her, dabbing it in the bowl of hot water and applying it carefully to his head. “You look awful.”
“I always look awful.”
“Yes, but now you look like you’re in pain.”
“It’s all right. I’ve had worse.”
Adeline didn’t think her stomach could drop any lower, but it did at those words. What did ‘worse’ look like? “Why didn’t anyone doctor you before now?” she asked quietly.
He shrugged. “The blood’s clotted, I’ve not been up long, and I figured you’d be here soon. You’re much more gentle.”
She shook her head, biting her lip. “You shouldn’t have sent me away last night.”
“I didn’t want to worry you.”
“Well, you’re making up for it now...” She cleaned away the blood from his eye, making him flinch.I hate that this happened to you. I hate the cruel twist of fate that forced this on you. I hate that you sent me away. I hate it, hate it.“Can you even see?”
“Not well, no.”
“You should close your eyes. Give your vision a chance to recover.”
“But then I wouldn’t get to see you.”
