Page 23 of The Withering Dawn
“Muñequita,” I muttered, brushing her cheek with my thumb in an attempt to coax her awake.
Her brows twitched and slowly, she pried open her eyes to look up at me. Her gaze flitted back and forth across my face as if she didn’t truly see me, but when she understood where she was, she frowned. Asoft whimper escaped her lips and she tried to sit up, but she stopped, coughing into the blanket and expelling another mouthful of blood.
Feeling impatient, I gripped her chin and tilted her head up toward me. She wasn’t entirely cooperative, but I saw what I needed to. Her tongue was still there, but her teeth were stained red. She was bleeding profusely and I could only guess Henry had something to do with it.
I moved to stand and get something to clean her with when she reached out and grabbed the wet fabric on the front of my shirt. I dropped my gaze to find a plume of red staining the shoulder of my blouse. The laces on the collar of my shirt were loose and out of place, so I tugged the fabric aside enough to see that my stitches had been ripped open in the commotion.
Aeris gently placed her hand on my shoulder beside the wound, framing it between her thumb and fingers.
“It is nothing,” I assured her, grabbing her chin. “This is something. I’ve only just been able to talk to you and you’ve almost been silenced again.”
She shook her head. “No,” she said, though it sounded weak.
I stood and walked to one of my trunks, pulling out a glass bottle of fresh drinking water. After I uncorked it, I handed it to Aeris. She hesitated, smelling it like she thought it was something else, and then took a big gulp, swishing it before swallowing and repeating the process. I winced at the fact that her mouth was full of blood every time she swallowed. Then again, sirens were maneaters. Blood likely had a pleasant taste to them. If not pleasant, it certainly didn’t appear to bother her.
“You took a big chunk out of Rourk,” I said as she handed the bottle back.
“He was going to shoot someone,” she replied, her throat bobbing as she spoke like her tongue was bothering her speech.
“He would not have shot me.”
Her eyes darted up toward me. “Yes, he would have. Out of panic if nothing else. I saw it in his eyes. And the doctor. He’s a sick man. Ismelled it on him.” She paused a moment, her gaze wandering my cabin. “Rourk. Is he… did I…”
“Dead. Surrendered to the ocean.”
Her breath quickened at the realization and she gulped, her fingers curling against the sheets beneath her.
I shoved the cork back into the bottle and set it aside. “What does that make you?”
She pushed herself onto her feet, swaying a little as the ship tilted, sending the bottle right off the table. I caught it in my hand before it crashed to the floor. Aeris spread her arms for balance and then headed toward the door, unstable. I was certain the blow to her head was not helping. She walked around my desk, and I moved around it on the opposite side, placing the bottle on the floor and meeting her at the door. She reached for the handle so I braced a hand against the door to stop her, pulling her away from it.
“Where are you going?”
“I… I don’t know. I shouldn’t have followed you onto your ship.”
“Perhaps not. Why did you?”
“I thought…” she trailed off, her eyes diverting as if she was trying to look anywhere but at me. “I thought… I saw you and… I…”
The Amanacer swayed, leaning suddenly enough for both of us to lose our balance that time. I stumbled backwards, my back hitting the wall. Aeris tripped forward, crashing into me with a grunt. Instinct drove me to grab her arms, trying to keep her steady, when the ship lurched the other way and we both staggered toward the other side of the room. She hit the wall and to keep from crushing her beneath me, I braced my hands on either side of her. I looked down at her caged between my arms. Her fingers hooked the wet fabric of my shirt for support as she peered up at me, her gaze betraying the countless emotions she was trying to suppress. I was taken aback by that. It was sudden and it seemed to be taking over quickly. Her breath quickened and her eyes started to widen like a horrible realization had taken over her thoughts. I frowned with concern when a distressed sob escapedher throat and she squeezed her eyes closed. The ship slowly leveled, but she kept a firm hold on my shirt, tugging me close.
My whole body itched to pull her into my arms and cradle her. I could tell she was breaking apart inside. Her heart was racing and every breath she took sounded labored.
I knew that feeling.
The feeling of being swallowed by the dark and screaming silently for someone to keep your head above water. I’d wished in those distant moments that I had something—someone—to hang onto while I was falling. I never did. The only one to have ever tried was devoured by the very darkness that wanted to destroy me, too. I climbed out on my own.
But I wished I didn’t have to.
All the voices in my head shouted in unison, telling me to ignore my impulses, but it was too late. My body and soul had made the decision already. As Aeris dropped her forehead to my chest, I cradled the back of her head with my hand. God, I wanted to do more.
The ship began to tilt again, driving both of us back to the other side of the room. The frustration I was feeling was palpable and I wished the storm would stop. The excitement of it had passed and now it was a nuisance.
When I hit the wall again, I felt Aeris’s legs give out beneath her. As she sank, I wrapped her up in my embrace and slid down to the floor with her. She curled herself up between my legs, her head against my sternum, and I held her. She did not weep, but her breaths were rattled, and her body began to tremble like a terrified little rabbit in a cage.
I knew then, without a doubt in my heart, that I was not holding a monster. I was holding a frightened, fractured young woman in my arms in desperate need of a lifeline. I pulled her closer, combing my fingers through her damp hair to get it out of her face, but she would not look up at me. She stayed there, tightly curled against me until finally, her rapid, uneven breaths slowed and her body ceased shivering. The ship continued to creak and shudder against thetempest, but I anchored myself there against the wall, bracing a foot on my desk leg so that we were not jostled about. It was sturdy, bolted to the floor like every other piece of furniture I had.
“I was scared,” Aeris finally whispered.
