Page 78 of Heartsong
She wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t come back, but…she hoped he would. There were a lot of things she had to say. Even if just the thought of them terrified her.
22
The window was open again. Frey looked for it the moment his eyes could see, and his chest compressed with a heavy kind of hope. He hadn’t quite found all the words for all the things he wanted to tell her, but the window called him home, to her.
I want you, any way I can have you,was where he’d start.
The night was dark with cloud cover, and Frey flew high to take advantage. Landing on the steel scaffolding of his mate’s building, he took a long look about, assuring himself that nothing was amiss—nothing other than that infernal vehicle, at least—before pushing open the window.
He entered a dark, silent living room. That was, until a little shadow appeared from the darkness to meow fiercely at him.
“I know, my friend, I know,” he said, scooping up Captain.
The cat’s purring was loud and his claws little pinpricks as he kneaded them against the meat of Frey’s neck. Captain’s rough tongue scraped at his ear and cheek, and Frey was glad for the small but welcome greeting.
“Where is your mistress, hmm?”
Lick lick lick.
Frey took in the apartment, worried with what he found. Blankets thrown across the couch, heating pad left on the coffee table, bowls of half-finished, congealed oats.
He remembered how Anna had rubbed at her head the other night, one of the clear signs she was getting a headache. The items scattered about were even more indication, and Frey rumbled unhappily to find that his mate had been hurting.
Setting Captain down, he went about tidying the dwelling, replacing the bowls in the kitchen and folding the blankets into their basket. Then, there was nothing left to do but take the heating pad and brave his mate’s bedchamber.
He found that even darker, her thick curtains drawn against any light that would steal inside. The lump she made in the blankets was small, her legs drawn up nearly to her chest, and for a moment Frey couldn’t find her head.
“Anna?” he whispered, not wanting to wake her if she truly was asleep.
From under the pillows, Anna’s head emerged, and she sat up, frowning through the darkness.
“Frey?” she said in a voice that was wobbly and small.
He crossed the room and knelt beside the bed, placing his hand gently on her leg. “I’m here,fy nghalon.”
At his words, her face crumpled. Anna fell forward, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face in the crook of his shoulder. Her face quickly went hot and damp with tears, and Frey put down the heating pad so he could enfold his mate in his arms.
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed, “I’m so sorry.”
He purred for her, gutted by her tears. “No, my Anna, I am sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you. I let my fears get the better of me.”
“Me too. Don’t wanna be like that. I don’t wanna be afraid.” She sobbed the words into his skin, making him want to crawl out of it to soothe her.
He didn’t miss how her words slurred, though. Reaching a hand up to her head, he gently massaged at the base of her skull. The groan of relief Anna gave only confirmed his suspicions, and she burrowed further into him.
“How long,fy nghalon?”
“About three days. Taken a lot of meds.”
Frey grumbled, hating her pain.
“Nothing has helped?”
“Not really.”
Her head lolled when he stood, and Frey gingerly felt along her skull and neck. “You’re so tense here.” He thought back to the videos he’d watched on the different types of headaches and their treatment. His Anna was resourceful and knew her body best, but Frey had to try making it better. He couldn’t watch on as she suffered.
Pulling her gently to her feet, Frey encircled her in his wings. Her lids were heavy, eyes unseeing in the dark, but he heard her take and hold a sharp breath when she felt his face lean down to hers.
