Page 44 of Stitches
Yentriss’s face was as stony as ever—until it cracked with emotion, and she lurched forward to hug Levi.
Levi froze, clearly not sure how to react, but as he slowly lifted his arms to return the embrace, all Ashmedai could do while looking on was smile.
“You saved him,” Yentriss said.
“I-I-I—”
“You saved him,” she affirmed, releasing Levi and straightening to return her countenance to calm resolve. “Who knows what might have happened if Grillo had been alone? He told me what happened. It wasn’t folly. A whole line of the perimeter needed to be replaced, and the barrier curved in a way you couldn’t have predicted, but your quick thinking got him here before too much blood was lost. For that, he will live. Thank you.”
If further dissent rose in Levi, he didn’t speak it.
“Come, Kenner.” Yentriss turned to her son. “You can see your father now.”
The boy hopped off the bench in excitement, fears banished now that all was truly well. Luccite stood proudly at the curtain, her robe faintly stained with blood. As she held the curtain open for Yentriss and Kenner, Ashmedai saw Grillo on the table. He looked weak butalert, his arm regrown from Luccite’s efforts, though it almost seemed as though he’d gotten a donation from his wife, since the new arm was covered in scales.
Grillo’s eyes didn’t meet Ashmedai’s. They centered on Levi, and before the curtain closed, he offered a grateful smile.
Levi sagged back onto the bench, stunned, maybe, but content.
Good—because now Ashmedai had to ask, “You were parallel with Grillo but perfectly fine. The barrier curved?”
Levi turned to him, sliding closer across where Kenner had sat as if automatically drawn to Ashmedai. “I must have been a mere reach of my hand from the same fate.”
“Can you show me where this happened, where you think something was buried?”
Fear filled Levi’s eyes. “We left everything behind. It should be an easy trail to follow. But… isn’t it dangerous?”
“We won’t get too close. I would let nothing happen to you.”
Ashmedai reached for Levi’s cheek, adoring as he was of its curve and indigo hues. There were the least number of stitches on Levi’s face, only at the stretch of his mouth and, more faintly, at his cheekbones and brow. Ashmedai stroked along the stitches beneath his thumb, and it seemed only then to dawn on Levi that he wore nothing but trousers, for he hunched like he wanted to hide his nakedness while under Ashmedai’s scrutiny.
Slowly, observant of any sign that Levi might not want what he was about to do, Ashmedai dragged his fingers down Levi’s jaw to his neck, where there were perhaps the most prominent stitches, and then farther down between his clavicle and slightly to the side where a long, angled line stitched over Levi’s heart.
The heart must have belonged to someone else once, but it was Levi’s now. Levi’s mind caused it to beat. Levi’s will directed its yearnings. It belonged to Levi, though Ashmedai wouldn’t mind the chance to shareit.
Shadow magic sprung from Ashmedai’s fingertips before he’d even consciously begun to conjure the spell. With no refusal or look of discomfort from Levi, Ashmedai drew the line of dark, pulsing magic along the slanted stitches, down and up again, feeling Levi shiver with every stroke.
Levi heaved closer, forcing Ashmedai’s whole hand to flatten over his heart. The final cleansing of magic left smooth skin that was all Levi’s.
“You smell like lilacs….” Levi whispered.
Their lips were left so close that there was nothing to do but sigh into the space between them until their mouths met. They weren’t somewhere private, not even as private as behind a festival stall, since someone could come out from behind that curtain anytime. The kiss remained chaste, but Ashmedai looked forward to when he might next feel Levi’s warmth with a deeper embrace.
“Come,” Ashmedai said. “We’ll get you something to wear and hurry into the wood before too much time has passed.”
Given the crowd outside, waiting to hear word, once Ashmedai informed them that Grillo was well, it took but a moment for someone to offer Levi a cloak. Others joined them to help rebuild the lacking perimeter and bring back the supplies.
Ashmedai knew he couldn’t sense the barrier, but when they reached the site of the accident, being so close to it left his skin prickling and his hair on end, like there was a coming lightning storm. Crystals were placed where the perimeter needed it, while Grillo’s axe, cart, and the remaining lumber were gathered.
Levi frowned, looking around at where the new crystals had been set. “Maybe I imagined it. I could have sworn the upturned dirt was there—” He pointed beyond the bright line of glowing crystals. “—but that’s impossible, and everything looks smooth now. Maybe the hole was somewhere else. I can’t remember anymore. I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right,” Ashmedai said, not wanting Levi to blame himself. “In all the chaos, it’s understandable if you got turned around. We’ll look a little longer and then head back.”
They looked and looked, but by the time the others were ready to head back, no disturbed dirt had betrayed itself. All that marred the ground was a bit of Grillo’s blood.
The last thing Ashmedai would ever want to believe was that the barrier couldmove, as some of the rumors among his people speculated, but today, he wasn’t sure what to believe.
Braxton was at the edge of the path when they exited. It always seemed surreal to see him outdoors when, obviously, to get from the tower to the council hall, he had to traverse the distance somehow. Braxton couldn’t shadow jump like Ashmedai, but he certainly appeared out of nowhere when it suited him.
