Devil's Due [h.s.]

Chapter 41

***THIS WAS A DOUBLE UPDATE. Read Chapter 40 first!***

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Chapter 41

"River."

The voice was familiar. It was calling me from somewhere close. They had to be no less than a few feet away. Their tone was hushed, reverent. The slightly hazy picture of the crumbling Italian building before me faltered; each step forward that I took feeling that much heavier. More confusing.

Where was I?

What was going on?

"River."

There it was again. That voice. The sky was a deep purple when I looked up. It was fading in and out, streaks of white and gold pouring through. Was that always the colour of the sky?

"Riv." The voice was more insistent this time. "Wake up."

My eyes flew open, hand fisting at the sheets beside me as I shot up, drawing the comforter to my chest. I quickly glanced around the dark room, pushing myself close to the headboard, confused for a few moments as to where I was and what was going on.

"Hey..." My eyes flitted to a stop at the person kneeling on the edge of my bed – on Harry. He had a hand carefully extended in my direction. "You're fine. It's me."

From what I could make out thanks to the bits of light peeking in through the hallway, his hair was wet. Like he'd just gotten out of the shower. Actually, all of him was wet and glistening – his bare torso flexing as he moved a bit closer. He had one knee balanced on the edge of the bed, his hand braced flat on the comforter beside my legs.

My brows pulled together as I groggily asked, "What time is it?"

"Around 7:30 Italian time," he responded softly.

"Oh my god," I stretched my arms above my head with a groan. "I've been asleep for almost 2 hours?"

Harry angled his head to the side, inching a bit closer. The hand that was still frozen in midair reached forward, causing me to tense. He caught my chin, letting out a breathy laugh as his thumb dragged along the corner of my mouth. "You drool in your sleep; did you know that?"

"And did you know that you're being creepy?" I shot back, grabbing his wrist and hauling it away from me. Harry just let out another amused chuckle, keeping his eyes on mine while he got up from off of the bed.

"I'm assuming you didn't eat then?" He leaned back against the dresser, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I did." I lied.

"Mm," Harry hummed, taking a few lazy steps toward the doorway before reaching forward to grab something. He pulled from the living room a metal cart. It rattled at the movement, the entire tray of food that sat atop it shaking. "This food?"

"Fine," I grumbled, throwing the comforter off and jumping from the bed with an exaggerated huff. "I didn't eat. But I can't. I'm not hungry."

"You have to eat," he said flatly. "I can't have you passing out tomorrow."

"I won't."

"You will."

His words had me rolling my eyes, but I approached the cart, running a finger over the silver platter and thumbing through the assortment displayed before me. It was all a mix of soups, breads and meats – expensive food that I had no interest in trying to shove down my throat right now.

I braced a hand on the edge of the cart, turning toward Harry. "I'm not hungry."

Harry's nostrils flared. "Eat."