The Crimson Claymore

The Crimson Claymore: Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Searon awoke with his chest bare and a searing pain that traveled up his spine. His eyes opened and were nearly blinded at the brightness of the white room. He lay upon a bed with his head propped atop soft pillows and red-stained white sheets that he knew came from his wound. Dizziness overtook him when he tried to sit up, and that caused him to fall back to his pillow and made him want to curl up in a ball from pain if he only could. A glass of cold water seemed to shine in his peripheral vision that had him grasping for it in a heartbeat. Thankfully, his arms worked well enough for him to grab the water and take a few sips before the rest spilled all over him. His dizziness began to fade as he set the glass back on the white table next to him upside-down.

The door cracked opened, and a beautiful brunette kheshlar wearing white robes entered the room. She stalked up to Searon and gazed at him with sparkling silver-emerald eyes. Concern masked her face as she sat at a stool next to him and felt his forehead with her palm. Her skin was different than the other kheshlars; it was a pale green instead of blue.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

Entranced. Mesmerized. He began to wonder for a moment if he was dead, and this was the paradise realm of the creator.

"A bit...dizzy," he confessed.

"That is to be expected." She came up to the bed and sat next to him as she checked his bandages.

He watched her carefully as she inspected his wounds. Most were minor, but dried blood scarred most of his arms and face with a few on his chest. Her eyes wandered across his half-naked body for any other wounds she might have missed.

"What is your name?" Searon asked.

"Anaela," she shared, slightly smiling.

She unraveled the bandage from his head and cringed as the cloth fell. Her fingers moved to his chest where she pulled the cloth off next to expose black-and-purple bruises. He looked down and shook his head as he saw what shape he was in. Anaela ran her fingers over his chest, and he sucked in his breath to mask the pain. She pushed with her fingers at certain spots on his flesh that nearly had him wailing in pain. Her hands abruptly shot back, and she bit her lip as she looked down at him with concern.

"Don't stop," Searon whispered.

Her touch had felt divine against his bare skin, and he craved it despite the intense pain that it caused; it was worth having her soft skin upon him. He began to wonder what it would be like to have her hands travel the distance of his body, but he quickly shook his head to dismiss the notion.

She grinned as she secured his wounds back in bandages, careful not to hurt him. His eyes held hers in a long moment that seemed frozen by time. Her grin turned to a halfhearted smile as she studied him. It no longer appeared as if she were studying his wounds, but his appearance overall. He remembered doing the same the first he saw the kheshlars and wondered if this woman had ever seen a human. Her eyes lingered on his muscles, and her cheeks reddened before she turned away.

"You need to keep these bandages on for another week," Anaela blurted toward the empty glass of water.

"How long have I been out?" Searon rubbed his eyes with a yawn.

"Five days."

Five days of no memories. He shivered as he thought about it. He wondered if she had been there taking care of him for the past several days. Soon, his mind wandered to his companions, and he wondered if everybody was all right. Shivers drenched his body with chill bumps to match.

"Wow," he whispered.

He gazed around and noticed crushed herbs and vials of colorful liquids on a desk at the far side of the room and gaped. There were so many potions and herbal remedies, some of which he recognized from when Starlyn had him picking plants and flowers with her for healing Andron. His attention shifted back to the kheshlar, who studied him carefully. Her ears were rounder than the other kheshlars but still had a sharp tip, and her eyebrows weren't as silver as other kheshlars.