Glycerine | Astarion

Chapter Eight

Gʅყƈҽɾιɳҽ

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

As he stood, she flinched away, causing him to frown.

"Xynaa," he whispered, shaking his head. His eyes softened as he listened to her whimpers. "I won't hurt you, you know that."

Astarion kneeled before her and examined her. Blood stained her fingers and her hand as she held it over a spot on her side.

"Shit."

She shook her head as she tried to speak. "I can fix it."

He scoffed. "Do you have any other tricks up those pretty sleeves of yours, darling?"

Xynaa tried to move, but she hurt too much. Astarion reached forward, looking at her.

"Let me get you inside." He whispered. Xynaa wrapped one arm around his neck, whimpering as the vampire lifted her into his arms. Astarion hurried back towards the city, where he took her to her shop.

"The key—"

He didn't care. He busted the door open, and she jumped at the loud noise.

"Don't worry, it's fixable." He said, kicking it shut. The man rushed her upstairs to the loft, where Delphi sat and greeted them at the door.

"What do you need?" He asked as he set her down. Her blood was seeping through her clothes, staining the woman's fingers.

"I d—don't need anything." She said. Astarion watched as she closed her eyes and tried her best to steady her breathing.

He watched in shock as a blue light radiated from her palm, into her side. She gritted her teeth at the pain, but as the light faded, she began to relax.

Astarion never moved as he watched her. But once she was stable, he rushed towards the sink and doused a cloth into cold water. Rushing back to her side, Xynaa peered up at him as he wrung out the cloth.

Lifting the bloodied shirt, he revealed her smooth skin; there was no sign of a wound there anymore, just the remaining blood.

Wiping at her skin, Xynaa watched him intently. She kept track of the way his eyes dilated and his nostrils flared off and on, as if he were fighting the smell lingering inside of his nose.

"Is it too much for you?" She asked him.
"I've been faced with far more incredulous challenges." He stated. It came off cold, but that wasn't his intention.

Xynaa grabbed his hand. "Astarion. . ."

When he looked back up at her, she could see his struggle. His jaw was clenched tightly, and his nostrils flared again.

"I do trust you." She told him. "You don't have to fight it."

Astarion pulled away. "Don't do that. Gods, what in the sweet hells are you doing to me? You don't understand, I can't. I want to, but I can't. I. . . I can't."

"Tell me why." She demanded.

"Because I will only risk your life, and I will die in the process." He snapped. "Cazador will kill you."