"Greysi!"
A gentle sting accompanied the panicked call of my name that penetrated through the fog clouding my thoughts. They were slow-moving, making it difficult to grasp what had left the light bite of pain on my cheek that was turning into a fast-fading warmth. I reached a hand up to my cheek while my eyes took a conscious effort to crack my heavy lids open.
Once I did, I blinked, staring up at the sight that greeted me. Then I blinked again. Nothing changed.
My lips pulled down in a frown as I looked into the face hanging over mine. Rowan's features were strained and his eyes clenched shut while he quietly swore under his breath. As I stared at him, I grew increasingly aware of the sore wetness I could still feel between my thighs. With the awareness, came a flood of memories, including the ones I had from moments before I had passed out. They also made it glaringly clear that I was naked. We both were.
No longer concerned about the all-but-forgotten sensation on my cheek, my heart kickstarted into overdrive as I jerked upright. Moving impulsively, I reached for the sheets that lay around us to cover myself in the room that was now bathed in bright lights rather than the darkness that had given me the confidence required to strip down and stare down a fae prince in a piss-poor attempt of a power move.
We both already knew who held the upper hand in this exchange, and like always, it wasn't me. Even when I accidentally head-butted a man who had his eyes clenched shut like it could help draw a useful one.
Regret hit me hard, making me wish I had taken a second to think through my course of action as my forehead slammed against Rowan's nose with a sickening crack. I felt bone give and heard it break against my padded skull before all I could do was experience pain.
It was reflected in the groan I sounded as I rolled off his legs, clutching my head in my hands as I curled over onto my side to press them against my knees in hopes of alleviating the pain with pressure.
It felt like it was just beginning to work when I felt fingers prying mine away. "Let me see," Rowan's muffled voice sounded, not a hint of pain audible.
Despite his words making an insistent request, his fingers didn't give me a choice in the matter. Pulling my hands away, he placed his on either side of my head to force it up to meet his eyes. Mine widened when I spotted the bright red of blood just under his nose. My own pain forgotten, my heart gave a violent twist as I reached for Rowan's bleeding nose without thinking, but luckily stopped myself short before I could make it any worse.
He, on the other hand, didn't hold the same qualms. Of course, he wouldn't, his touch healed. It didn't taint everything with misfortune like I managed to.
Well, unfortunately for him, he was now stuck with me and the misfortune I came with and could never quite shake for too long. Now, Rowan's greed for power had landed him with us both. Karma came in many forms.
I pressed my lips together on the curse that wanted to escape when one of the hands that had pried mine away left the side of my head to return to prod his fingers at the tender spot that was starting to form a bump. The hiss that escaped when he pressed a bit more firmly was cut short by the rush of cool warmth that flowed into my body from the point of contact. The only reason I didn't immediately pull away was because I recognized the healing warmth that his touch held, but it became apparent very quickly that it was another mistake.
My eyes which had clenched shut in an attempt to block out pain snapped open while my lips parted in a gasp. It was cut short as the magic Rowan pushed into me grew in intensity, but unlike previously, it wasn't healing warmth turning into pain that had it cutting the sharp intake of air off. No, it was the moan that slipped free mid-gasp as Rowan's magic flooded my body in a contradicting mixture of soothing warmth and numbing coolness, invading in a way it had never done before. It was poking and prodding in every nook and cranny inside me, knocking on the doors of memories that left marks he had no right to know let alone touch.
