Ravaged

Chapter 16

Sky tucks the blades into the waistband of her pants after she finishes dressing, then leaves the bathroom. The clothes are warm and soft, and Sky rather likes the way they feel against her skin. Her hair is still damp, and she twines it around one hand as she heads for the main living area of their suite.

Feng is kneeling in front the fireplace, messing with the fire, putting logs on it and making sure the flame burns brightly. Sky walks over and sits down beside him.

He looks at her from the corner of one eye. "Hard floors, we talked about this."

"Soft chairs, not close to the fire," she says simply. She lifts her hair to bring attention to the fact that it's still wet.

Feng looks amused. "I went downstairs," he says, "and asked if there's any food left. And they said they'd bring us some in about twenty minutes."

Sky just nods. She's still not overly fond of food, even though she knows her body needs it. It's not her fault they only gave her crumpled pieces of bread every now and then... there was no rhyme or logic to the times she actually got fed. Sky couldn't pick up a distinct pattern, even in their minds. It seemed like they only gave her food when they felt like it or when they didn't want to use their magic to keep her alive.

She starved for so long that eventually her body got used to the feeling.

"Here," Feng says, "turn around." He nudges her shoulders.

The panic that rises inside her from his touch is very minimal now, barely noticeable even. His touch is almost... comforting. She turns wordlessly so her back is to the fire. Feng lifts his hands from her shoulders and runs his fingers through her hair, spreading out her curls. The movement reminds her of when he washed her hair just a few minutes ago.

She actually liked that. She doesn't mind having his fingers in her hair.

Feng keeps running his fingers through the strands for a while. Sky closes her eyes against the feeling. She'd forgotten how good it felt to have someone play with her hair.

For a moment she's struck by the thought that she actually considers a feeling good.

She sits there for a minute, stunned by the realization.

Good. Not the absence of pain. Not numb, but actually... good.

After a few minutes pass, Feng has her curls aligned in some meticulous pattern. He stops and starts lifting his hands from her hair.

"Don't stop," she hears herself say, even if the words are very soft.

She doesn't want him to stop. She likes the feeling... she hasn't liked a feeling in a very long time. She doesn't want it to end. Not yet.

Feng is still for a moment, and she half wonders if he heard her.

It's probably for the better if he didn't.

"All right," he says after a moment. Why did he hesitate...? Sky's brows furrow as his hands slide back into her brown tresses.

Her eyes drift closed again as he gently runs his fingers through her hair, playing with the curls. It reminds her of when Emilia Grigoli used to comb out her hair on days the boys decided to be, well... boys, and Sky was left inside the mansion with her own devices.

Feng starts massaging her scalp as well, and she leans back into his hands. She's actually enjoying his touch, instead of panicking from it.

Sky doesn't know how to analyze that. She only knows that she doesn't want him to stop.