Cursed by the Gods

Chapter 20

I sank down into the wooden bench that ran along the back of the room, my head thumping back against the wall. The steam was making me sleepy. I could almost ignore the pain. It had dulled so much that I barely even noticed it anymore. And it was getting better by the moment. It was almost ...

Crap! Take cover, Soldier!

I scrambled up off the bench, but it was too late. Siret spilled into the room, looking wet, clean, and pissed. His clothes were soaked through, his medley gold-black hair was now mostly black, sticking to his head and running rivulets of water over his face.

"Er, hey there, Five," I muttered.

"Hey, Soldier."

I jumped to my feet, my face and body heating—no doubt as red as a berry, which he hopefully wouldn't notice through all the steam. "You've been listening to me!"

Siret's eyes darkened as he took a moment to run them over my body. A really long moment. No doubt the white wrap hid about the same amount as Jeffrey's outfit. Still, for the same reason as last time, I didn't cover myself. Part of me sort of felt like I didn't have to with the Abcurses. They wouldn't take advantage. They wouldn't judge me. I wasn't sure I had ever felt acceptance like that before. Then again, maybe it wasn't acceptance. Maybe it was apathy.

Maybe they were just disgusted with the way my body looked. Although judging by the looks that Siret was sending my way I could safely assume that I wasn't too bad.

Siret stepped closer to me. My eyes were glued to the rivulets of water running through his dark hair.

"Why did you come through the bathing rooms in your clothes?" I asked, because the silence was getting uncomfortable.

He still wasn't saying anything, and I had no idea what I was supposed to do. He reached out then and wrapped his hand around the back of my neck, pulling me closer to his body before pushing me back down on to the seat and settling in next to me.

His hardness pressed along one side of my fairly naked body, and together we remained like that, for a long while. Both of us leaning back against the wooden slats, staring out into the steam room.

His voice was a rumbling whisper when he finally spoke. "I felt your pain. You were hurting before I got here."

I had actually gotten pretty used to the chest-shredding thing that went on when I wasn't with them. Of course, now that Siret was touching me, my body was able to relax in a way it couldn't when I was away from them.

"You felt me?" Why was my voice all breathy and low? What was Siret doing to me right now? This had to be some sort of sol gift, right? His trickery was messing with me.

"I felt you." He confirmed, his hand raising subconsciously, rubbing against a spot on his chest. "You were hurting and now you're not. I told the others we couldn't leave you alone."