Blood and Fire

THREE

She rolled to her side, coughing a mix of blood and what tasted like saltwater out of her lungs. Every muscle protested to the movement, and her lungs ached when she sucked in a gulp of air. Her head, though, was surprisingly clear. That crushing pressure was gone, her eyes had stopped stinging, and her ears weren't ringing.

Then there was a pressure on her shoulder, pushing her onto her back. She cracked open her eyes, and was nearly blinded by the sunlight that greeted her. She groaned, squinting up at the cloudless sky as she propped herself up on her elbows. All around her was just...grass. Miles and miles of grass, separated by a few rocks and the odd tree. Just in front of her, beyond a steep downwards slope at her feet, was a lake.

The surface of it rippled, and a head appeared from beneath the water. Mara blinked at she watched the man stride out of the lake, dripping wet and completely naked. He paid her no attention, his focus on the bundle of clothes waiting for him on the grassy bank of the lake, weighted down with a pile of flat rocks. He was built like a soldier with his broad shoulders, his rippling muscles over every inch of him.

He dressed quickly, not bothering to dry himself off more than wringing his shoulder-length hair out and tying it into a knot atop his head. Mara held her breath as he began to come towards her, his eyes now dead set on her. He got close enough for his feet to touch hers before she tried to scramble backwards. His chuckle was dark, mocking, as he easily stopped her with a bare foot against her hip.

"Is that any way to thank someone who just saved your life?"

She gaped at him, at the gleam in his eyes. He crouched low beside her, tilting his head to look at her. She stared right back at him, taking in all of his features. They were different, she realised, from when he had been in the hospital room. Younger, more relaxed. He no longer looked like an animal caged inside a human skin. But it was his eyes that had her breath catching.

His irises were a deep red, so similar to fresh blood that her mouth went dry. He bent over her, so close to her that she could feel his cool breath against her face. "You're surprisingly ordinary," he murmured. He lifted a hand and grasped her chin, turning her face side to side. She glared at him for touching her, and he smirked. "Quite feisty, though."

She was tempted to bite him, especially when he ran a thumb over her lower lip. She bared her teeth at him, despite every instinct that still told her to go, to run. "Let. Go," she said through her teeth.

The man's eyebrows lifted, his smirk stretching into a grin that made her blood run cold. He brought her face closer to his, so that they were almost nose-to-nose. "You're in no position to be giving me orders, sunshine," he purred. Something flashed in his eyes, and she noticed that there were small flecks of bright silver scattered through the red.

He let go of her, standing to his full height over her. He scanned the area, and his mouth twisted into a frown. Without saying anything more to her, he strode away from her, that frown darkening his eyes in a way that unsettled her more than his grin had. Mara sat up fully, and turned to watch him over her shoulder as he kept walking away from her.

They were on a slope, and he only turned to look at her when he reached the crest of it. He extended a hand to her, his head tilted slightly. "Come on," he called to her. "I won't bite." Something in his grin told her otherwise.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," she told him. When she stood, the world tilted slightly, and she had to put her arms out to steady herself. Blinking, she met the man's stare again. He looked like he was trying not to laugh at her. She folded her arms over her chest, lifting her chin. "I mean it."

He shrugged, waving his outstretched hand to the land around her, the lake behind her. "Suit yourself," he said. "But don't try crawling to me when one of the beasties rips into your throat. Your scent is rather alluring."