Rose, Wilted: Book 1

Chapter 14 - Spellbound

He sensed two things before his eyes were even open. The first was the biting ache in his shoulder and the second was a weight on his chest. The Beast groaned, trying to wake himself, but at the same time wanting to again be lost in sleep. He didn't want to wake up and acknowledge the pain, but he knew he'd have to face it sometime. He forced his eyes open, but the focus was blurry and all he could see was a dancing golden glow that radiated heat. The Beast grunted at the blazing light and closed his eyes again. He felt the weight on his chest shift and then lift away. There was the muted sound of a yawn and some shuffling noises.

The Beast turned his head and opened his eyes again, more determined this time. Nearly everything he saw seemed to be shades of brown. There was a chocolate waterfall surrounding a smoothly sculpted, tan oval. A  carmel colored blotch below it rustled softly. The only thing that differed in color were the circles. There were two perfect orbs framed by a slight black outline of the clearest blue he had ever seen. All the different hues of ocean and sky were combined in a pattern like a stained glass window in the shape of two rings. They were cerulean and caribbean and cobalt. They were blue topaz and sapphire without an impurity. Any breath he had was immediately gone.

    The Beast blinked blearily, afraid for a moment that the blue orbs would vanish, but they remained in place, constant as the North Star. The image became clearer and clearer until he realized what the rings were. A pair of weary, but concerned eyes was watching him closely. They were her eyes. He just stared, unable and unwilling to break the trance they held him in, afraid she would spook like a doe. He felt her warm breath against his face.

She really dared to get this close? Wasn't she afraid?

An overwhelming urge to make certain this was real washed through him. He tried to lift a hand to touch her, but when he tried he let out a sudden, earsplitting bellow of pain. It was like someone was twisting a knife blade in his shoulder at the slightest twitch.

    Annalise jumped backward, fear overcoming her features. The Beast groaned, at the pain and his own stupidity equally. He could see her out of the corner of his eye, watching him. After a moment or two she seemed to decide on something and the fear was replaced by caution.

    "Try not to move too much," she said. "You'll ruin any progress you've made on your wound if you keep shifting your weight like that."

She's not going to run away again?

"You're going to have to stay this way for a while," she continued. "I'm not sure how long it will be, but I think you'll be okay in the long run."

The Beast remained silent, watching her closely. She wasn't running, and she didn't appear to be frightened anymore, but he wasn't quite sure what to do with this. Noticing the bandage wrapped around her shoulder he asked,

"Is it bad?"

She looked a little startled that he had spoken, then confused, but said,

"Well, you did get shot in the shoulder so-,"

"I meant yours."

"Oh."

She shuffled in place and rubbed her wound a little.

"It's not bad. Just a graze. But it hurts if I touch it," she said with a wince. After another moment of silence he asked,

"Why did Avoln try to kill you?"

Her lips tightened and for a moment he thought he'd stepped over the line.

"How do you know his name?" she asked.

"When you linger in shadows long enough you hear things better left in the dark. I overheard him once. Him and Jea- the blonde man."

"You can say his name you know. It's okay."