19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

E steban and I continued chatting, and he told me the Copper Jackals had been investigating the glowing jade-like stone in the catacombs beneath the temple. The stone contained an enormous amount of esprit. Their current theory was that it housed souls as well, but they'd yet to discover for what purpose. He also updated me on the temple. With Marus as high priest, the Temple of Ahrea was thriving unlike it had with Klareth.

A thud sounded in the foyer, cutting our conversation short. Caelus was collapsed on the floor, his back against the floral wall. Esteban sighed, claiming he needed food and a stronger drink, and left me alone with him.

I knelt in front of Caelus. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was slow. He's asleep. I admired the planes of his sleeping face despite the beginnings of a bruise forming around his eye. A faint scar marred the otherwise-smooth skin near his left brow. I reached out and glided my thumb against his cheek, that tingle winding up my arm. Guilt weighed down my stomach all over again. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

He leaned into my palm, sending flutters through my twisted stomach.

I started to pull my hand away but let it remain.

"Keiran's brother doesn't pull his punches," he muttered.

I smiled, and I barely had to envision a thread of life forming between us for the lightning to move in slow arcs from my hand and across the dark bruise forming.

The bruising began to fade, and his shoulders relaxed. He smiled.

"I thought you weren't going to participate," I said.

"I hadn't planned to."

"What made you change your mind?"

His eyes peeled open and met mine. That callousness from before was gone, but I couldn't be sure if it was due to his injured and exhausted state. "To clear my mind," he stated.

My heart sank. He'd taken part in the tournament because of me, then. Because he'd been angry and probably worried. And rightfully so.

"We still need to talk," he said, but his eyes fluttered closed for a moment, only to open again. It was taking everything he had to stay conscious.

"We will," I promised. "But right now, you should get to bed. You'll wake up sore if you stay here."

He seemed content to stay where he was, not saying anything in response and nuzzling my hand while arcs of lightning played along his cheeks.

"Let me help."

He smirked. "As you wish, Tempest."

The flutters in my stomach were at odds with the tightness in my chest. Had I mistaken that anger in his eyes at Forgesong? He was acting as he usually did, other than reiterating that we needed to talk about what happened. "How hard was your head hit?"

He laughed, but it spun into a grimace. "He certainly broke a rib."

My esprit receded and I stood, offering him my hand. He took it and pulled himself up, stumbling a step. I draped his arm around my shoulder to support his weight and steady him. He guarded his midsection and groaned in annoyance at the foot of the stairs.

The world around me shifted, and I fell onto a fluffy bed. Caelus held himself up above me, an arm on each side of my head, one of his legs between mine. His eyes widened. "Guess I was a little off," he breathed.

I swallowed. "Seems like it."

I stared up at him and the way his perfectly messy hair fell forward, nearly brushing my forehead. My body flushed from the heat radiating off him and a desire I'd been ignoring. All he'd have to do was lower himself and our lips would meet. But I didn't deserve that from him after what I'd done. And once everything was over, we'd be going our separate ways.

"Did you know your lightning tickles?"

"What?" I asked, breathless.

One corner of his mouth rose. "It's warm too. Almost too much." He shifted and brought one of my hands up to rest against his cheek once again. "But your hands grow cold, calming the heat."

I shook my head. The people I'd healed in the past were for Malik. I never saw them again, and they were often in such awful condition that I doubt they cared how it felt. They probably weren't even aware.

"It's soothing," he said, his thumb caressing the back of my hand.

He stared down at me for a moment, warring emotions I couldn't make out playing on his face. He sat up in one quick motion, sliding to the edge of the bed, and removed his shirt, all as though he hadn't said moments ago that he had a broken rib.

My body chilled at the sudden absence of him.

I stood from the bed, not sure what to do or make of what he said. I glanced at him and couldn't tear my eyes away. Along his taut, muscled abdomen, another bruise was forming, extending nearly the entire length of his left side. This one was dark, the blood already pooling into a light blue-black hue beneath the skin, the edges tinged with yellow. Several ribs had to be broken from a blow like that.

"How could an ordinary person do that?" I muttered.

He leaned back onto his palms, wincing with the movement. "Esprit."

"Right," I said. It'd been used to augment the strength of the one who'd landed that blow, making it deliver a heavier impact. Selena could do the same, though she refused to demonstrate it for me.

I stepped forward and placed my hand along what I guessed to be the center of the bruising. That thread connecting us sparked to life immediately, and streaks of azure wound from my hand to his abdomen and side. I wondered if it was because I'd healed him several times now.

It was difficult to concentrate after what he'd said about my lightning. It moved along his skin, and his eyes fell shut.

I bit my lip. His mood was better than it had been at Forgesong, so I asked, "Have you learned anything about your sister?"

His body stiffened. Instinctually, my thumb moved back and forth to soothe him. He let out another groan, this one different from the one he'd made at the bottom of the stairs. My body heated at the sound, and I was thankful his eyes remained closed.

"Travok has her," he said, voice husky.

My mouth went dry, and I halted. "Because of me?" I asked, voice trembling.

"I don't know."

My hand grew cold against his warm chest. The warmth was welcome, and the color of his skin was returning to normal. Once the last of the healthy color returned, I took a step back.

Caelus's jaw flexed like he wanted to speak but wasn't sure what to say, at war with himself once again. He pitched forward, and even sitting on the bed, he was almost as tall as I was while standing. Our gazes met.

"Eira!" Esteban called out, shoving the door open. His eyes widened briefly, and he cleared his throat. "I didn't know you were busy."

My face burned hot enough that I was certain it'd melt off. It might have been preferable, even though nothing was happening between the two of us, but I knew Esteban. I turned toward him. "Right. You should feel better now," I said, not looking at Caelus.

I made for the exit, and Esteban stepped to the side, letting me pass. His soft footsteps trailed after me. Caelus said nothing as I left the room, Esteban a step behind me. The door clicked shut on a citrus wind.

My mind raced to piece together what had occurred with Caelus. I couldn't tell what he was feeling. Those conflicting emotions gleaming in his eyes didn't help either. But Travok had his sister. I'd do whatever I could to help him if he'd let me.

I stopped in front of a door in the hall on the opposite side of the villa from where Caelus was—the room Esteban would be staying in.

"Why you didn't question his plan is clear as day," Esteban said beside me.

I pushed open the door and asked, "And what does that mean?" Not that I didn't have an idea what Esteban might think, but I wanted to hear him say it.

"You're falling for him," he said, stepping into the room.

I laughed. Bright everflame lanterns flickered to life, revealing minimal dust coating the surfaces of the furniture. Eying the room, I said, "That's rather presumptuous." There were the basic amenities—a bed, bedside table, armoire, and an adjoining bathing room, just like every bedroom in the villa. The musty scent would hopefully be gone after it continued to air out tomorrow.

He let out a boisterous laugh of his own. A rather excessive reaction, given the topic. "I've known you since you were a child, girl. While I may not have always been there and certainly missed some years, I've seen you fall in love. It may have been with food, drink, or animal, but your face is always the same."

My face? I stepped over to the open window. "So you think I love him?"

He laughed again. "Not yet. But you're falling for him, and that's only a step away."

I had no right to fall for him. I'd be falling for a lie, for one. A relationship and actions that were lies. There was no guarantee the man I'd come to know—the kindness, the banter, the charm—were real. It all seemed too easy for him to slip into, as if he were accustomed to morphing into a character to achieve a goal. An actor.

"We should have your eyes examined," I said finally. "And once we find Teeg, Caelus and I will go our separate ways. He'll be gone. There's nothing to fall for."

Esteban shot me a look that told me he didn't believe a word I'd said.