The Bird on the Ground (M/M Romance) Monster Island: Book 2

Chapter 10 - Rotten

The first thing to register was the pain. It was like the burn of a bee sting but with the intensity turned up to the highest setting. There was a rhythmic throbbing sensation that I belatedly realized was my heartbeat, felt at the surface of my skin.

The second thing to register was the room around me. I was in someone's cluttered bedroom. Bookshelves lined the walls, crammed full of old and new books with varying degrees of wear and tear. Crystals and gems sat on display on a creaky wooden desk, and purple curtains diffused the beams of sunlight that filtered into the room. There was a poster of different kinds of mushrooms, and next to it was a flag of baby blue, pink, and white.

I was gasping in the still air of the room, covered in a thin layer of sweat. My back ached, my shoulder ached, and my head ached. I sat up. It was a struggle, but once I got my elbows under me, I could prop myself up against the headboard.

The room was empty, but I could hear voices on the other side of the bedroom door. I threw back the thick quilt atop me, revealing pale, sweaty legs. I'd been stripped down to just my boxers at some point, and when I tried to stand, my knees nearly buckled beneath me. My body was dead weight as I stumbled for the door. It took a few tries with the doorknob; my hands were so slick with sweat that the handle kept slipping when I tried to turn it.

I couldn't breathe. My lungs were filled with smoke. My left wing was flapping uselessly; my right wing wouldn't move at all. I did my best to not think about that, but I couldn't get rid of the feeling that I wasn't safe. I needed to get away. I needed to find Yoryn. Those beasts. I had to tell him about the beasts in the woods. He'd know what to do. He'd keep me safe.

The door opened to a hallway with the same cream-colored walls as the room I just left. There were a few closed doors, but at the end, it opened into a living room. I could see part of a leather sofa. The voices were clearer now, clear enough for me to recognize them.

"We don't need you here." And that was Sacha. His voice was hard and acidic.

"Too bad. I'm not leaving." And that was Yoryn. I hurried down the hall, footsteps muffled by the carpet.

"Both of you need to calm the fuck down. You're in my house, remember? I decide who stays and who goes." That was a woman's voice. And a flash of something came back to me. Glowing green eyes. Staring up at an endless gray sky. A witch?

The three of them were standing glaring at each other. The air in the room was thick with tension. It tasted like ash in my mouth. I stared, unsure what to say. Sacha looked perfectly groomed as always. He wore a classic black turtleneck with jeans.

The witch—man, I really need to learn her name—had on a comfortable loungewear set that had probably seen better days. It was a faded pink with a fraying drawstring tied in front. Her shiny black hair was in a tight ponytail.

Yoryn was in the same clothes I last saw him in, a faded pair of jeans and an unfairly snug t-shirt. Even from a distance, he looked unkempt, a little sweaty with dark bags under his eyes. He had the shadow of stubble on his cheeks. There was a set to his shoulders that betrayed his anger. He almost looked like he was preparing to take a swing at Sacha. I kind of hoped that he would.

The floor creaked under my weight, and all three turned to me immediately, wide-eyed at my arrival.

"How the fuck—" the witch started.

But then there was Yoryn. Right in front of me. It was so easy to collapse into his arms. His sweet, blood-orange scent was tinged with salty sweat and something like dirt, but I buried my nose in his neck anyway. His hands, so warm and wide, were on the bare skin of my back, fingertips teasing the base of my wings as he pulled me close. He was gentle though, mindful of my injuries. Finally, I could breathe. The heat of his breath against my neck. The solidness of him against me. I wrapped my one useful wing around him. More than anything I wanted my nest. I wanted to cocoon us away in it, shut out the rest of the world while I reassured myself we were both alive. Alive and safe. The ache of my body faded into the background.