The Beastkeeper's Redemption

Forty-Six

Forty-Six

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Izzy shuddered, an involuntary action provoked by an errant surge of revulsion.

"Thinking about the finger again?"

Kaede leaned against the threshold of the chamber Izzy had been allocated upon her return to Ravensfield, an amused quirk lifting his lips.

"There is nothing in this world I'd like to forget more than the feeling of carrying that man's severed finger back to Ravensfield." Another shudder coursed through her, compelling her to wrap her arms around her waist. The soft robe that covered her body was a size too large and slipped off her shoulder, but it had been loaned to her at the behest of one of the Ravensfield sisters since her arrival at the estate a few hours prior.

It had taken four hours of hard travel, but they had successfully journeyed to Ravensfield with the other captive fae in tow. The journey had been largely uneventful, though with a troupe of weary and exhausted beings frequent stops had been made in which Izzy had been self-appointed to press the gruesome digit against the collar of each fae until all were released from the odious power of the device around their necks. Each stop had not lasted long- they hadn't dared tarry lest the fearsome Thornshades decided to exact their vengeance on them instead of the burning remains of the estate.

And the smoke from the property had billowed into the sky in great, heaving black clouds that blotted out everything else- the rain clouds hovering in the night sky, the errant starlight glimpsed between each plume, the waning moon. An ominous blight that would be blown away with the next gust of wind. Fire had consumed the building until nothing but the skeleton had remained, and they were fortunate to have escaped before the inferno had reached the chamber where the enclosures were secured.

It was evident that Aëghan Dranora had flown ahead of them all and preceded their arrival by a good few hours, because Lillian and Millie had anticipated and prepared for the occupancy of a number of guests and had ensured each was well catered to.

Presently, Kaede pushed off the threshold and approached her, drawing her thoughts away from those fresh, unpleasant memories. Dressed in a clean shirt and trousers, his hair was still wet from a recent bath and hung in damp hunks over his temples and shoulders. He looked remarkably energised considering the ordeal he had endured and there was a peculiar light in his iridescent eyes. Something hard and unrelenting clamped fearful bars around her heart and squeezed, making it more profound to Izzy right then how unbearably close she had come to losing him completely.

As he moved closer to her, she drank in the sight of him, of the sway of his strong, broad shoulders as his muscles shifted under the near translucent sheen of the fabric covering them, over the vast expanse of his chest-

Over the fresh blood still oozing from his recent wounds that began to stain against the sheerness of the material- a stark reminder of his injuries.

She erupted into sobs.

Unprecedented, unprovoked, heaving sounds gurgled from her throat as her eyes began to burn and water with a constant river of tears that she couldn't help if she wanted to.

Large, gentle arms ensconced her, urging her against a supportive and warm frame. She buried her face against his chest, her fingers trembling as they fought the urge to cling to him with a desperation that was firing off in her soul. She daren't touch him lest she make his injuries worse, didn't want to inflict upon him an iota of pain more than what he had already endured.

"Iz," Kaede murmured, dipping his head so that his lips pressed against the locks of freshly washed hair at her crown. "Come now, there's no more need for your tears."