Ink Sisters

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Leandra struggles to a sitting position, her eyes wild and searching. She has been in a land of darkness, encased in a fog of uncertainty and fear for her sister. Her head swims through the waves like a struggling fish, flitting about. Lost...

"Lorelle!" she shouts suddenly. Her sister is in danger!

"Easy," Aramis says calmly. He moves from the wall and sits down gently onto the edge of the bed. Leandra blinks at him.

"What happened?"

"You fainted," he answers. Concern draws his dark brows up, lines forming between them.

"My sister," Leandra states, "she was in trouble, and I couldn't help her."

"How are you feeling now?" he asks gently.

"I feel..." Leandra stops and thinks. The impending dread she'd felt earlier, the crescendo of darkness overpowering everything else... is gone. She rubs a hand over her cool forehead. Lorelle is no longer in the danger that she was. Leandra can feel it, a deep settling in her chest; a calmness that washes over her entire body.

"Better," she says after a moment. She blinks, focusing now on the changing air around her. The dense fear that had flung her into a fitful slumber has dissipated, taking with it the equally oppressive sense of being held captive.

Her cheeks blush with warmth before she realizes why. Aramis has taken her hand between his coarse palms. He no longer wears the gloves. She can feel the roughness on his fingers as he holds her. It is as if the playful smiles and secret winks have come upon her in full force. Her hair falls across her face, shielding her. She does not move to reposition it. She draws her hand back hesitantly.

"Where is Syd?" she says to hide the awkward silence, he has allowed to settle around them. She keeps her gaze glued to the cover over her trembling legs.

"Down the hall with Teddy. The boy means to draw him out of his somber mood." Leandra feels the bed shift as Aramis stands. She chances a look in his direction. He is studying her with some intense thought. His brow is furrowed, and he is frowning. She wonders at his interest in her: he one of the Seven Swords of the realm, a well-traveled man of action being held by some evil mage against his will. He sounds like a hero. She hopes he is. She longs to know more about his story but fears he will never say.

And who is she? A young girl, more naïve than she is knowledgeable about anything in particular. Gangly, bland, obtuse. The only thing that was noteworthy has vanished into the past. The one gift of having an identical copy, the one thing that made her interesting, is gone. She can hardly see what he would find so calculating about her.

Sighing, she gets to her feet. Aramis moves to help her, as if he fears she will wobble back and forth, but she stands straight, brandishing her arms to keep him away. She marvels at the shifted air. It is no longer dense. She still feels hollow from Lorelle's departure, but she also feels something she hadn't days ago. Her appetite has returned. With a groan of embarrassment, her stomach growls.

"Yes." Aramis is before her once more, fixing the feather in his hat. She had not noticed before that it was slightly bent. "You must be hungry." Then, he opens the door and leads her down the hall. Teddy squeaks when they come into the sitting room. Sunlight streams in from the windows. Leandra goes to it but does not try to ring it open. He can see her faint reflection in the glass. Her hair looks like a darker blonde, one that emerges when she has gone several days without washing it. It stands out crookedly in a square shape about her head.

No wonder Teddy was startled when we came out. I look a fright. And Aramis... She smooths some of the frizz down, takes a deep breath and spins to face them. Both have stopped to watch her. Syd flaps up and down in Teddy hands.