Shards of Sanity (Book 6, Forgotten Series)

Chapter Twelve

I leaned against the wall beside the bathroom, listening intently at the sounds Lilith was making. She had been so cold that I figured it would be best to give her a bath to get her temperature back up to normal before we went to the dining hall. She had been in there for a while but now all the sounds had stopped. I reached over and knocked on the door lightly. "You doing alright, Lilith?" I listened intently and I heard water splashing in the tub as she moved.

"Yes." It was said so softly I had a hard time hearing her. She was so timid it was almost painful. Ainsley had been timid as well but Lilith's timid behaviour was almost worse. Perhaps it was because I knew just what it was that caused it. Perhaps it was just the bond but it was still there all the same.

I ran my hand through my hair, tugging on the strands slightly. I honestly didn't really know what to do with her. It had been so long since I had lost Catherine that it was like I had forgotten how to be a mate. "Did you wash your hair?" I had to ask. Her hair was so tangled I wondered how on earth we could get a brush through it without cutting it all off.

There was a pause and I could faintly hear water moving around again. "I tried. It's tangled." I could practically hear the shame radiating off of her tone and I winced at it. I doubted that I would be able to get used to that, hearing her be so ashamed about things she couldn't control.

"I know, Lilith, just try to get it as clean as possible and then we will try to brush it out." I pushed away from the wall slightly. "I'm going to find a brush. Let me know when you are done." I headed for the dresser as I tried to remember whereabouts I had seen the brush set. I had used them not that long ago but my bedroom wasn't exactly clean. I reached the dresser and lifted some sweaters off, putting them into the dirty laundry basket. The brush set wasn't there and I looked around, frowning slightly. My room really was a mess.

I heaved out a sigh and set about tidying it. Normally I didn't care but Lilith would be staying with me and I felt a little flustered that I had left the space the way I did. It was like a compulsive urge to make my den as presentable for her as possible. I quickly cleaned up all of the dirty clothes I had left lying around, shoving them into the basket before I turned to my bed. I hastily made it, trying to smooth out the wrinkles in the bed spread as I did so. I moved to the head of the bed, arranging the pillows as best as I could before my eyes were drawn to the top of the dresser. It was cluttered with various things and I moved over to it, starting to straighten it up before the bathroom door opened. I jolted slightly before I whirled around and nearly choked.

"I'm done." Lilith stood in the doorway completely naked. Her hair was hanging around her face and water droplets slowly slid down her skin. I blinked at her several times, wondering why the hell she decided to come out of the bathroom wet and naked.

"Where is your towel?" I did my best to keep my eyes on her face but I couldn't help it. She was appallingly thin and it was her stomach that caught my attention. Below her belly button there were several slashing scars that stretched across her nearly bone white skin. They were a pale pink but they were noticeable as they seemed to stretch from hip to hip. I wanted to wince when I realized what they were from. Apparently Ambris had been downplaying the severity of the wounds. It looked like Lilith had brutalized herself when she removed the baby.

"Towel?" I glanced up at her face and she cocked her head to the side as she looked at me. There was an innocent sort of confusion to her face as she seemed to study me.

I cleared my throat slightly, "Yes, Lilith. You need a towel to dry off with." She blinked at me but didn't respond. I pulled my eyes away from her and bit back a curse. I headed towards her, keeping my eyes on the ground I slid around her into the bathroom and grabbed the towels I had set out for her. I took the larger one and shook it out before I returned to her and wrapped it around her shoulders. "You need to dry off." I let the towel go before I turned back to the bath. She had left the water in it and I grabbed another towel, setting it onto the floor as I cleaned up the water she had gotten all over the place.