Embers and Ashes

Bonus #6

Melona

   When I woke the rain had stopped as the sun rose to greet another day. The forest filling with sleepy bird songs and squirls. The chill did not greet us as the sun filtered through Devlons golden and purple wings, as well as through the thin layer of my own shield magic that must has enclosed around us as a protection.

   I suddenly realized it must have also protected us from the fall.

   Through the night it had kept us out of the rain and it’s radiance had dried our clothing so that I was no longer cold for this ice covered spring morning.

   Looking up at Devlon he was still sleeping, but his chest was rising and his skin had a bit more color. In response I let out a sigh of him being safe I rest my arms around the Bastards neck and kiss his cheek.

   Stirring, his arms draped securely over my waist shifted tighter as his nose ran into my hair. My shield sputtering out as I let my eyes close again.

   Only to have someone above us clear their throat.

   In a blur of wings and fury Devlon had surged forward. Grabbing the nearest Illyrian by the neck and chucking him clean over his head and into a tree. The tree bark crunching under the weight.

   A snarl ripping out of his throat as his wings spread over me. Protecting me from view.

   “Mother’s tits”, came the familiar voice of Cassian. “Calm down Devlon. It’s just us.”

   “Cassian”, I called and around as Devlon buckled to his knees and tucked his wings in. Panting from the exertion.

   “Mel, what the Hell happened to you?”, he asks trying to take a step forward, but the warning snarl that cane from Devlon made him pause in worry.

   “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you on the way back to camp, but Devlon needs medical attention. Can anyone here Winnow?”, I ask.

   One of the warriors with Cassian nods and comes forward.

   “Take your Lord home, and quickly. Send for the Matka Nasir, she might be able to help”, I answer and he cautiously moves towards where Devlon knelt.

   “No,” Devlon protests. “Not without you.”

   “It’s alright, I’ll be right behind you. Only a couple hours. Promise. Please Dev, you need more rest.”

   He stubbornly looks at the ground.

   “Devlon, please,” I beg and his wings sag a bit.

   “Fine”, he grumbles and allows his soldier to place a hand on him and Winnow him away.

   “What happened?”, Cassian demands as he picks me up carefully and takes to the sky. I explain the whole predicament. The training, heading back to camp and being attacked, the Attor’s conversation, finding Devlon, the Suriel, and what I did to cure the war lord.

   He listened quietly through the whole thing. Only nodding at the end as his mind whirled as he tried to piece it all together.

  It took us near three hours to finally come to land in the center of the camp. I never thought I’d be so happy to come back to this place then I was in that moment. Though the idea of going straight to my tent and sleeping for the next three days was cut short when the Winnowing soldier came running up to us.

   “General, Matka Cybele!”, he greets as he skids to a stop before us. “I must ask that the young lady go to lord Devlon’s home. He’s . . . It’s not good. He won’t settle. He’s thrown out the other Matka’s and will not let anyone in until she’s with him. It’s as if. . . Never mind, just please hurry before he losses it.”

   Cassian frowns deeply but I waste no time in hurrying down the rows of tents towards the small area of ever standing grey stone houses. Trying my best not to run into anyone along the way, or slip on the ice.

   Coming to his house I find Nasir standing at the front step shouting at the open door, “My lord, you are being very unreasonable, you must let me in to examine you. The young Cybele will be here shortly I am sure.”

   “What’s happening?”, I pant from the running.

   “That’s what I should be demanding of you child”, Nasir demands as she glares at the open doorway and Devlon who appeared in it.

   “Devlon, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you letting Nasir help you?”, I question, but his only answer is bending down and hoisting me up into his arms.

   “Devlon, you are acting very odd and you’re scaring me”, I protest with my hands on his shoulder. He pauses and glances up at me.

   “I need you safe”, he answers roughly.

   “I’m safe”, I try to reassure him. “I’m right here.”

   He shakes his head and starts up the stairs. “I need you safe”, he repeats as Nasir takes a step into the house and gives me a worried glance as he brings us upstairs.

   “Master, your bath is ready”, quirps a servant girl with a towel draped over her arm.

   “It’s not for me, it’s for her”, he answers and places me down on the ground. That’s when I recognize the small girl.

   “Breanna?”, I gasp in joy.

   “Lady Cybele”, she beams all neat in her little dress and plain but brand-new boots. Her hair up in a tight bun.

   “Be sure that she is well taken care of. Let her have some of my healing sav stock”, Devlon orders her and she gives a curt nod before excitedly grasping my hand and dragging me down the hall. A half smile gracing his lips as he watches me go.

   “This way Lady Cybele”, Bre gushes as she leads me into the bathing room where a tub of hot sudsy water lay waiting filled dried juniper branches and the scent of honey. “I’ll go get you a soap bar. You go on ahead and get in.”

    Laughing softly at her excitement I watch her go before looking around at the small room, and the silence.

   Why am I here? I ask myself as a general question. How did my life get to this point?

   Shaking my head, I pull my mud covered and grimy clothes off my body. Piling them neatly by the door before slipping my aching body into the steeping warmth of the bath. It soothed away the pain and cold from my bones and washed away the worries.

   Breanna came back in with a bag of salts to pour into the bath, a bar of soap, a tin of salve, and a clean dress.

  “Here you are Miss. Everything you’ll need”, she places it beside the tub for me and goes to leave.

   “Bre, wait”, I call gently and she stops to look at me. “How long have you been here?”

   “Only a couple days Miss. After you had come to see me lord Devlon came to see me as well. I told him what I told you can. That it was hard, but I was going to keep up my work.

   He offered me work, but I said he’d have to talk with my old Master. Which he did. Apparently, the bad men kept on complaining about me being there. So, he agreed to the payment offered, and now I stay’en with lord Devon.

   I keep house clean, and make the meals. In return I get my own bed, and a nice little nook out in the shed out back. There’s a little hearth in there, and a lock for the door. He said it’s important for ladies to have their privacy. I get to have his left overs, and get a pretty lil coin for all my work. He’s real good to me.

   Even said he might get me a tutor to help me with my spelling and reading. Said that he don’t want no servant that can’t read recipes, or do paperwork for him”, she beams all giddy and excited.

   “And look at my new dress. I never got a new dress before! And I got coin left over for treats, and buying blankets for my street brothers and sister, so they no get cold like I used to be too.”

   “That’s wonderful Bre. I’m so happy for you”, I smile as I place my chin on the rim of the tub.

   “I wouldn’t have gotten all this without you Lady Cybele. I gotta thank you”, she offers.

   “No thanks needed Hon, you earned all this on your own”, I smile. “Thank you for the things. I should let you get back to work.”

   She nods firmly, “Master should be getting something to eat. I gunna make soup.”

   “I think he’d like that”, I laugh softly at her vigor.

   “I make you some too”, she nods firmly and is off down the hall with the door clicking shut behind her. I smile to myself as I sink back into the water. Relishing the safety of being inside stone walls.

~

   The salve smelled of Amber sap and the velvet of deer musk. It smelt like him. It smelled like Devlon, and the dress left for me was made so fine threads that it must have taken even a fae hours to weave the forest green fabric that shimmered as softly as silk. It fit me so perfect that I almost thought it had been made for me.

   Cautiously I peek around the corner of an open door to find Devlon laid up in bed as Nasir tends to him. Checking his scared wounds and giving him a tonic to fight the reminance of the fever. His skin still pail and glistened in the fire light.

   He turns to look up at me while I stand there and smile. His eyes locking on me, and he smiles back. It was so startling that Nasir stopped mid-sentence to turn to see what he had been looking at.

   “Hey”, I coo as I take a step in. “How are you feeling?”

    “I’ll live, thanks to you”, he answers groughly.

   “I’m pretty sure that you are far too stubborn to die”, I admit as I sit on the foot of the bed.

    He chuckles but whines and tucks his wings in tighter in discomfort.

   I look to Nasir.

   “There were a few splintered ribs we had to re-break and set back into place. His healing ability is still slowed. It will be a few days until he can fully recover”, she answers as I reach out to him. Gently touching his sides with feather light grazes. His skin prickling at the touch.

   “May I try to heal it?”, I ask softly.

   “Leave it. You have already spent yourself too thin for my sake. You need rest”, he points out.

   I shake my head and spread my hand over his side. Focusing what little energy I had left into spreading a warm glow over his skin.

   “Now who’s being stubborn”, he huffs and I smile before finishing up and near collapse onto the floor, but he catches my fall and pulls me up onto the bed beside him.

   I let out a soft wheezing breath of exhaustion and left myself sink into the bed.

   “You’ve given too much”, he mutters at me.

   “You were willing to give your life to protect me, I will do the same for you”, I answer simply.

   “They were not after you. I was their target”, he shakes his head. “I could not let you pay for my debt.”

   “I wouldn’t be too sure about that”, I sigh and tell him what I heard from the Attor’s.

   He glances at me now and then as he thinks on it.

   “King, they were talking about Hybern. . . He could have been targeting you? He may still want to finish what he started”, he muses.

   “I’m sorry for putting you in danger”, I whimper.

   “It was not your fault”, he hums gently and nestles a bit closer.

   “I can’t help but feel that it is”, I mutter as Breanna comes in with a tray and two bowls.

   “For heaven sakes youngling. Stop getting underfoot”, Nasir scolds.

   “Leave her be. She is doing as I asked of her”, Devlon bites back as he sits up against the pillows. I do not have the strength to do so. “Thank you, Breanna. You’ve done well. I can say my house has never been this clean for as long as I can remember. Please, go have something to eat and do as you please until I call for you.”

   “Yes Master”, she bows a little and sets the tray on the night stand before quickly leaving.

   Nasir is also sent away to fetch Cassian.

   “Why? Why did you bring her here?”, I question him and he stops for a moment. Weighing his options.

   “It was time I paid a debt to someone very dear to me”, he starts. “My daughter wasn’t much older when she died.”

   “Daughter? You had a family?”, I ask with slight shock.

   “Not a family. Not really. She was a drunken mistake that I made when I was trying to, as you said, outrun the role I was given to play”, he sighs. “Miriam, her name was Miriam, and she was the best mistake I had ever made. Her mother and I never really cared for each other, but I cherished that little girl. There was such resilience and determination in her heart, and I loved her all the more for it.”

   “What happened to her?”, I ask gently.

   “She was stolen away by an enemy camp”, he growls. “She didn’t make it, and when I was done with that camp there was not a male left, or tent left standing.”

   I reached out to hold his hand and he didn’t pull away.

   “I’m so sorry Devlon”, I murmur softly as he tries to shake away the memories.

   “What’s done is done”, he mutters. “But when I saw Breanna doing everything she could to keep living despite what had happened to her, despite having to live with the males tried to hurt her in the worst way, even when they still taunted her day after day, she kept on. So much like my Miriam was, I couldn’t let it go. She will never replace what I lost, but the least I can do is try and help her.”

   “. . . You are a good male, Devlon”, I smile softly.

   “I really am not”, he snorts. “But I thank you for thinking so. And I should thank you for saving my life.”

   “You don’t need to. I was honestly scared near to death, and . . .I had help”, I admit.

   “Help?”, he questions.

   “A Suriel had come hunting. Most likely drawn to the scent of the blood, but he agreed to spare us if I agreed to being in his debt. He gave me the cure for the bloodbane”, I explain and the look in Devlon’s eyes could have made armies turn and run.

   “You should have just let me die instead of doing something so foolish”, he sneers.

   “You couldn’t die. Not like that, you will die on the battlefield with your dignity Devlon, no doubt in my heart. You will not die cold and alone with no glory, it’s not the way of the world”, I argue and he shakes his head.

   “You stubborn female”, he snarls.

   “Stubborn until the end”, I beam.

   “That should be on your crest”, he snarks and I laugh softly.

   “It should”, I nod in agreement as my eyes slide shut and I take a breath.

   “You should rest”, he says.

   “Shhhh”, I grumble and hold a finger to my lips then his. “That’s what I’m doing.”

   His breath huffs a laugh and I could have sworn his lips pressed into my finger as a small kiss, but sleep took me all too soon.

~

Cassian

   I came to find Devlon laid up in bed with his head against the back board. Glancing down at the sleeping female beside him. Melona curled up in the wool and furs of animals he had hunted. There was a satisfaction in his eyes that I knew all too well in far too many males. It makes my stomach sink.

   “You can’t keep her”, I warn him as I lean against the doorway.

    He doesn’t answer, just watches her sleep. Guarding over her.

    “When you came to find us was there any signs from the attackers?”, he asks. Avoiding the topic altogether.

   “No”, I answer. “The rain washed away all scent or tracks.”

   He doesn’t seem to even hear me.

   “Devlon, I’m serious about this. You can’t let yourself give into it. I know that she saved your life, that you admire her strength, but she is the daughter of a High Lord. Her father is saving her for trade, he will not allow you to take her.”

   “She is greater then that fate”, he snarls. “She deserves to choose for herself.”

   “She does, but you know she might not even choose you”, I point out. “Don’t make the same mistake I did. You’ll regret it, every day. You have to fight against this.”

   “I know”, he growls and sighs heavy. “The Mother can be cruel when she wants to be.”

   “That she can”, I agree. “I’ll take Mel back to her tent. You both need some rest.”

   “No, just. . . Just for today. Let her stay for a day”, he mutters.

   “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”, I question.

   “No, but I don’t think I’ll be able to keep away. It’ll settle once I’m certain she is safe. A couple days and I’ll be back to myself”, he didn’t sound all that convinced himself, but moving her now would risk triggering him. Setting him off would just make this more complicated then it had to be, and if she has fallen asleep next to him with such ease, then in her mind he was safe. He wouldn’t hurt her.

   “One day. If this happens more often I’ll have to tell Rhysand to get her out of here”, I say.

   He nods, “That’d be for the best.”

   “And if you’re going to train her, you do it in the pits. Not off in the woods”, I add.

   He snorts and rolls his eyes.