The Flame and the Arrow

by Emigh Cannaday

  Chapter 19

  recuperation

  Annika drifted in and out of consciousness throughout the next day. Talvi didn’t leave her side until there was a soft knock at the door. He ignored it, but the knock came again.

  “Talvi, sweetheart, open the door,” a woman’s voice said patiently. He got up and let in his mother, who was carrying a tray of food and a little teapot. Together they walked over to Annika, and sat on the side of the bed.

  “She doesn’t look as bad as I had expected. That’s good,” Althea observed. She took her pulse, her temperature, and asked her son if Annika had slept soundly or not. “Make sure she drinks all of this. I brought enough food for both of you, but only she is to take the tea. Let it brew a few more minutes and then put a quarter of this in it.” Althea pointed to a small glass bottle containing a dark liquid.

  “What’s in that?” Talvi asked.

  “It’s a blend of reishi mushrooms, milk thistle, and dandelion root,” his mother replied. “The dandelion root might make it taste bitter, but it will help purify her liver. Even psychic attacks leave behind toxins,” she explained. Talvi nodded with concern, and set the tray on the nightstand as his mother left. He propped Annika up on his mountain of pillows and poured a cup of tea, blowing on it to cool it down.

  “I’m so tired. I just want to sleep,” she argued.

  “You can sleep after you drink this.” He held the cup to her lips and she drank the herbal concoction, spilling some down her chin. He wiped it away with his hand and lifted the cup until she had finished it all. He didn’t touch the food beside the bed. Instead, he tucked her close to him and read a book while she slept. He only roused her every few hours or so to have her drink the rest of the tea infused with medicinal herbs.

  The next time she opened her eyes, she could see the dreary grey afternoon sky through the window. She heard only the rain falling and the soft deep breaths of slumber above her head. He had laid watch over her diligently all night long. Even if she wasn’t staying long, he’d proven himself to be sincere, and she couldn’t deny the electricity between them, especially after the things he confessed the night of the dance. She yearned to feel him closer to her, to feel his flesh touch her own. Her hand ran across his chest and stomach, studying how smooth his skin was, and how his strong muscles rippled underneath. She slid her hand down again, touching her fingertips to the waistline of his black pants, but the arm that had been holding her close caught her wrist and gently pushed the hand away. Annika looked up at him with a guilty grin.

  “I feel better,” she said.

  “Good. I thought you might sleep another day,” he yawned, and wrapped his arm around her again. She nuzzled back into his chest, but after a while she grew bored with lying still. She began to caress his skin again, this time with her cheek and her lips. She remembered how their bodies had moved so perfectly together to the music at the party. She wondered how perfectly they might move if there were only the music of the approaching thunderstorm.

  “What are you doing?” he whispered, trying to appear serious. “You’re supposed to be resting.”

  “You’re three hundred years old and you can’t figure out what I’m doing?” she replied with a smirk. The scent of his skin made her body stir.

  “No, Annika, not now. You need more rest.”

  “I’m sick of sleeping,” she whined. “I’ve been here all day. I’m starting to feel like a prisoner in your bed.” She draped her leg over his hips.

  “Stop it,” he told her in a stern voice, trying desperately to resist her charms. She slid her leg up and down the back of his thigh. “You need your strength,” he insisted, breathing harder.

  “I think I have my strength back, Talvi,” she said, giving him a prim smile. She lifted up her shirt a little, her fingers dancing over her hip bone, tempting him deliciously. “What I need is you. I didn’t get a chance to give you your birthday present.”

  “This isn’t the way I originally had in mind.” He appeared to be in great mental turmoil. “Annika…this isn’t right.”

  “What do you mean, it isn’t right? What about the things you said while we were dancing? I thought you said you wanted me,” she implored. His tortured expression softened up considerably.

  “I did say that, didn’t I?” he said softly, looking out the window at the darkening clouds.

  “And I’ll let you to do a hell of a lot more than just kiss me.” She caressed her waist in front of him and lifted her shirt up higher. All she wanted was to be free from this tension built up between them, and there was only one remedy for it. “Are you sure you don’t need to double check me for vampire bites?”

  “That was completely legitimate,” he defended, eyeing her bare skin with the deepest hunger. She knew he couldn’t hold out much longer.

  “Please…Talvi…look again.”