by E. L. Todd
“I know,” she said. She had read the note in his memory.
Darkness crept into the forest and the landscape was hidden from their sight. They settled into a remote patch of condensed trees and prepared their campsite. Accacia built a fire, but Aleco stopped her before she ignited the wood. “It’s too risky,” he said as he knocked the twigs from her palm. “I’m certain they are searching for us.”
Accacia tossed the branches aside and crossed her arms over her chest, clearly deflated at the lack of heat. She rubbed her palms together and hoped the friction of her chafing skin would bring some respite. Accacia’s skin changed from a healthy red to a cold ocean blue. Her extremities were freezing in the chill. Aleco wanted to slap her.
It began to snow. Tiny flakes of powder kissed the ground and their noses, melting instantly at the warm contact of their skin. The brown soil turned to white with the falling snow, and the green leaves of the trees disappeared under the powder. Accacia tried to hide her shivers, but her convulsions were out of her control. Her lips were turning blue. Aleco never knew someone could be so stubborn. She would rather die than accept his aid. The thought angered him. “This ends now!”
He covered her shoulders with his cloak and wrapped the wool around her body. Her skin felt like a frozen icicle, and Aleco worried it was too late, that she might become hypothermic and die. Accacia dropped the cloak to the ground. He knew she was too weak to throw it at him. “I don’t need your cloak, Aleco,” she said.
Aleco lost control of his anger. “Let me explain this to you in terms you can understand,” he yelled. He grabbed the cloak from the ground and held it in her face. “If you don’t wear this cloak, you will die.”
He covered her body with the cloak and held it in place so she couldn’t take it off.
“You will wear this,” he said. His glare convinced her to surrender her resistance. “You can fight me if you wish, but I promise you will lose. I won’t let you die out here.”
“What about you?” she asked.
He tightened the folds around her and verified every inch of her sensitive skin was covered. It was her first display of concern for him since they had escaped. He reached his hand towards her. “Feel my skin.”
She touched his palm and felt the scorching temperature of his body. She was surprised by its unwavering heat. Without her permission, he grabbed both of her narrow hands and encompassed them within his own, thawing her arctic skin with his warmth. He gripped her hands for a moment and massaged the numbness from her fingertips then blew his hot breath onto her skin. Accacia felt the tingle of sensation return to her limbs as Aleco’s heat flooded her extremities. He looked into her beautiful green eyes while he tended to her, but she avoided his gaze and focused her attention on his ministrations. The fire in Accacia’s eyes was absent, dormant in the cold. This worried him most of all. “I’m going to breathe into your mouth,” he said.
His words startled her but she was too cold to react.
“I would ask for your permission but you forfeited your right with your stupidity. You don’t get a choice,” he said. “This is going to happen. You are lucky that I’m warning you at all.”
She tried to nod but she couldn’t move.
“My only intent is to help you. I have no other motive.” He pressed his lips against hers and breathed into her mouth. She felt the hot air enter her lungs and the heat absorb into her body. Accacia felt her blood thin and circulate through her veins. Her organs thawed with the warmth. Accacia felt the flicker of her heartbeat increase to a pound as it awoke from its slumber. He continued to breathe into her mouth and she was thankful he did. He pulled away and looked at her, expecting to see the wrath in her eyes and was grateful there was none.
“Thank you,” she whispered. Aleco exhaled in relief. She glanced at him in his thin shirt and wondered how he could always maintain such a high level of body heat. She noticed something else, too. She nodded to the necklace he wore. “Why do you still have that?”
It was the very one they had returned to Father Giloth. Aleco had used the contents of the capsule to spare her life when he rescued her from Morkarh. She remembered Father Giloth leaving it on the dinner table and wondered why Aleco kept it.
He was silent for a moment. “No reason,” he said. He tucked the matching necklace within the collar of his shirt, hiding it from view. She caressed her own copy of the chain.
The heat dissipated from the cloak and Accacia shivered again. Aleco eyed her convulsions. He knew her life was no longer in danger so he didn’t breathe into her mouth again.
“You’re always cold,” he said.
She nodded.
Aleco knew how he could keep her warm and comfortable but refrained from asking. He already knew her answer. The sight of her continued convulsions changed his mind. “I can keep you warm,” he offered. “Lay against my chest, and I will cover us both with the cloak. The heat of my body will still stop your shivers.”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Yes,” he said. “And I hope you make the right one.”
Accacia shivered in silence. Aleco assumed that was her answer until she spoke. “Okay.”
Aleco looked at her in surprise. Accacia felt so numb she decided to put her current anger aside. She was too cold to care. He laid himself on the frozen ground and instructed her to crawl onto his chest. She lingered for a moment, uncomfortable with the proximity and what it might bring. The bite of the freezing air encouraged her to continue so she laid her weightless body on his torso. He covered them both with the cloak, and her shivers ceased instantly.
She sighed as the heat surrounded her and thawed her frozen skin. Aleco wrapped his heavy arm around her thin waist, which she didn’t object to. He suspected she was already asleep. He indulged in his deepest desire and rubbed his hand against the steep curve of the small of her back, his favorite feature. He grazed his fingertips through her flowing strands. Her scented hair tickled the skin of his neck, but he didn’t brush it away, welcoming the pleasant aroma of her natural fragrance. His mind drifted to his usual fantasy and he forced the thoughts from his mind. He could hear the restraints of his control snapping as he thought about making love to her. Aleco stopped the flood of images in his mind and changed his thoughts. He pictured Father Giloth, and Aleco felt the blood recede from his appendage and return to his body. He thought of Father Giloth sipping tea and felt his body relax. He hugged her to his chest as his mind fell into the abyss.
Aleco awoke the following morning with Accacia sprawled across his chest. Her fragile arm was hooked around his neck and her face was below his chin. He felt the brush of her lips against his jaw every time he inhaled.
Accacia opened her eyes and sat up. She crawled off his chest without looking at him, and moved away as fast as she could, a sight that burned Aleco’s heart. Aleco wished he could take back his actions more than ever.
They left the campsite and progressed forward. Accacia ignored Aleco’s words as they traveled closer to Orgoom Forest. Aleco hoped her anger had softened after their closeness overnight, but she seemed to be even more distant because of the incident. Aleco hadn’t foreseen this complication. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I would take back everything if I could.”
He studied her stoic expression. It didn’t reveal any emotion or thought. Her green eyes were the only true indicator of her feelings and they blazed in an evergreen fire at his words. The light in her emerald irises always displayed her thoughts. This was the reason she couldn’t lie to Aleco; he saw everything in her eyes. Aleco gripped his hair in frustration. “What do I have to do, Accacia?” he asked. “What do you want from me? I will do anything to earn your forgiveness.”
She stopped and stared at him. The hurt on her face shattered his heart, and he fell silent under her gaze, hypnotized by the sparks of green embers bursting from her eyes. “Let me make this clear,” she said. “There is nothing you can do. What has come to pass is over, done. I forgive you for hurting me, Aleco.
I was the one who provoked your anger by invading your privacy and breaking your trust, but I will never forget what you did to me. I can’t regain your trust and you can’t earn mine.”
“I do trust you.”
“Well, you shouldn’t,” she said. “And you don’t deserve mine in return.”
“Give me another chance,” he begged.
“I already said no.”
“Please?”
“You are wasting your time, Aleco. Your words change nothing and they can’t change the way I feel,” she said. Accacia hated the harshness of her words but she couldn’t hide her annoyance. She thought this conversation was over, never to be addressed again. She hated hurting him but he continued to set himself up for failure. Accacia knew she should just let her anger go and see Aleco for who he really was, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Her hatred for his twin was too strong; she was blind. All of this could have been avoided if she could protect herself. She never would have been tortured by the duke, and the guildsman would never have forced her body to the ground. Accacia could have stopped Aleco from hurting her. “There is something I want from you, if you are willing to give it.”
“Name it,” he said. “If there is anything I can do for you, I will.”
She studied his face and wondered if he would grant her this special request. “I want to be your apprentice,” she said. “I want to be as skilled a fighter as you are, and not only with a blade, but with my bare hands and my mind. I want to protect myself. Never again will I be helpless when a man attacks me.”
Aleco dropped his gaze, ashamed of her reference.
“I will never be the victim of an assault or a beating,” she continued. “Never again will a man take me against my will, because they will die before they can even make the attempt—I will be a warrior. Will you teach me, Aleco?”
Aleco looked at her. “Yes,” he said. “I will, whether you choose to trust me or not.”
“Thank you,” she said. “Let’s get started.”
Aleco dedicated an hour a day to demonstrating the fundamental battle tactics he’d acquired during his tenure as a committed member of the Serpentine Guild, where he learned to be the master assassin he had become.
Teaching these maneuvers to Accacia was difficult because he couldn’t instruct her the way he’d been taught, through sparing, which was the quickest route to learning. Aleco refused to take that avenue because of the real possibility that he would hurt her.
Eventually, Accacia wanted to practice her new craft on Aleco, but he rejected her request. “Aleco, if I want to be proficient, it’s essential I engage with a real opponent.”
“Absolutely not,” he said.
“How else am I supposed to learn?”
“Practice with someone else,” he said. “I will not be the one who harms you.”
Accacia sheathed her black sword and gazed at Aleco. She understood him well enough to know he wouldn’t budge in his decision. She witnessed his expertise in battle and marveled at his unparalleled skill. She wondered how Aleco had become so accomplished in his abilities. “How did you train, Aleco?”
Aleco told her the tale of the excruciating experience. He had been thrown into a locked chamber, unable to flee, as other members of the guild attacked him and bloodied him into unconsciousness. He had received no formal instruction and was forced to learn to survive on his own. Months later, he finally blocked their powerful blows and returned them with vicious strikes. The real training commenced when the Chief believed he was worthy.
Accacia stared at him. “Aleco, this is very important to me,” she said. “I need you to do this.”
“No.”
“Please help me defend myself,” she said. “You have no concerns about being pinned to the floor with your legs held apart. You never have to worry about being a man’s slave. You don’t know how it feels.”
Aleco wanted to vomit at the thought. The idea of Accacia being raped made him dizzy with sickness. “I promised I would never hurt you,” he said. “I intend to keep my promise this time.”
She seized his forearms. “I release you from your oath. Please do this for me.”
Aleco watched the desperate plea in her eyes and knew she was serious. She rubbed his arms with her gentle hands, silently begging him to oblige. Aleco knew this would be a brutal experience for her, but she would be prepared for any future assault and be spared of any further pain. This knowledge convinced Aleco of his choice. “Okay.”
Accacia smiled and his heart fluttered at the sight. Aleco knew her happiness would disappear when the training began. She squeezed his arm before releasing her welcomed touch. “Thank you.”
“This is only going to happen on my terms, my way.”
“I understand,” she said.
“No, you don’t,” he snapped. “If at any time, the pain is unbearable, just say the word, and I’ll cease my advance.”
“I understand—”
“My concern is you won’t tell me when it is too much for you. I need you to swear your honesty,” he explained. “I need to trust you to speak the truth. Can I trust you?”
“Yes, of course.”
Aleco stared at her and examined her countenance for dishonesty.
She rolled her eyes. “You can trust me, Aleco.”
“I better,” he said. “Otherwise the arrangement is off.”
Accacia’s lidded eyes sagged in exhaustion, crippled from their intense training that afternoon and the laborious leagues they covered during the day, but Aleco couldn’t let her sleep.
“We have to enter the forest under the cover of darkness,” he said. They approached the border of the immense trees and Aleco looked around for the Aleutian soldiers. He didn’t see any. “Infiltrating the forest under the sun is too dangerous. We mustn’t be seen.” Aleco turned to Accacia. “We can’t make a sound. There are dozens of soldiers searching for you.”
He gazed at her hidden features within the depth of his massive cloak, which cascaded around her in layered folds, hiding her petite frame from view. She looked very warm and comfortable. Aleco felt guilty at his following request. “I need my cloak,” he said with an extended hand. “I can’t risk it.”
He noticed her crestfallen face and his remorse increased. Aleco felt like he was stealing food from a starving a child. He didn’t know which was worse: the soldiers recognizing the supposedly dead twin or spotting the escaped Accacia.
She removed the cherished jacket and returned it to him. She crossed her arms and shivered. The sight was unbearable. “Come here,” he said.
He outstretched his arm and circled it around her waist, giving her a small respite from the cold. Accacia overcame the unwanted closeness and jumped into his warm embrace to escape the winter chill.
They crept through the dark trees towards Orgoom Forest in silence, stopping at the slightest snap of a twig or rustle of a leaf. Aleco could hear the crunch of snow under Accacia’s clumsy steps and told her to roll her heels. It was an overcast evening, deepening the forest floor into blackness. Aleco could navigate through the woods blindfolded so he steered Accacia to their destination with ease. The nightfall provided them extra cover from Drake’s soldiers and assisted in their passage. They circumvented the forest, approaching Father Giloth’s abode from the backlands of the wilds, the least watched route. Aleco held Accacia close to his heated body as they traversed through the stumps of trees. He wanted to advance at a quicker pace to get Accacia inside but he couldn’t risk the possibility of being captured, so they crept through the forest slowly.
Accacia’s entire composition shook in the freezing temperature. Every part of her body felt like a frozen piece of ice, and Aleco’s concern turned to panic. She stumbled across the snow, and without Aleco’s support, would have fallen to the ground, never to rise again. Accacia’s knees buckled beneath her and she collapsed in Aleco’s arms.
Aleco pressed his hand over her chest and felt her heartbeat, which was dangerously slow. Alec
o understood her body was shutting down. Dismissing his own protection, he wrapped her inside the cloak and carried her to Asylinth House, running in haste.
They approached the back of Father Giloth’s humble home without being spotted and Aleco ran to the secret doorway the old man had constructed for him, allowing him to visit the dwelling unnoticed. The entryway was difficult to distinguish even in daylight, and in the darkness it was almost impossible, but the urgency of Accacia’s receding health spurred Aleco to quicken his pace. Aleco located the passage and they entered the invisible doorway.
Aleco had no time to scout the house and investigate who was residing within the shelter. He carried Accacia upstairs to the guestroom, his former bedroom, and filled the bathtub with cold water. He returned downstairs to retrieve hot rocks from the roaring hearth and deposited them into the water. When steam floated from the surface of the bathtub, he removed Accacia’s clothes and placed her within the tub. He secured her head above the rim with a pillow.
Aleco succumbed to the weakness of desire and gazed at the alluring curves of her disrobed figure then forced himself to look away, ashamed at his indecent thoughts during her vulnerable state. He placed a blanket over the top of the tub to hide her nudity from view. Now he wouldn’t be tempted to look at her. Aleco pulled a chair next to her and waited.
After an hour, Aleco assessed her heartbeat, which had picked up significantly, and estimated that the temperature of her skin had returned to normal. Aleco sighed in relief.
He dried her body with a clean towel and tucked her into the four poster bed, pulling the swan feather sheets over her inactive form, enclosing the warmth of the blankets around her.
Debilitated from their chaotic peril, he laid his sore frame on the floor and closed his eyes. Unconsciously, he wrapped his arm across his chest, holding onto something he wished was truly there.