The Blood King - Chapter Thirty-One (Patreon)

Nymira

My eyes fly open as I am jolted awake. Water comes rushing past my lips as I sit up, hunching over to hack it all out. My chest and throat burn, but with each cough I am able to pull in more air until I am gasping instead of coughing. The room is blurry, so it takes me a moment to notice the warm presence next to me, patiently waiting for me to breathe again, and as I blink to clear my vision, I am finally met with familiar red eyes belonging to an annoyed Dragonborn. I blink rapidly until I can finally see the annoyed expression of a Dragonborn watching me.

Cassian’s hair falls around him, past his waist as he glares at me with his mouth set in a firm line of disappointment. He’s wearing a shirt that opens up, revealing his chest and the symbols that he has graciously gained by being completely in tune with his kind. Unlike me, a lone Ikniri who comes closer to killing herself with every day that passes. Usually, seeing him this close would be enough to send me into panic. But knowing that I almost drowned, trapped by my own ice, and he is the one who saved me makes that feeling disappear.

He lets out an irritated breath, gesturing to the basin as he speaks. I follow his hands, noting the broken ice that floats on top. “I swear one of these days you are—”

I’m in his arms, my hands wrapping around his shoulders tightly as I bury my face in his neck, letting my tears fall. My sobs are quiet at first as I relive what happened. I’ve never been so terrified of my own power before. I’ve always been curious, and I have always been just weak enough that using it never amounted to much. But lately, with these visions and my strength somehow growing, I have been unknowingly placing myself in danger.

“A lone Ikniri is a dangerous thing.”

Peyra’s words echo in my mind, adding to my turmoil. I used to think she said it because the world was after my kind since the war. Now, I see it is because I cannot control my power, nor is there anyone left to teach me.

Cassian’s arms slowly wrap around me as well, followed by his soothing voice.

“You’re okay, Nymira. I’m here. I’ve got you,” he murmurs, lowering his lips to my hair as he speaks.

I cry even harder from his words. He’s wrong. I am not okay. I don’t know that I ever will be. I know nothing, and I am beginning to think that these visions are memories that have been somehow locked away. If that is true, it opens the door to even worse possibilities. The possibility that maybe I was affected by the war. It’s a terrifying reality to face alone.

I don’t know that I want to any longer.

The fur around me is warm, and it comforts me as Cassian’s scent wafts from it. I’ve grown comfortable with Cassian’s heat. It reminds me of him and helps soothe me, even though I’ve never liked warmth. For him, however, I don’t mind.

I’m pulled from my thoughts as a cup is placed on the table in front of me. A soft scent of flowers rises from the cup, mingling with the steam. As I reach for it, bringing it to my lips, Cassian takes a seat across from me. He doesn’t speak, letting me enjoy the tea, but I can feel his eyes on me as he studies me, the irritation he usually has gone.

“Feeling better?” he asks. His tone is gentle, yet firm. I can see that he is trying to be gentle, so as not to startle me more, but he is also on edge. He always is when my power manifests itself dangerously. It’s not only dangerous to me, but possibly to those under his charge.

I slowly nod, my gaze remaining focused on the steaming liquid between my grip.

“How did it happen?” he asks.

I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. I don’t know if telling him about the visions will help or hurt the relationship between us. Especially since he revealed to me his part in the war—how he himself was a follower of the blood king, and had a hand in killing my people.

But he would never hurt me, right?

He could have let me drown, seeing my power grow to an uncontrollable level in that moment, or any moment before. But he has not only kept me alive, but protected me.

Cassian releases an irritated breath when I don’t respond.

“I know that your power comes forth when you feel scared. But no one was in that room with you, Nymira. How did you almost drown yourself?” he asks.

I shake my head.

“I…don’t know,” I murmur.

“So you just… decided to freeze yourself under the water?” he asks, his tone shifting.

I shake my head and finally look at him. He’s trying to remain indifferent, but I can see something dangerous lurking beneath the surface. He knows I am lying. But I swallow my fear, making sure I am confident in my response.

“Sometimes I lose myself in the water. It’s just so hot all the time, and when I get in the water, and it cools me off, and suddenly I feel—”

Cassian suddenly laughs, shaking his head. But he isn’t amused. Not really. I can hear the strained anger in it. His eyes fall to the fireplace across the room, and I see him contemplating his next move. For some reason, what happened in my room has him very much on edge. Almost as if he is caught in a difficult situation.

Suddenly, he stands, moving across the room to the flames. They cast a warm glow over his body as he approaches, and he looks into them, his muscles relaxing. Slowly, he moves his hand into the flames. I gasp, quickly standing to stop him, but my panic is short-lived as the flames lick his palm. It’s almost as if they dance brighter, happy to be near his flesh. Yet nothing happens.

“As a Dragonborn, I am drawn to the flame. When I miss my home, I can look to the flames. They help me feel at peace,” he says, rotating his palm to coax more of the flames.

His gaze lifts to meet mine. “It comforts me.”

He pulls his hand out of the fire, rolling his fingers along his palm before holding it up for me to show no harm has come to him.

“It’s a part of me,” he says, dipping his fingers back in. Except this time, when he pulls them from the flames, it follows him, settling on his palm. He slowly approaches, the flame growing. It shifts to his wrist, slowly crawling until it covers his entire arm with no harm to him.

As he stands near me, his eyes illuminated and the flame held close, I instinctively step back, placing my hand on the table for support. My heart beats faster as my body recognizes I stand before a Dragonborn—and that Dragonborn is a threat. But my mind conflicts with those feelings, recognizing this Dragonborn as Cassian.

He wouldn’t hurt me.

His eyes follow my movements, and he grins, revealing his dimple as he stands tall and extinguishes the flames.

“It is my birthright, as a Dragonborn,” he says.

He steps beside me, his gaze bright with excitement as he looks into mine.

“You are an Ikniri. One of the Ancients placed here to help protect and guide this world and every piece of it. Your people lived in the mountains. High in the mountains, with endless snow and frigid air,” he says.

My eyes widen as he reveals pieces of my history that not even Peyra told me about. I know so little of the world. My world consisted of the forests we roamed. Only recently has it expanded to this. And now, Cassian is expanding it even further.

“Your body has gone too long without experiencing it. And now it craves the chill it has been starved of—it is desperate,” he says, his eyes drifting to my palm against the table.

He leans in so close that his heat overwhelms me, and his scent grows stronger. My chest slowly heaves as I take a deep inhale, trying not to physically react to his scent, but it grows more intoxicating to me by the minute for some reason.

His lips are inches from mine, and I gasp as his hand covers mine, lifting it. A quiet crack fills the air, and I look down in shock as he pulls my palm from the mound of ice I somehow created. His eyes never leave mine as he brings my palm to his lips, the heat scorching as his lips gently brush against my knuckles.

He keeps my hand in his, gently placing it against my chest. I gasp, my eyes even wider from the contact.

“Fear…desperation…those are emotions not afforded to our kind,” he says.

“Close your eyes…” he murmurs.

I can’t. I continue watching him, my fears evident, and he makes a face.

“Nymira.” The warning in his tone is enough to sway me as chills ripple up my spine. It isn’t a suggestion, but a command.

So, I slowly close my eyes.

“Deep breath,” he murmurs.

He waits for me to comply, then suddenly scorching pain rips through me. My eyes fly open, and I scream. The pain is unbearable. It viciously crawls into every nerve ending like poison, until my entire body is on fire. I can’t pull away, I can’t defend myself, and I am much too weak to use my own power after what happened in the bath.

“Ngh, stop!” I gasp.

But Cassian’s expression is terrifying as he studies me, ensuring that he completes whatever it is he’s doing. I don’t know how long I stay like this, squirming in his arms, until the heat slowly subsides, all converging to one spot on my arm.

Cassian finally releases me, but my legs are too weak to hold myself up. I collapse in his arms, my body shivering as I look up into those dark eyes.

“Wha…” I trail off, unable to finish my sentence.

“Rest now. I’ll explain everything when you wake…if you wake.”