Forty-Six

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Izzy shuddered, an involuntary action provoked by an errant surge of revulsion.

"Thinking about the finger again?"

Kaede leaned against the threshold of the chamber Izzy had been allocated upon her return to Ravensfield, an amused quirk lifting his lips.

"There is nothing in this world I'd like to forget more than the feeling of carrying that man's severed finger back to Ravensfield." Another shudder coursed through her, compelling her to wrap her arms around her waist. The soft robe that covered her body was a size too large and slipped off her shoulder, but it had been loaned to her at the behest of one of the Ravensfield sisters since her arrival at the estate a few hours prior.

It had taken four hours of hard travel, but they had successfully journeyed to Ravensfield with the other captive fae in tow. The journey had been largely uneventful, though with a troupe of weary and exhausted beings frequent stops had been made in which Izzy had been self-appointed to press the gruesome digit against the collar of each fae until all were released from the odious power of the device around their necks. Each stop had not lasted long- they hadn't dared tarry lest the fearsome Thornshades decided to exact their vengeance on them instead of the burning remains of the estate.

And the smoke from the property had billowed into the sky in great, heaving black clouds that blotted out everything else- the rain clouds hovering in the night sky, the errant starlight glimpsed between each plume, the waning moon. An ominous blight that would be blown away with the next gust of wind. Fire had consumed the building until nothing but the skeleton had remained, and they were fortunate to have escaped before the inferno had reached the chamber where the enclosures were secured.

It was evident that Aëghan Dranora had flown ahead of them all and preceded their arrival by a good few hours, because Lillian and Millie had anticipated and prepared for the occupancy of a number of guests and had ensured each was well catered to.

Presently, Kaede pushed off the threshold and approached her, drawing her thoughts away from those fresh, unpleasant memories. Dressed in a clean shirt and trousers, his hair was still wet from a recent bath and hung in damp hunks over his temples and shoulders. He looked remarkably energised considering the ordeal he had endured and there was a peculiar light in his iridescent eyes. Something hard and unrelenting clamped fearful bars around her heart and squeezed, making it more profound to Izzy right then how unbearably close she had come to losing him completely.

As he moved closer to her, she drank in the sight of him, of the sway of his strong, broad shoulders as his muscles shifted under the near translucent sheen of the fabric covering them, over the vast expanse of his chest-

Over the fresh blood still oozing from his recent wounds that began to stain against the sheerness of the material- a stark reminder of his injuries.

She erupted into sobs.

Unprecedented, unprovoked, heaving sounds gurgled from her throat as her eyes began to burn and water with a constant river of tears that she couldn't help if she wanted to.

Large, gentle arms ensconced her, urging her against a supportive and warm frame. She buried her face against his chest, her fingers trembling as they fought the urge to cling to him with a desperation that was firing off in her soul. She daren't touch him lest she make his injuries worse, didn't want to inflict upon him an iota of pain more than what he had already endured.

"Iz," Kaede murmured, dipping his head so that his lips pressed against the locks of freshly washed hair at her crown. "Come now, there's no more need for your tears."

He coaxed her gently towards the bed on the other side of the chamber where he settled, bringing her into his lap where she felt small and coddled- which only served to bring on yet more pitiful sobs from her throat. The culmination of several days of repressing the panic and worry that threatened to overwhelm her into just this state had finally found its release. She could scarcely believe that the ordeal was over; was too hesitant to finally believe that the matter of Lord Grant was truly put to bed and that nothing untoward would happen to her or Kaede again.

And perhaps it was still the lingering disbelief and fear that Kaede could yet be snatched away from her again that made twin shards of terror root deep within her gut.

It took her several long moments to finally still and quieten, and when her sobs had finally subsided, she became cognizant of Kaede's tender caresses- a consoling hand stroking over the damp tendrils of her hair at her back, the soft pressure of his fingers at her hip.

She pulled slightly away from him as she blearily wiped at the mess on her face with the sleeve of her robe, sniffling quietly as she regained a modicum of her wrecked composure. So patient and reliable, Kaede merely waited for her with a kind and understanding expression on his achingly handsome face.

"I am a disaster," Izzy choked, dabbing her cheeks.

A smile tipped one corner of his lips into his cheek. "A beautiful one, I assure you."

It earned him a watery chuckle, but she was quick to sober as she met his gaze. "I would never forgive myself if something happened to you again," she whispered, a deep ache in her tone. "This is all my fault."

"Hmm, that's odd."

The tone of his voice belied the tenderness with which he was holding her, causing her to tilt her face further away from his and cast him a look full of burgeoning questions.

"I believed you to be smarter than that." Following his words, an irreverently cheeky smirk that earned him a fast scowl from the woman perched across his thighs. "Clearly, I was wrong."

"It was all my fault!" Izzy insisted, swatting him lightly across the top of his arm. She squirmed and wriggled, attempting to put some distance between them to prove how truly vexed she was, but Kaede held her fast. "You'd be a fool to think anything else. I should have simply paid Lady Beauchamp the money she wanted! It would have been better than allowing what happened to you to occur."

"You truly think that?" The smile on his lips disappeared and he urged her against him. "Oh, Iz. You are more deserving of that money than anybody I know. I would not ask you to relinquish a penny on my behalf- that inheritance is rightfully yours and you shouldn't think anything more of it."

"You are worth more than any amount of wealth," Izzy whispered, dipping her gaze to examine the wedge of bronzed flesh exposed at the base of his neck. Meeting his gaze right then, while conversing on this particular topic, was causing an uncomfortable knot to burn against the back of her throat. "My life would have meant nothing without you in it. I don't need anything material in nature, nor do I desire it having lived with far less for as long as I can remember. I was a fool, you are correct in assuming I am not as smart as you thought."

"Now you are being doubly foolish." A finger under her chin tipped her gaze back up to his, her vision swimming and distorting his beautiful face evidence of the tears still pooling against the corners of her eyes. "Had I not been taken to that foul place, had you not found a foolish need to put your life at risk and rescue me, we would not have found the other poor souls at the cruel mercy of such a man." At the indirect mention of Lord Grant, Kaede's face darkened.

Upon arrival at Ravensfield, they had both been assured of Grant's containment- that his wounds had been successfully (and painfully) sealed to prevent the lord from bleeding out so that his fate could be meted out by the proper stipulations of the law. The matter hadn't been discussed that much, seeing as how weary and beaten those who arrived at Ravensfield had been, but Izzy had a lot more questions pertaining to Ernest and Lewis's fate- as well as her own.

"You saved a lot of lives today, Izzy," Kaede said, pulling her away from her dark musings once more. "Today, those fae woke up believing that they faced an indeterminate future yet within the confines of that estate. Never would they have conceived it possible that their freedom would be ensured by a tempestuous redheaded thespian and her pet rat later that night."

Nicer words had never been spoken to her and more tears squeezed out her eyes. She threw her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in his neck, seeking warmth and comfort and reassurance from his masculine source. And Kaede was all too willing to offer it to her by sliding his tail around her hips and holding her even tighter against him.

"I am surprised you still want me," she murmured against his flesh, trembling at the feel of his large hands spanning across her flanks and waist. "I have caused you nothing but problems since the day you met me."

He snorted softly- a dismissive sound that disturbed the lock of hair he had buried his face against. "Still want you? Iz, I yearn for you even when you are in my arms. Being apart from you was insurmountable to any form of torture I could have endured. How can you not understand what I am willing to do for you, my girl? There is nothing on this earth that could stop me from wanting to be with you- nothing. I'd endure thousands of beatings, thousands of lashings, only to know that I could hold you again. Even if I was to just catch one solitary glimpse of your firebrand hair, that would be enough to redeem my tortured soul. How can you doubt this?"

His head dipped, his lips brushing against the sensitive column of her neck, and her fingers found the damp threads of his hair, entwining their locks against her skin and holding him close to her. "Your soul never needed redeeming, Kaede."

"It did," he affirmed with a sharp nod. "I was lost until I met you. I didn't have much to live for, nor did I feel worthy of life... until I found you twirling a pistol and threatening to shoot Lord Theo Adams in the leg."

She twisted in his hold until her legs straddled his thighs, reminiscent of that night some days ago when she had bound him hostage in one of her rickety chairs. Her gown parted, exposing the bare flesh of her thighs while she rested her hands against the strength of his broad shoulders. "Even then, I deceived you by not revealing who I truly was. How could you forgive me for such deception?"

"Easily, since it is you and always you," he murmured. His palms found her naked flesh, tail tightening against her waist, and then she was hoisted against him until every inch of her front pressed against his. The tips of his fingers slid under the fabric of the gown, skimming over the curve of her bottom until she felt her skin come alive at the suggestive caress. "I know your mind, I know your heart, and I know your body. I know that, with certainty, everything you have done has been with the best intentions. And," he added with a suggestive timbre to his tone, fingers flexing into the softness of her thighs, "I know that you were always meant to be mine."

"Your injuries!"

"Are nothing," he grunted, lowering his face to hers so that his lips brushed every contour of her mouth. She felt herself softening, leaning into him more firmly, unable to resist the lure of his body and his words.

She would have tipped her face up to meet his, lost herself in his kiss and the pleasure he was offering, had it not been for the unsolicited arrival of his brother just that moment.

"I would say that I apologise for interrupting," Caëlhon drawled from the threshold of her chamber, "but truthfully, I'm not really that sorry."

Kaede jerked his head in his twin's direction, a scowl pulled at his brows and the corners of his lips. "What do you want?"

"To remind you who saved your hide... you might want to rethink your tone. I am sure Ravensfield may have a dungeon yet we can throw you into."

"I don't recall seeing you there," Kaede snapped.

"Caël did help," Izzy said, prying herself from his lap and straightening the robe about her modestly. "And he escorted Cassie safely to Ravensfield to await our return."

"Good thing your heartmate is as clever as she is," Caël remarked to Kaede with a wry grin. "You need all the brains you can get."

"I assume there is a reason for your presence, other than to be an annoyance," Kaede grumbled as he came to stand beside her. His tail coiled gently, possessively, about her ankle- as if homed in on her location at all times and intent to provide her a gesture that ensured she knew she was loved and comforted.

"Indeed," Caël agreed, thankfully putting to rest their playful sibling rivalry. "Though the hour is late, you are both needed presently in the Ravensfield study. There are... matters to discuss about the events of the past few weeks."

Even though she had been assured of her safety and that she had the protection of Ravensfield, Izzy felt trickles of unease cascade through her veins. As if sensing this, Kaede drew her against his side, holding her close to his warmth.

He nodded, once, and then said, "Lead the way."

~~~

Hello!

I know it took a long time- I do apologise! 

I have been dealing with a number of health issues that have prevented me from sitting comfortably to hash out anything of late. Thankfully, I seem to be on the mend (for now). 

Good news, though. The next chapter will follow tomorrow, probably after work and another doctor's visit. It's almost finished, and I was aiming to get it done tonight to follow this one, but pain has settled in again and I should take some rest before I ruin the good momentum I've got going so far :) 

I am so eager to finish this story and begin working on something new, you have no idea!

As always, thank you so much for the support! 

Take care!

Ash x