Chapter 201 Chapter 200
A figure moved ahead of her, and when the face came into focus, she found a very concerned Lylall staring down at her.
"You're awake already..." he stated, breathing out in relief. The bed dipped as he sat next to her, tenderly brushing her cheek. "How do you feel?" he asked.
Rayena opened her mouth to speak, but no sound made it past. She’d completely lost her voice, and her throat hurt.
"Stay here..." he commanded softly, moving away to get her something. He returned with a mug, pressing it against her lips. Sweet grape juice flowed into her mouth, and she gulped it down, needing to satisfy her thirst. When she had almost finished the contents, he pulled back.
"How do you feel?" he repeated.
Rayena moaned, feeling a dull throb throughout her body. She slumped back on the bed, breathing heavily. "I don’t know," she finally whispered.
Xenon looked guilty.
"I’m sorry. I was too hard on you. Ladrian has already been here. Your wounds have been treated, and he dropped some medicines for you to use after you woke. But you need to eat first."
Rayena mumbled something unintelligible, trying to fall asleep again instead. She felt like one giant sore.
Xenon sighed. "I already drew a bath. Shall I take you there?"
"Yes..." she mumbled, unable to lift a finger. Xenon lifted her up from the bed like she weighed next to nothing and carried her across the room where the bath was located.
He lowered her gently into the tub, and she moaned as her overworked muscles eased in the hot water, aching joints melting like butter. Then she hissed as parts of her skin where she had bruises started stinging.
"Sorry, you sustained some scratch marks. It’ll sting a bit," he groaned, pouring water over the parts of her body that didn’t get submerged.
Carefully, he began washing her, taking great pains to avoid the parts that visibly hurt or were swollen. Then, he went to massage her body, loosening every stiff muscle in her body. By the time he was done washing her, Rayena was already dozing off.
"We need to get you out of the water," he announced. Rayena blinked her heavy lids open, staring at him.
"Okay..." she mumbled, nodding.
He carried her out of the water, not minding that his clothes got soaked. Wrapping a silk towel around her body and hair, he took her to the couch, seating her on his lap, and began to feed her. She opened her mouth, meekly accepting the food and chewing it slowly.
He continued that way until she stopped accepting spoons, grumbling that she was full. "Then it’s time to use your medicines," he groaned.
Rayena whined, pouting in displeasure. He gave a low huff, smiling at her disgruntled expression. She looked adorable when she was this way. "Come on..." he urged, kissing her cheek. She rolled her eyes but took the medicine when he put it into her mouth.
Once that was done, she slumped against him, not sleepy anymore but content. He held her, ignoring the knowledge that she was naked underneath the silk towel he’d wrapped around her.
Seeing her bruises still red and angry, he frowned. "Your wounds aren’t healing yet?"
"That’ll take some time. I’m no shifter," she muttered.
"Oh..." Xenon trailed off, eyes widening. "Now I feel bad. I can’t believe I did that."
"Oh... I’ll be fine. At least I’m alive, have no broken bones, and well." She glanced at him. "What about you? How do you feel?"
"To be honest..." he started slowly, absentmindedly rubbing her back. "Better than I have in a long time."
She smiled then. "I’m glad to hear that. Things could have been worse."
She felt his body tense against hers. "Indeed, they could have. That was reckless, Rayena—you offering yourself to me."
Rayena blushed, averting her gaze. "It was either that or watch you shift into your wolf form and be truly uncontrollable," she muttered, remembering the times when he had completely lost control and had wanted her anyway. That would have been terrible.
Xenon sighed, pressing his face into the crook of her neck, breathing her in. "I’m glad it worked out," he whispered against her skin. Rayena smiled, heart fluttering in her chest. She pulled his face closer, caressing his cheek.
"Me too."
His gaze dropped to her lips, and he leaned in, claiming them in a soft, gentle kiss. Rayena sighed, a breath of surrender escaping her lips as she melted into him, her hands clutching his tunic as though to steady herself from the rush that came with being so near, so wanted.
Their tongues perfomed a slow dance, and Rayena's heart fluttered in her chest as she felt the emotions he couldn't put into words.
He pulled back too soon, their foreheads still touching, hearts drumming in sync. "What happens now?" Rayena asked gently, voice barely above a whisper, gazing into his eyes.
"Things will go back to the way they were," he rasped. "You’ll stay here until you’ve recovered, though. Don’t want you out of my sight," he grumbled, pulling back to rest his head on her chest, snuggling deeper. Rayena giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. He was acting like a petulant child in need of affection, and she was too happy to indulge him.
"I’m not going anywhere..." she mumbled soothingly. He groaned, lifting her up and taking her to bed. He laid her down and scooted closer, resting his head on her chest. Rayena began threading her fingers through his hair, basking in his warmth.
Then came the question that had been nagging at her since she woke up. She contemplated if she should ask at all but eventually couldn’t keep it in. "Lylall, can I ask something?" she muttered, still softly threading his hair.
"Go ahead..." he murmured.
"Why did you freeze like that?"
His entire body grew rigid, and her heart began to pound. "You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to!" she rushed out quickly. "I’m just curious. Whenever you blanked out like that, you’d always wear a terrified expression. It worried me."
A beat later, she added, "Did something bad happen?"
Xenon stiffened, directing his gaze elsewhere as he allowed her words to settle. He debated whether he should reveal the truth of his past to her. No one close to him now knew the full story, not even Morvan. He sighed, closing his eyes as she continued to comb through his hair. He was feeling so at peace now, and bottling it up all these decades had been detrimental to him. It wouldn’t hurt to let a soul know.
He let out a breath, allowing himself to concentrate on the feel of her body against his. "I haven’t always had an easy childhood, Rayena..." he began.