I scrambled over to him, grabbing his face and shaking it.
“Thale! Thale wake up!”
I put my ear to his chest, I thought I could hear a heartbeat, but I couldn’t be sure. I frantically racked my brain on how to conduct CPR. Why didn’t I know how to do that?
I began to make an attempt, pressing my hands down on his chest, and intermittently bringing my mouth to his to blow air into his lungs. Nothing. He wasn’t stirring. Was I doing it wrong?
“Thale! It’s Sophia.” My voice began to break. “Don’t you fucking leave me. Don’t you fucking dare.”
I banged on his chest. Still nothing. I screamed out into the darkness. I collapsed sobbing onto his chest, crawling beside him.
“Please wake up,” I whispered. “Please.”
The sound of tires approaching made me look up. Through the fog of the ash, I could see the truck coming towards me. The light blo
A gentle hand rested on my shoulder, and I woke with a start, looking to see if Thale was awake. But he was in exactly the same position as before. His face was relaxed, and if it hadn’t been for the wounds and burns covering his profile, I may have been able to kid myself that he was simply sleeping.“Miss Bell, sorry. You asked me to tell you when your brother was awake?”I turned my face to see Mrs Elliot’s face. Her hair was not as neat as it usually was.“Yes, thank you. Can you take me to him?”She stepped back so I could get out of bed. I pulled away from Thale reluctantly, but I knew I needed to see Jack.Mrs Elliot led me to a room I vaguely remembered Thale showing me. It faced out onto the grounds, the same view my art room did. I briefly hoped that I would get some time in that room again, and not because I was mourning…Jack was sitting by the window, curled up with one of Ashdown&rsquo
I tried my best to engage with Jack. I owed him at least that. I forced the soup and bread down my throat, if only to encourage him to eat his. Despite me knowing how delicious it was meant to be, the chunky vegetables kept feeling like they were going to get stuck in my throat. But I managed it.By the time we’d finished, Jack seemed to be talking with more ease than he had with me in a long time. Perhaps there was every chance we could repair our relationship. I know that’s what our parents would have wanted.After Jack went back to his room, I asked to speak with Louis. When the gruff man with kind eyes sat down in front of me, I couldn’t help but reflect on how I’d viewed him at first. After all, he’d been the man that had guarded my door when I wanted to escape. But now he was a comfort, one of Thale’s loyal men that genuinely cared for us.“I wanted to thank you, for what you did. If you hadn’t shown up with
I reached the room, breathless. Mrs Elliot was close on my heels. “What’s happening?!”Dr Squire was looking at Thale’s arm closely, concern written all over her face. I went over to her side, and had to clap my hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming.The skin on Thale’s wrist looked like it was coming away. As if it was shedding like a snake. The area was inflamed, with chunks of scales lifting away from his body.“I’m sorry Miss Bell. This is what I was afraid of. His body is beginning to break down.” Dr Squire stood back up, taking the gloves from her hands as if she was done.I looked at her as if she was mad. “Well, what can we do then? There must be something we can do?”Her eyes finally met mine. “Now this is happening, the chance of him surviving is extremely low. Dragons rarely recover once their skin begins to shed.”I shook my head furi
Despite the wonderful news that he was recovering, it took another three days for Thale to show any proper signs of life. During those three days, I mostly drew him. It was the first time I’d been able to do any kind of art since the first day I’d let him lead me to bed. As he lay perfectly still, I committed his profile in minute detail to the paper in front of me. It was still too hot for me to bare being too close, so it was a way of being intimate with him without touching his body.It was during one of these sessions, that I saw him open his eyes for the first time in a week. Just as I looked away to sketch his mouth, I heard a groan. My eyes snapped back to him, nearly crying with joy as I saw him writhe.“Thale?” I rushed over to his bedside the paper and pencil clattering to the ground. I took his hand in mine. “Thale can you hear me? It’s me. It’s Sophia.”His eyes flickered open and shut, an unearthly sou
Two months later...“Again?” I asked, half laughing, half hoping.“Yes, again,” he growled. “I have a lot to make up for.” His hand traced up the length of my leg, back to my core that was now drenched in the pleasure of both our bodies.“You’re going to break me if we go on much longer,” I uttered, my breath catching as his fingers began circling my swollen clit.“Tell me to stop then,” he said darkly into my ear. “Tell me you don’t want me.”Instead of saying anything, I let my legs fall open, allowing him to take me to another high. Just when I thought it wouldn’t be possible to go there again.“You look so beautiful when you’re like this.” He traced soft kisses down my neck, grazing his teeth against the sensitive skin.He took his hand away, and I whimpered. But before I could open my mouth to protest, he&rsqu
*Sophia’s POV* “Wow, you’re really good.” I jumped. I wasn’t expecting to be disturbed. I looked for the source of the voice and saw a handsome face smiling down at me. “Er, thanks.” He moved closer to my canvas, cocking his head to this side and that to take in the image. His shoulder was nearly touching mine. I tensed at the feeling of someone being so near. I could smell his expensive cologne. I took the opportunity to look at him a little closer. He didn’t look much older than me, maybe in his early 20’s? He had light blonde hair, a complete contrast to my raven locks. His clean-shaven face displayed the sharpness of his features. I couldn’t work out his eye colour from this position. He turned his face towards me, and I blinked. I wasn’t used to people being this close. “Do you do portraits?” Blue. His eyes
*Sophia's POV* I left it a few days before contacting Danny. I still wanted to think about it properly. However, after a particularly crappy shift at the pub, I decided to call him. I couldn't bear to work in dirty places like this where men would openly stare at my ass and boobs. I waited till it was my break and then went outside. A gruff voice greeted me. “Yeah?” I could hear drum and bass music in the background. “Er, is that Danny?” “Who wants to know?” That response did not fill me with confidence. “It’s Sophia…the girl who paints? We met the other day?” His tone suddenly changed. “Oh Sophia! I’ve been waiting for you to call. How are you doing?” “Yeah, I’m fine thank you. Sorry if I’ve distu
*Sophia's POV*A few days later, I was working at the cafe. It was a Thursday, which meant that it was busy with a local photography group that came in to have a drink and discuss their work. For this reason, I usually looked forward to Thursday’s. The group would often show me the pictures they’d taken that week, talking me through how they’d captured a certain angle or light.I was in the middle of appreciating a particularly gorgeous sunset image, when I heard the tinkle of the bell that sounded whenever the cafe door was opened. I quickly gave the photograph back to the group and made my way to the counter.A man approached, although it was impossible to know what he looked like. His figure was imposing, but his features were concealed by sunglasses, a scarf and hood.I looked at him nervously, my image reflected back at me in