‘ve been staring up at the ceiling for what seems to be forever. Every ache I’ve ever felt has left. As if it never existed. My mind had been full for so long that the silence felt like a differen kind of placidity. Everything outside this white room doesn’t exist right now. It’s just me, the silence, and the bright colors that dance in my restored vision.
Knowing I can’t stay here, I sit up to find that the room is an absolute mess. There are scratches on the walls. There’s a metal bed frame beside me flipped on its side. I’m guessing that the coton and pieces of fabric scattered all around me are what used to make up that bed. I rotate my shoulders and pop my neck.
When I turn around, I cross my legs and cover my breasts, feeling mighty embarrassed because if I am right, that mirror behind me is two–way. I turn back around, shutting my eyes, hoping that whoever is on that other side didn’t sit here with me while I was completely naked for who knows how long.
The wall behind the metal frame opens into a door, and my grandmother walks through, a robe draped over her arm. She smiles when she crouches down in front of me to hand it over. I take it and slip it on before taking her hands when she offers them. I am stunned when I’m on my feet and have to look down at her a little more than I’m used to.
“Hi,” she says quietly, but the sound of it bounces in my head as we were in an empty storage room with high ceilings. “How are you feeling?”
“Hungry,” I admit. “And sleepy.”
“Yeah,” she grins. “Do you remember anything from the past three days?”
“Umm, what do you mean? I woke up this morning feeling like hell.”
“It’s been three days since then. You had a rather violent first shif because of the surgeries and your wounds,” she takes hold of my hand. “Let’s get you cleaned up and fed.”
“Did Ragnar–I mean did the King call you?”
“It was Ragnar who contacted me, yes. The nurses told me that he stayed by yourside until you fully shifted. I was in Madrid, I caught the first flight here.”
“Where is he now?”
“He had to go back to training, but he reassured me he would come find you as soon as he was available.”
“He was the last person I spoke to before going to bed. I was in a lot of pain. Thank you for coming on such short notice.”
“Yes, shifting is very painful for our kind. It’s why we don’t do it very often. We lose control because of it. Your training here should help keep you stable enough to get a grip on it. I don’t have anywhere else I would rather be.”
“You haven’t stopped smiling,” I laugh when we get to my cot.
“I felt my heart break for you when you didn’t shift that first full moon on your fifteenth birthday and every one after. I watched a part of you die a little with each passing month as you sat out in the cold for months until you finally gave up. Now we know why,” she reaches up to push my hair out of my face. “Get cleaned up. I’ll meet you in the cafeteria. Ragnar had one of your friends bring you something that would fit, so you have something to wear. I suggest training sweats for
now,”
I take a hot shower and get dressed so that I don’t keep her waiting. I had blood on me, and I’m hoping it’s from accidentally hurting myself when I rampaged in that room. I had to scrub myself a few times before the suds returned to their normal, bubbly color.
I take my brush from my caddy and turn to face the mirror. I stop staring back at the woman in the reflection. The blue in my eyes has changed. I blink a few times and lean in to see that they shimmer in the light. The dark hues are gone. My eyes look like shards of baby blue, almost teal sea glass.
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Chapter 63
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My skin has changed as well. I look at my exposed skin to see that it’s lighter now. I lift my shirt and am relieved to find that my surgical scars are right where they belong, but they’re not as noticeable as before. When I run the brush through my hair, I find that it’s longer than it had been. I braid it, and the end of it comes down to my rib cage and not the top of my
chest
My boots don’t fit, so I just slip some socks on and grab my walle so I can go down to the uniform shop to get measured to replace my uniforms and anything I need to keep going with my training.
I pause when the most delightful scent hits me. I shiver, feeling my body buzz with the scent. It’s a very distinct scent. Vanilla, freshly cut wood, and some kind of liquor. It’s intoxicating and manly even. I take a deep breath to find that it went as quickly as it came.
I ordered you a little of everything. I was famished when I first shifted. I couldn’t get full,” my grandmother explains when I all but gawk at the amount of food on the table. I glance back in the direction I came from, thinking about that scent, but I need food more than I need to know what the hell that is.
“I didn’t think they had all of this here,” I admit as the scent of meat overwhelms everything else in my life.
“Join me,” she waves at the seat beside her. “Eat.”
I take a seat. I don’t hesitate to go for the red meats first. I top my plate off and decide that I need a drink before I can put anything in my mouth. I get up to get a Gatorade. Before I can pay, someone else does it for me. When I look up, I see it’s the regional General. Lucian Hoeger.
“General, I bow my head. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that
“My pleasure,” he smiles, looking me over.
I take a step back and thank him again before spinning around to go back to my seat. I sit down beside my grandmother, who caught all of that. She grins broadly as she takes a bite of the chicken on her plate.
Others have paid for my food. The girls, Ragnar, and even some of the guys in our unit. But a general? That wasn’t just a polite smile. That had all kinds of suggestions attached to it. When I hold my fork up to my mouth with a piece of steak, the general reappears on the other side of our table. His eyes skim me before moving over to my grandmother.
“Major General Helvig. It’s an honor to have you in this region, he greets her with a bow.
“Lucian,” she beams. “It’s been so long,” she says, and the two of them hug like old friends. “Have you met my granddaughter, Sophia?”
“I have. She holds the top spot in one of our most important evacuation teams. There’s so much potential,” he says without taking his eyes off me. “You must be very proud. I’m glad to see she’s taken after you.”
“Proud is an understatement,” she smiles. “Although she’s always been quite the overachiever.”
“I hear that. Ladies,” he bows politely and walks away, but not before winking at me.
“What the hell was that?” I demand, when she sits beside me again.
“You
WOI
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
