“Mm’ not sappy.” Loki mumbled in protest, on the verge of yawning but then wincing in pain when the movement agitated his neck, eyelids still drooping even as he nuzzled into Fee’s shoulder. “Just grateful. It’s not everyday you find yourself survivor to two vampire attacks and live to tell the tale.”
Although he was finding it difficult to stay awake, Loki sobered some as Fee explained what had happened since. Passing off his wounds as an animal attack would at least be a more believable tale, even if he wasn’t entirely sure what sort of animal might have been stalking university grounds- maybe he’d have to feign ignorance at that part, pretend that the memories were too traumatising to know for sure. It wasn’t as if he’d be lying. At least Fee hadn’t been blamed for any of it, not when it was hardly an easy situation for her to be in, found there holding his body and covered in his blood. Even so soon after seeing her again he had a feeling she would blame herself for it all anyway, something which wouldn’t be all that surprising when she had tried to drive him away for far less. It hadn’t been her fault, not one second of it- he had gone into the situation willingly, had practically orchestrated it himself when he had been the one to suggest incriminating Eden first.
Speaking of the vampires, it was at least a relief to hear that they had left Fee alone in wake of Alana’s attack. The last thing he wanted was to have to return to the university and see them both again, and he imagined it had been the wake up call that Eden and their coven had needed. “Good.” He murmured. “Did you get the camera? There’d be mass hysteria if the police got their hands on it.” Somehow he doubted that she’d had the opportunity when the whole area had been cordoned off, left for people to investigate. He wondered faintly if their claims of an animal attack would hold up when there were no paw prints or evidence that any animals had been there at all- just four sets of footprints, if any had even been left at all. Maybe it was better if things were left a mystery
As Fee noticed the look in his eyes at last, his confusion and pain and exhaustion a deadly combination that made him feel like bawling like a child, he leaned gently into her touch and sighed softly, eyes closed if only to stop her from seeing them shine with tears. The lights were still too bright, the harshness of hem painting his skin paler than it had been to start with. He imagined he looked just as terrible as he felt. “Stay. Please.” He implored her, grip tightening on her and a fleeting moment of panic surging through him. “Please don’t go. Just…sit and read to me, even if I fall asleep.”
Fee shook her head. No, she didn’t have the camera. It hadn’t been high up on her list of priorities. It still wasn’t. “Don’t worry about any of that shit right now,” she chided him, though her voice was hushed and soothing all the same. It wasn’t the end of matters, not by a long shot. Now he was awake, the police would no doubt want to question him and tie up the loose ends of their investigation. And while Fee was telling the truth when she said it had been likened to an animal attack, she wasn’t entirely off the hook. After all, it had been her knife Loki had used to cut his wrist that night, and while the rest of his injuries were inconsistent with the small blade, there was a lack of evidence and a lack of witnesses.
If it wasn’t an animal attack, the only one who had been there with him was Fee, covered from head to toe in his blood and trying desperately to staunch the flow of it. Her efforts to heal him using her magic had only served to make the wound seem less fresh, prompting yet more questions about why she’d waited in calling an ambulance. The interrogation had been more traumatic than she led Loki to believe. More so because she hadn’t even known if Loki would live or die…
But she said none of that, reticent as she often was when things were too difficult to discuss. Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, even as she endeavoured to act as though everything was fine.
“Sure,” she agreed, sounding calm when faced with his panic, though she was distant too. Sad. Guilty. She couldn’t refuse him when she felt such a huge amount of responsibility. She should never have confided in him about what she was. She should never have involved him. She should have turned him away the moment he showed an interest. Yet, there they were. And she knew in her heart, it couldn’t work. As much as she cared about him, a human had no place in her world; it was too dangerous, and his mortality had never been as apparent to her as it was now.
Twice over in the short time they’d known each other, he could have lost his life because of her.
But how could she express as much to him when he had risked his life as he had? She couldn’t. So she smiled and reached for her book, opening it and reading from where she’d left off last time.
After a while, one of the nurses reminded her of the time, and Fee smiled and asked for just five more minutes. The woman rolled her eyes but allowed them their privacy, Fee carefully moving off the bed and leaving the book she’d brought on the bedside table. Just in case Loki wanted to finish reading it while she wasn’t around.
“Goodnight, Loki,” she said quietly, leaning in as though to kiss him. She paused, though, lips hovering just shy of his before she seemed to reconsider. Instead, she kissed his forehead. “Don’t miss me too much.”
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