DWC November 2025 Day 6 Echo/Wilt
(Follow up to the post here)
Taking Thursday off school after her mother’s escape had been a brilliant idea. It was the first day she’d ever missed, so no one questioned it. And there was no way she could stand in front of medical professionals in the condition she was in without drawing their kind but invasive concern.
So she stayed home, which meant she was thinking. Thinking was the last thing she wanted. The pain itself was almost bearable, if she didn’t move too much; the images in her mind were not. She couldn’t dance to clear her head, she couldn’t even twist her body without her back tightening. Studying was impossible. Every time she tried to focus on a sentence, memories of the day before intruded.
She thought about anyone she might be comfortable enough to turn to. Then imagined their faces if they saw her like this, the questions, the worry, the pity. The pity might be the worst of it.
The temptation to reach out to Xylaes flickered. She was sure he wouldn’t push. But this was her issue, her history bleeding into the present. Nahi didn’t want him to see the parts she kept sealed.
But she did have one person who had agreed to the one rule she needed now: No questions.
She had once considered cutting him out entirely. Roland was too intense, too possessive, too convinced he could win her over by force of will. But when he’d told her the truth, that he found peace with her, that she was the first woman who hadn’t tried to trap him, tame him, or interrogate him, that somewhere in those first two days they were together he’d realized that this wasn’t something he felt in a long time.
Where else would a man with centuries of black-market dealings find refuge but with the one person who refused to question him?
Her hand shook when she picked up her comm unit.
~Roland, is your beach home still free for me to use?~
She knew her number was the only one in his device, because she’d put it there. He’d complained, of course. Military-grade, he’d said. “Spy shit.” But after he’d shown up at her door unannounced, she told him to never come by without asking first.
Nahi wasn’t sure he would reply. They hadn’t seen each other since August. Maybe he’d decided she was more trouble than she was worth, or he was waiting to see if she’d reach out first, but that wasn’t the type of game she cared to play.
His answer came fast.
~Hey darlin’, you can always use it, but you will have company.~
~Oh, that’s alright. I can find somewhere else. I wouldn’t want to impose on your company.~
~I meant me. Did you really think I could sleep here knowing you were in my bed there? Are you alright?~
~Bring dinner then. I will bring brownies.~
She ignored the question. He could pry answers out of people, it was part of his work, but he would see for himself when he got there.
Ingredients for espresso caramel brownies were on the counter of his huge kitchen, and was already mixing them when his arms wrapped around her from behind.
Leaning back into him like she had before was what she wanted to do, but the hold triggered the pain in her back. She stiffened and pulled away.
“What is going on?” Rollie’s voice dropped, low and with a hint of worry.
She smelled whiskey on his breath. “When was the last time you didn’t drink a meal?”
Roland lifted an eyebrow, thrown off balance. It wasn’t like her just to snap at him with no reason, she was a calm presence, it was part of what he liked about her. “A nurse in training told me to eat more than I drink.” Moving around the island so he could look in her eyes, “I was meeting with a client, had a drink with him.” He peeled off his long coat, rolled up the sleeves of his black silk shirt, while watching her with a narrowed gaze. “Now what is with the cold shoulder?”
Nahi sighed. It wasn’t fair to him to put this on him. “Got in a fight. I lost.”
“What the fuck? Who is he?” His back straightened and his voice took on a dangerous quality.
His reaction didn’t surprise her, but it pressed down on her, made her bones feel heavy. Her knees wobbled; she felt herself wilting like a flower without water. Moving to her in a couple steps, he caught her effortlessly, like her collapse was something he’d been anticipating.
“Easy,” he murmured into her hair. “I only want you fainting when I’m sweeping you off your feet.”
Nahi let him carry her to the couch, her arms wrapped around her neck. The sea spread wide outside the glass, but she didn’t want to look at anything that reminded her of finding her mother there.
He lifted her chin gently. The scratches beneath the makeup were visible now. His eyes darkened. “I’m not above killing women,” he said carefully, “but I wouldn’t think you’d be fighting them either. What did you do? Seduce her husband?”
A hollow laugh escaped her as she laid a hand on his thigh, not flirtatious, just emphasizing her next statement. “No questions. That was the rule.”
His jaw clenched. “Nahi, you’re hurt. I can’t just let this one go.”
“You will,” she whispered. “Or I’ll go back home.”
That landed. Hard. Rollie ran a hand through his dark hair, frustration pouring off him. “Fine. This one time. But if you come to me hurt again, I will ask.”
Her violet eyes hardened. “Then I won’t reach out again.”
That set him back, she saw it in his eyes. The flicker of worry that she would follow through with it. “Fine,” he said, defeated but trying not to show it. “No questions. How bad is it?”
She sank against the leather couch. “It hurts almost everywhere.”
“Let me see.”
Slowly, he pulled off her oversized sweatshirt. She bit down on the discomfort. His eyes flashed with something raw, anger, worry, a protectiveness she didn’t want.
Irenthalas had healed what he could after he tended to her mother and used his gift to soothe her. It wasn’t enough to take care of all her injuries, so he told her to go to her friends at the Shielded Mind, but the thought of their questions, that niggling worry of them pitying her, made her walk the long way around so none of them would see her.
She wouldn’t lie to them. And she couldn’t tell them the truth.
The hospital was considered, but how do you tell them your mother beat you? If she said she fell, or she was mugged, she would have different questions, likely from the guard. These weren’t the kind of injuries she could pass off as an accident, and false accusations soured her stomach.
“I’ll call in my healer,” Rollie said. “She’s in Pandaria, it will take some time.”
“I have all weekend.”
He pushed her hair back. She flinched even at the softness of his touch. His thumb parted her hair, revealing the scab beneath.
“Fuck, woman,” he breathed. “Anyone would think I sent someone after you to collect a debt.”
Her laugh was thin and brittle. “Can you just… hold me?”
His entire expression softened, all the sharp edges melting.
“Of course, darlin’,” he murmured, gathering her into his arms with a carefulness that made her grateful for her choice to call him. “Anything you need.”
(Mentions of @xylaes and @theshieldedmind)
(Thank you @rolandnaerth for trusting me with Rollie)
@daily-writing-challenge
