...Warm.
That was the first thing I registered.
Not pain, not panic. Just… warmth, a heavy, crackling sort of warmth, like lying too close to a fire.
Then came the pain.
White-hot. Burning. Like needles had replaced my bones, and someone was shaking the bag.
It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.
I gasped, my lungs filled with ash and something metallic. My eyes fluttered open.
Smoke.
A sky like wet charcoal.
Screams, distant. Stone still falling. Magic flickering through the air like static.
And then-
"Leni?!"
That voice sounded broken, desperate, raw.
Vaun.
I turned my head. Slowly. Too slowly for it to be any good.
He was on his knees beside me, hands shaking, armor dented and smoking. His face was streaked with dirt and blood, but his eyes, gods, his eyes looked like he'd been dying a thousand years.
"Shh. Don't move. You're alright. You're alive. Just hold on, the medics are coming."
"Vaun…?" I managed, barely a whisper.
"I'm here. You're okay. Just stay with me, alright?"
I don't know how I survived that.
I looked down at myself, burn marks across my left arm, my right one dangling, my chest throbbing, skin bruised and cracked like a some sort of a shattered shell.
"I… what… happened-"
And then everything tilted.
Vision swam. Sound drowned.
And I passed out again.
Soft. Is that fur?
My senses returned in pieces.
A heavy blanket.
Cool air on my neck.
Pillow under my cheek.
I was lying down in a bed.
But not my bed.
Not my apartment back in the city, not surrounded by body pillows and a fridge full of ramen. No. This one was carved of obsidian, with a canopy overhead and sheets that smelled faintly of lavender and blood.
Then voices.
"Her vitals have stabilized," someone said. "Commander print likely shielded her from the worst of the blast."
"She was at the epicenter," Vaun replied, voice low. "She should've died."
"She would've if she didn't have that mark."
I opened my eyes. Blurry outlines. A figure with horns. Another with a lab coat.
"Commander print?" I mumbled.
A hand caught mine.
"Leni? Hey. I'm here."
Vaun.
He leaned into view, eyes tired but filled with relief.
"You're safe. We brought you back."
"What happened?"
"Qountil used a prototype explosive from the labs. Stole it. He strapped it to himself when he realized he couldn't win."
"That idiot…"
"You landed directly on top of it," he said. "Fifteen harpies flying overhead were vaporized."
"What about me?"
"You… didn't even wake up for hours," he said, voice cracking slightly.
The doctor bowed his head. "I'll give you both some space. For the Crown, General Lenigeaer."
As he left, Vaun sat beside the bed. His shoulders slumped for the first time. Like all the strength he carried had been borrowed, and the bill had come due.
"Are you hurt?" I asked.
"Just bruised."
"Emotionally or physically?"
"Both."
I smiled weakly.
He didn't.
"You should rest more," he said.
"You're not leaving, are you?" I asked.
"No."
He stood. "Scoot over."
"Excuse me?"
"The bed's too small. I'm not leaving you alone right now."
"You absolutely are not climbing in here with me-"
But he already was. Slipping under the blanket like a man completely unconcerned with personal space or the laws of romance pacing.
"I swear to god, Vaun if you touch me-"
"I won't," he said.
His hand brushed something it shouldn't have.
"Sorry."
Don't moan. Don't fcking moan.*
"Goodnight, Leni."
"...Night, Vaun."
This bed is too small.
3:00 AM
Huuugh.
"Time for patrol."
Vaun stirred beside me. Looked down.
"She's cute when unconscious…"
"HUH?!"
"I SAID NOTHING!" he shouted, bolting upright. "I was just- leaving!"
"At three in the morning?"
"Estate security. Plus, I like to walk before the older nobles start yapping."
"Sounds annoying."
"Not as annoying as your job."
"Remind me what that is again?"
He frowned. "Still dizzy? You've got a full day. Shifter barracks. Recruit trials. Gladiator assessments. Stuff you do nearly monthly."
"...Great."
"See you soon, and, For the Crown, General."
"Yeah…"
He left.
I rolled over.
What the hell is my life now?
Creeeeeak.
I looked out the window.
Distant torchlight. Winged beasts flying below the cliffs.
And… something waving up from the dark.
"COMMANDER LENIGEAER! MEOW!"
I squinted.
"…Was that a flying cat?"