Awe there's so much missing and it's pretty watered down how sick she got compared to the novel. In the novel he was so gentle and attentive to her while she was sick and he was annoyed because she kept saying she was fine when she actually was pretty sick the day before
@p.martinez this is actually one of the chapters I liked in the novel cause it showed a side of riftan that was truly terrified out of his mind to lose her and he was by her side the whole time and was being gentle to care for her Keep in mind she really could have died if he did not arrive in time. It makes him look like the bad guy :(
@p.martinez gonna comment the chapter of you wanna read👇🏽 Part 1/19
Spoiler!
“Take deep breaths. Slowly, now. Yes, just like that...”
Maxi felt as though she were drowning. Lying curled up gasping for air, she felt someone gently stroke her back.
Her shoulders quivered, and she barely managed to crack open her dry eyes. The familiar sight of her bedchamber illuminated by flickering orange lights gradually came into focus. Bewildered, she fixed her gaze on the corner of the dark room for a while.
A wave of nausea washed over her. She groaned and writhed in pain, and the person holding her put a cold brass bowl to her lips.
Maxi covered her mouth and shook her head. Tears trickled down her cheeks, and her stomach twisted painfully, but she did not want to show him such an unseemly sight again.
“I-I want...”
She squirmed to free herself from his arms. Riftan tossed the bowl aside and pulled her to his chest, holding her close. Maxi shook her head and tried to escape again, but his arms did not budge.
Holding her chin, Riftan pushed two fingers into her mouth and gently pressed the back of her tongue. Maxi ended up hurling sticky bile all over his chest. She shook slightly as she coughed, and her cheeks were wet with tears.
Riftan rocked Maxi in his arms as he patted her back as if comforting a child. Maxi sniffled in shame, the edges of her mouth still wet with saliva. Not only was her face sticky with pungent fluids, but Riftan’s hands and clothes were as well.
“Don’t cry,” Riftan murmured over the top of her head, wiping her face with his clean sleeve.
His grave expression seemed in stark contrast to his gentle actions. With his mouth pressed in a tight line, he loosened the straps on her chest and pulled her soiled dress over her head before taking off his tunic. Maxi curled herself into a ball as she felt the cold air on her body.
Riftan swiftly pulled her to him again and stroked her back. Seeking warmth, Maxi burrowed herself deeper into his embrace. She pressed her bre**** against his muscled chest and entwined her legs in his long limbs.
A burning flush colored Riftan’s cheeks, and Maxi saw droplets of sweat on his forehead. His body, pressed against hers, was as hot as heated iron while his heart was pounding loudly beneath her cheek. Yet, the hands that tended to her were steady.
Maxi lay slumped on his shoulder as he wiped her face with a towel and removed the pins from her tangled hair. She tried her best to think clearly.
When had she returned to the castle? And what of that colossal monster? When her memories prior to blacking out came rushing back, her body began trembling uncontrollably.
Riftan restlessly stroked her with his hot palm, but soon scooped her up as though he thought this would not suffice and carried her to the tub in front of the fireplace.
He lowered her into the warm water. Hugging her knees, Maxi sat there waiting for the heat to seep into her body. Even so, the chill clung to her.
“Mana depletion induces the same reaction as blood loss. It makes your temperature drop and causes dizziness,” Riftan muttered, scooping water with his hand and letting it trickle down her shoulder.
“I can’t believe that damned runt didn’t warn you about this. But then, I suppose he also didn’t think you would do something so reckless.”
There was a sharp reproach mingled in his voice. She raised her gaze to study his expression and saw muted anger burning in his black eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, seemingly trying to suppress his emotion.
With that, he hoisted her onto his solid thighs and wound his arms around her waist, his warm skin was a temptation she simply could not refuse.
She clung to him like a chick nestling under a hen. Riftan drew a sharp intake of breath. With faintly shaking hands, he began to massage her stiff limbs.
Maxi numbly allowed him to care for her. As Riftan had explained, she felt dizzy, and a chill racked her whole body. She felt as though she had aged a hundred years.
