It took a long time for him to relax, sticking close to the water, but after almost an hour, she would see that he had dozed off, his whole body releasing the tension that had clearly built up throughout the day. He tipped her head back against the wall, his lips slightly parted, and she would see the fresh scar on his neck from her attack as the moonlight shone into the room. He looked worn and tired as if he had not slept in many nights, but his face was sweet in his sleep and terribly familiar to Tez.
She looked over, watching him very intently with longing eyes. She stood up, pulling a small shell from her pocket and bringing it close to her lips, whispering a prayer of luck into it and placing it behind the potions, that way it was hidden. She then got back on the floor and curled up, eventually falling asleep as well.
Rowan woke up with a start the next morning very early, his violet eyes flying open and his breath coming out in a large gust, making a cloud in the freezing air. His heart was pounding and his eyes darted to the shadows of the room, trying to take a breath. There had been ones like this in the past, but only very recently had they started to return. He felt the blood pulsing in his ears and his body was on fire, the marks in his skin pulsing like they were being sliced open again. His wrists were raw and stinging from the handcuffs and there was a ringing that he couldn't seem to shake. His breath got caught in his throat like a stone and he struggled to breathe, feeling the basement walls coming tighter and tighter.
His legs were taut in front of him and his hair was disheveled from sleep and panic. His fingers were tracing the scars on his neck almost obsessively and he turned to look at her, his violet eyes filled with tears.
His brows furrowed and he took a deep, shuddering breath, dropping his hands and looking down at them. "Where's my mom?" he asked her, his voice plaintive and sorrowful.
He flinched as she reached out to him as if anticipating a blow to his head. His eyes were still darting around and he seemed unfocused, as if in another world. "Is she okay? Please don't hurt her anymore, please."
She sighed, pulling her hand back. "Nobody is going to hurt her or you, okay? You're okay. Nobody will hurt you."
He studied her as if she were holy, his lips slightly parted as he watched her. "You're not a human. You didn't do the damage. You didn't have the matchsticks, or the awl or the whip..."
He fell silent before leaning against her, resting his head on her shoulder and closing his eyes again. "I wonder when she'll be back..."
