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She hadn’t realized she was screaming again. The sound turning from pathetic whimpers to shrieks tearing into the night. The Fade kept taunting her with flashes of the archdemon, faces of the people she let die, the broodmother’s horrible visage, Shianni trembling in her dirty dress. Even after eleven years Kallia couldn’t escape. A gentle shaking began to pull her from the horrors until the Fade was soft moonlight peering through the window.
This was not the Fade, no, this was real. The window offered a clear night revealing clothes still crumpled on the floor. Her mabari, Ajax, had his head raised and whined. This is my home, not the Fade, she kept repeating to herself as her heart pounded against her ribs. A warm body moved against hers, a gentle touch turning her gaze away from the window and into a comforting pair of amber eyes.
“It’s alright,” Alistair’s voice was a comfort, his face a welcome sight among the horrors she had seen. He had nothing but a gentle smile for her, arms pulling her to his chest. “You’re awake now and I’m right here.”
Her hands gripped his arms tightly as she buried her face into his bare chest. “Will they ever stop?”
“I don’t know love, but I’ll always be here when they get bad.” They rested in silence as he smoothed her hair. She could hear Ajax settle again, the poor dog had dealt with enough of this in their travels.
Kallia pulled away long enough to give her lover a quivering smile. “All that time without you was unbearable.”
“I know,” he admonished, “look at all the trouble I got in without you.” This drew a hoarse chuckle from the former Warden. Propping himself up on one elbow, he left her no respite. “You couldn’t have even left me the bloody dog. I mean, at least I wouldn’t have gotten sick from all that cheese I ate out of anguish. Then I had no one to tell horrible jokes to so I told them to myself, I wore out all my socks, demons were swooping everywhere, it was awful!”
When Kallia had finally stopped snickering he stole a quick kiss. “You’re hopeless,” but she chuckled. His hands trailed down to her waist and she felt her skin heat; her breath quickened as her mind turned toward a more pleasant thought.
“I don’t know how you manage,” Alistair teased, unaware of what she had planned. This time he was granted a rather sensuous kiss and he sighed. “I guess I should be happy you went though,” he said between her shower of kisses, “I just wish Avernus could have concocted the cure faster.”
“You talk too much.”
“Oh you know me, big mouth, talks a lot when nervous-” Alistair let out a strangled moan as Kallia dove beneath the covers and definitely used her mouth for a different purpose. The earlier fear was replaced with pride as she shut her lover up and proved her point. Alistair’s fists clenched the sheets above her as he sat up rather quickly. This time, he was the one screaming.