Chapter 20 - Kiema

Hair scraped back in a high ponytail, shrouded in layers of clothes, I huddled under three blankets next to the roaring fire Ransom had built while he waited for me to come out of my room.

I couldn't stop the shivers and trembles that wracked my body. I should be warm. Hell, I should be roasting. But I felt cold to my bones. Even my soul felt frozen.

Ransom brought me a bowl of steaming tomato soup. "Here. Try this. It should help warm you from the inside."

He was careful to keep his skin from touching mine.

A piece of my heart shriveled. "Th-th-thank you."

"Okay, there has to be a reasonable explanation for all this." He sat on the floor across from me, a bed sheet wrapped around his waist. Another sheet covered his top half.

As much as I hated it, I was thankful he'd covered up.

My face almost inside the bowl of steaming soup, I made a noise that he should keep talking.

"All right. What do we know about healing magic?" He looked at me, his dark blue eyes serious.