Mate revealed

Not a damsel in distress.

“Where is she?” A voice boomed. Ester knew that voice. Knew the way that mouth moved when laughing. Knew the way that mouth moved when eating. Knew the way that mouth moved when he left out unspoken, difficult works.

Ester sat up “Stevie?”

Ester blinked and Luca was already on his feet. A low growl rumbled through his chest. His jaw clenched. Fists balled.

“Luca it’s just Stevie.” Ester reassured as she began to get up, fighting the covers as she went. 

She’s only been up to go to the bathroom, and that was usually assisted by an overly helpful, overly concerned, Emma. However despite her protestations that she was fine, Ester’s eye roll when Emma would say, “better to be safe than sorry”, or gently swatting away Emma’s supportive arm around her waist as soon as Ester so much as looked at the door, Emma did need the help. She hadn’t left to room since she’d gained consciousness. Hadn’t seen what Darkthroat really looked like besides these four white walls.

Despite not wanting the help, she had expected Luca to force help upon her. 

But it was as if she hadn’t spoken. 

He slung: “stay here” carelessly over his shoulder at her, not waiting to see if she could catch the words. 

She frowned and he was gone. 

Her heart hurt momentarily, a slow sinking sting into the muscle. She wondered why that had hurt quite so much. Because he’d ignored her, or because he’d not attempted to help her up? Or was it something else?

It was silent for a moment. The sound of her own breathing too loud in the little whitewashed room.

A moment that she knew would shatter. 

One leg still encased in plaster she awkwardly pivoted her body until they hung over the edge. Her toenails brightly painted still. 

Her arms shook as she lowered herself to the floor. Her ears strained for any splinters of sound from out in the corridor. 

The floor was cold on her one bare foot, a dull ache fluttered up from the sole bumbling up the calf. That was manageable, she thought. Then lowered her cast leg down.

CRASH. 

“I’M NOT LEAVING UNTIL I SEE HER!” 

Shit. Ester’s cast slipped. She grabbed the end of the bed to stop herself collapsing completely.

“Stevie!” she called.

A scuffle. A precursor to a fight drifted from under the door and into her room. She had to get out there soon. What if they hurt one another. Ester’s forearms trembled at the exertion. 

Why would they fight?

Why was Stevie so agitated?

Why wouldn’t they just let him in?

This had to be some misunderstanding, surely.

She heard no direct response. Her mind littered in violent images that could be out in that hallway: Their bodies a tangle of flailing arms and a jumble of cuts and bruises. 

Her heart thundered faster.

She rebalanced herself. Took a deep breath and tried to stand again, her arms outstretched like a tightrope walker. 

“Luca!” Her voice this time edged in frost, frustration biting in.  

She hobbled a few steps, dragging the cast behind her, the pain now pulsating. 

Indistinct mutters filtered though. 

She waited for a handful of hasty heartbeats for a response. Nothing.

“Stevie!” Her was voice louder this time, but their voices were also raised in anger.

The pulse at her neck jumped. Sweat beaded on her hairline.

And as if she were in one of her dreams, a breeze escaped into the room, through a window she hadn’t realised was open. The curtains billowed and danced. The cool air did nothing to cool her anger.

It tiptoed up her spine, like a money-spider, leaving goose bumps in it’s wake.

SMASH! The walls vibrated. 

She ground her teeth.

Her patients snapped.

“Luca!” She bellowed.

Quick as light. The door swung open. Untouched. It bashed into the wall behind.  

She had little time to think about that as her eyes ate up the scene in the corridor. Her mouth dropped. 

Sam held Luca by the neck. Luca’s eyes slide over her instantly, then fell back to his captor. 

“I said, not today Stevie,”  Luca murmured quietly. 

“What-“ 

Stevie jumped at her voice. Spell broken. His gaze fell on her. He seemed to sag in relief. His grip on Luca loosened. 

“Time to leave,” Sam affirmed as his hand curled around Sam’s forearm. 

He didn’t flinch but continued to gaze unabashed at her. 

“Stevie,” Ester murmured, “Are you ok?” 

A heart beat passed in silence. Luca’s eyes gobbled up every reaction, every word, every movement. 

“Let go of him Sam!” Her voice cut like a school teacher’s “I want to see him.” 

Sam’s expression slipped slightly, but he papered back over it quickly. His eyes shifted to Luca who eventually gave a subtle nod. 

Wordlessly he released Stevie and stepped aside. Stevie still stood,motionless, apart from his heaving chest. 

His pained eyes skulked down her body and back up again, itemising every visible injury, counting up the pain it had cost her, the days, the fear.

The action made her feel self-conscious. Made her feel weak. Made her feel ill all over again.

Tears welled and she breathed, almost inaudibly: “Don’t.”  

It felt like an eternity until Stevie released a heavy sign and waded over the threshold into her room. “God Ester, I thought you were dead.”

She smiled weakly in response and shook her head. If she spoke, she may’ve cried. 

Luca followed him in without question. Silently closing the room. His expression giving nothing away apart from the faint tick at his jaw. 

Stevie cursed gently, striding further into the room towards her, “You look like hell! Your eye… Your leg for f**k sake! And those are just the things I can see. You look like you’ve died and come back. And s**t, is that blood in your hair?”

“Why thank you Stevie, now I feel 100 bucks.” Her laugh was tinny and high: fake. Instinctively her hand ran through her hair, trying to cover a stray tear whilst blindly searching for dried blood. 

“I’m not kidding,” Stevie raised a dark blonde brow at her and ran his hands through his own hair. 

He didn’t look so good himself. His stubble looked more ‘homeless’ than ‘chic’. His shirt had likely been worn for a few more days than was hygienic, a button was missing, a brown stain sat on the open collar. 

“I thought you were…” his voice disappeared into vapour, before coughing. “No one was telling me what had happened,” he went on “Helena was avoiding me, Patty hadn’t got a clue, Luca and Sam wasn’t answering my calls.” 

Luca said nothing. Did nothing. Just stood against the door. 

There should have been tension, cracking through this room like lightening considering what had just happened. But there wasn’t. 

The three of them stood for a few itchy moments of silence. 

Ester drew in a shaking breath.

Her legs shook. 

“f**k sake,” Stevie huffed, lunging towards her side, leading her back to the side of the bed. Luca flinched, as if to come to her rescue, but paused. “Look at you! The only reason you’re so banged up is because of him, because of what this lot-“

Stevie suddenly stilled as Ester was wiggling to get the covers back over herself.

Luca stilled too. “Stevie” his voice warned, low and harsh. 

She looked between them, frowning heavily. Luca avoided her graze, “Stevie, what do you mean, the only reason I’m like this is because of him?”

“s**t!” He violently ran his hands through his hair once more. This time, Luca came away from the threshold, toward the bed. 

“Stevie?”

He finally looked back at her. His jaw still pulsing widely. His graze slunk down to her still encased leg.

“I’m taking her back.” he murmured, “Now.”

“No. She stays here” Luca was calm, deadly.

And now the tension oozed into the room like honey. Stevie stood toe to toe with Luca, Luca slightly taller and broader. But instead of cowering away, as Ester wanted him to, Stevie stood straight and meeting the other’s gaze head on. 

Luca’s arms visibly tense. His hand unclenched and clenched again at his side. “She stays.” 

Finally, Stevie broke away and turned to gesture to Ester. “Look at her Luca!” He boomed, “You’ve already broken the pact. You’ve broken one of us! One of us!”

“What pact?” Ester asked, but neither so much as look at her. Did he say ‘pact’? That words didn’t sit right with the conversation. What agreement could they have made to one another.

One of us. 

Darkthroat vs. Lightwood? Was this still the remnants of a village divide? Discrimination? How did she become so tangled up in this. She needed to extricate herself from it as soon as possible. 

“She’s not one of you,” Luca stated quietly. His white teeth caught Ester’s eyes. His canines looked sharp. Had she really never noticed them before now? They looked almost…. Inhuman. 

Stevie chuckled hollowly, “Well she’s not one of you!”

Then something odd happened: Luca smiled. 

The mirthless grin on Stevie’s lips melted away. A frown then pulled at his features. 

The silence seemed to work its way into Stevie’s consciousness. 

In a flash Stevie’s hands are wrapped around Luca’s throat. Yelling incoherently at Lucca, his face reddening, spit flying. 

Luca grinned back, letting himself be pushed into the wall behind him. 

“What have you done to her?!” Stevie roared, “She can’t be one of you. I won’t let it!”

“Stevie stop!” Ester began struggling against her covers again. 

“There’s nothing to stop,” Luca’s laughter began to blister the atmosphere, “She’s always been mine, since the day she was-“

Ester snapped.

“What the f**k!” Ester shrieked. 

Both men jumped. Their heads turned to face her furious one. Finally, she pulled the covers off, her legs swinging around once more. 

“I am not a possession!” She growled as she stood, pain shot through her legs. Both jerked towards her as if to help, but she hobbled passed, fuelled by rage.

“I am not a damsel in destress. I am not your referee, and I certainly don’t need you two morons fighting over me like some pawn is your weird Darkthroat vs. Lightwood match.” She raged, ripping the door wide. “Go piss on someone else, I’m not your territory!” She could feel the voice within her too, but she wasn’t afraid. She felt empowered, strong. 

Stevie stared back wordless and open mouthed. 

Luca stood gravely, but something like pride gleamed in his eyes. That only wormed under her skin like a tick, her lips twisted in disgust.

“Oh piss off!” she yelled.

Stevie was the first to move. The anger eroded instantly from his features and he step towards her, his brows knitting in the middle with concern. “Ester please, you can’t stay here. It’s not safe!” 

“Sam!”

His head bobbed into sight at the end of the corridor as if he’d been waiting patiently in the wings. I wonder who he thought he’d been carrying out? Stevie or Luca? 

 “Sam, please take me outside, this cast is still too bulky.”

“Let me,” Luca stepped forward to assist. 

She held up her hand, taking a deep breath before any other harsh words could fly out.

“No, thank you. I think I’ve had enough of you both today. Sam will take me for a walk, won’t you Sam?”

Sam’s face paled, his wide eyes looked at Luca and then back at Ester. Ester assumed Luca must have given him another nob, but she chose not to dwell on it, it would only add to the fury burning through her veils. 

Sam bent and placed on arm behind her knees and the other behind her back. With a look back to his superior, a wavering, unsure smile tacked to his lips, he strode out into the watery sunlight.