Reborn To Change My Fate-Chapter 265 - Two Hundred And Sixty Four

The kiss was deep and full of desperate love. It felt as if they were trying to make up for every second they had spent apart. Marissa’s heart soared. She wanted him closer. She wanted to feel all of him. She reached her hand around his back, her fingers gripping the dark fabric of his tunic to pull him firmly against her.

The moment shattered instantly.

Derek let out a sharp, guttural groan of agony. His body went rigid, and he jerked away from her. The warmth of the kiss was replaced by the cold, biting air of the room.

Marissa’s hands dropped. She looked at him, her eyes wide with fear and confusion. Her heart hammered in her chest, but this time it wasn’t from excitement. It was pure worry.

"What’s wrong?" she asked. Her voice was small and trembling.

Derek took a jagged breath. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, his face pale in the moonlight. He tried to stand straight, but his shoulders were hunched. He shook his head slowly.

"It’s nothing," he said. His voice was thin, lacking its usual power.

Marissa stared at him. She saw the way his jaw was clenched and the way a single bead of sweat rolled down his temple. The anger from earlier flared up again, mixed with a deep protectiveness.

"You are clearly in pain," Marissa said. Her voice was flat and firm. "And you say it’s nothing? Do you take me for a fool, Derek?"

She took a step back, creating distance between them. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest. She looked at him with a gaze that would not take "no" for an answer.

"Strip," she commanded.

Derek blinked. The word seemed to catch him off guard. He looked at her, his expression a mix of exhaustion and reluctance. "Mari... please. Not now. We are both tired. We should just rest."

Marissa didn’t move. She uncrossed her arms, her fingers twitching with the urge to take matters into her own hands. "Fine. If you won’t do it, I’ll do it for you. I will tear those clothes off if I have to."

Derek let out a laugh, but it was a rough, painful sound that ended in a cough. He saw the fire in her eyes. He knew that look. Marissa was not going to back down. She was a woman on a mission, and he was too weak to fight her.

"I’ll do it," he whispered.

He moved with agonizing slowness. Every motion seemed to be a battle against his own body. He reached for the ties of his dark, shadow-like gear. His hands, usually so steady with a blade, were shaking. He pulled the heavy tunic over his head. As the fabric moved over his skin, he winced, his breath catching in his throat.

Finally, the clothes fell to the floor in a heap. He stood before her, completely bare, exposed to the moonlight and her searching eyes.

Marissa felt the air leave her lungs. Fresh tears began to well up, blurring her vision. She wiped them away quickly; she needed to see. She stepped forward, her footsteps silent on the rug.

There, in the center of his chest, was an arrow wound. It was a horrible sight. The skin around the hole was puffy, purple, and yellow. It hadn’t been cleaned properly, and it looked like it was starting to rot. The sight of it made her stomach turn.

She reached out a trembling finger. She wanted to help, but she needed to know how deep it went. As soon as she barely brushed the edge of the wound, Derek flinched violently. A low hiss of pain escaped his teeth.

Marissa snapped her hand back as if she had been burned. "I’m sorry," she whispered, her voice breaking. "I’m so sorry."

She didn’t stop there. She began to walk around him, her eyes scanning every inch of his skin. She saw the map of his suffering. There were long, jagged scratches across his ribs. There were deep, dark bruises on his thighs and arms—the kind of bruises that came from hitting the ground hard or being struck by blunt force. It was the body of a man who had survived a nightmare. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Then, she moved to his back. She stopped breathing for a moment.

Across his shoulder blades was a deep, long slash. It was wide and ugly. Someone had tried to wrap it, but the bandage had been dirty and too tight. The wound was raw and angry.

"What really happened at Strathmore?" she asked.

Her voice was nothing more than a ghost of a whisper. She came back around to face him. She reached up and gently caressed his cheeks, her thumbs tracing the lines of fatigue under his eyes. She felt the heat radiating from his skin; a fever was starting.

Derek looked down at her. His eyes were dark and full of shadows. "War," he replied. "That is the outcome of my victory, Mari. It was not a grand tale. It was blood and dirt."

Marissa looked at the arrow wound again, then back at his face. "It’s hideous," she said. She wasn’t talking about him, but about what had been done to him. "How could you let your wounds get to this stage? Why didn’t you get help?"

"Ian tried his best," Derek said. "We were hiding and couldn’t trust anyone. Ian did what he could with what we had."

Marissa’s mind raced. She couldn’t let him stay like this. If she didn’t treat these wounds tonight, the fever would take him by morning.

"Don’t move," she told him. "Don’t you dare put those clothes back on."

She turned and marched out of the room. She had to get help.

As she walked down the hall, her feet felt heavy. She found Mrs. Alma near the stairs. The older woman was doing her last routine of the night. She was checking the windows and locking the doors to keep the household safe.

Mrs. Alma turned and saw Marissa. Her eyes went wide with shock. "Your Grace?" she said, her voice full of surprise. "What are you doing up? You should be in bed!"

Marissa ignored the question. "Mrs. Alma, I need you to listen carefully. This is very important."

Mrs. Alma stopped what she was doing. She looked at Marissa’s pale face and the blood on her bandaged palm. "Your Grace, you are bleeding! Let me call the doctor."

"No!" Marissa said, perhaps too loudly. She took a breath and softened her voice. "No doctor. Just do what I say. Tell Lily to get a large bowl of warm water, two smaller bowls and a clean cloth. I need fresh cotton bandages. Long ones. Bring lots of them. I also need scissors, a needle, and strong silk thread."

Mrs. Alma was very confused. Her face twisted with worry. "A needle and thread? For what? Is something wrong?"

Marissa gripped the railing of the stairs to stay steady. "And tell Lily to go to my room. In my private cabinet, she will find my healing herbs. Tell her to bring the lavender, the marigold salve, and the dried willow bark. All of it."

"Is someone hurt?" Mrs. Alma asked again. She looked toward the room Marissa had just come from. "Did something...?"

"It’s nothing," Marissa replied, though her heart was pounding. "Please, Mrs. Alma. Just hurry. Don’t ask any more questions. Just tell Lily to bring everything as fast as possible."

Mrs. Alma saw the desperation in Marissa’s eyes. She didn’t understand, but she knew Marissa was serious. "I will go at once, Your Grace. I’ll send Lily to you immediately."

Mrs. Alma turned quickly and hurried down the dark hallway, her footsteps echoing against the stone floor as she rushed to fulfill the orders.