Chapter 295 | Lyra…

Chapter 295: 295 | Lyra...

Dexter immediately went still at her words.

He sighed and then spoke. "I didn’t mean for her to come. I was surprised."

"I know."

Mira’s voice remained level, but her right hand was gripping the blanket hard enough to crease it.

Dexter looked down at that hand, then reached for it again. She resisted for half a second before letting him take it.

"I’m sorry if I was inconsiderate." he said.

Mira did not look at him.

"And I understand that it was uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable," she repeated.

He rubbed his thumb gently across her knuckles. "I’m not very good at this."

"That much is obvious."

A faint smile touched his mouth, then disappeared. "But you scaring me and Jasmine arriving are two different things."

Mira finally looked at him. There it was again—the worry. It had been in his voice from the beginning, but she had been too busy defending herself to hear it properly. Dexter leaned forward. "Last night, I was happy you could stand. I still am. But if you had fallen, or if the energy had damaged something..." His grip tightened slightly. "I would rather help you take longer than watch you destroy the chance of recovering because you were practicing alone."

Mira’s expression shifted, and she looked at their hands. "I didn’t force it on the first day."

He waited.

"I started with small sections. Outside the skin. Then along the muscles. I withdrew it whenever the flow became unstable."

"Did it hurt?"

She was silent.

Dexter’s eyes narrowed. "Mira."

"Sometimes."

He closed his eyes briefly, and her fingers moved in his hand.

"I stopped when it hurt."

"Immediately?"

She looked annoyed. "Usually."

"Mira."

"All right. Immediately from now on."

He opened his eyes. "That isn’t enough."

"What else do you want?"

"Tell me before you practice. Let me help you monitor the energy flow. If something goes wrong, I want to be there."

Mira studied him. "You’re not forbidding it?"

"Would you listen to me?"

"I wouldn’t."

"I had suspected."

A little of the stiffness left her shoulders, and Dexter lifted her hand and resumed working gently around her wrist. After a while, she muttered, "I wanted to know whether I could do it myself."

He glanced up, and she was watching the egg. "Stand," she clarified unnecessarily.

His expression softened. "I know."

"And last night..." She stopped, and a faint color crept into her face.

Dexter waited.

Mira immediately glared at him. "Don’t look so pleased."

"I haven’t said anything."

"You’re thinking loudly."

He lowered his head, hiding a smile. A moment later, her heel rested carefully in his palm as he began working along her calf. He kept the pressure gentle, the Shockwave Glove on its lowest useful setting, its faint hum barely audible beneath their breathing.

Mira watched his hands. The muscles were still weak, and he knew better than to confuse the support of a spectral construct with genuine recovery.

But there was warmth now where there had once been persistent cold. Better circulation. Less stiffness around the ankle. Small changes, and he treated them seriously.

Dexter had just finished wiping the remaining oil from Mira’s skin when someone touched his shoulder. He turned to find Lyra standing beside him, her gaze moving to the bottle in his hand, then back to his face.

’My turn.’

Dexter raised an eyebrow. "I didn’t know there was a queue."

She nodded. ’I’ve been waiting.’

Mira snorted. Lyra ignored her and caught Dexter’s sleeve, and there was something almost determined about the gesture.

Lyra tightened her hold.

’Come.’

Dexter understood. She did not want to discuss Jasmine—at least, not now. "All right."

He helped Mira settle comfortably, checked that the egg’s basket was secure, then followed Lyra.

She chose the sofa in his room, where the light was softer and there was enough space for her to stretch out. Dexter placed a clean towel over the cushion. "Shoulders first?"

Lyra nodded and sat with her back toward him. He gathered her hair carefully over one shoulder,

He began at the base of her neck, pressing carefully into the muscles along her shoulders.

The massage technique guided the movement of his mana, and he kept it light, allowing the energy to follow rather than force its way through her circulation.

Lyra’s shoulders gradually lowered. She had been holding more tension than he expected. "Here?"

She nodded.

"Too much pressure?"

A shake of her head.

He worked patiently until the tightness beneath his fingers began to soften. Outside, a cart rattled past the house, and Lyra did not react. Dexter looked at the side of her face, at the glasses resting neatly beside her on the table. He tapped her shoulder lightly before speaking again, making sure she was looking at him. "Tell me if you want me to stop."

Her answer came immediately. ’I don’t.’

"That was very quick."

’I’m certain.’

He smiled. She lay down on her side next, resting her head on the folded towel while he worked along her arm. Her fingers opened and closed lazily when he pressed the center of her palm, and Dexter watched with amusement. "Are you testing whether it still works?"

’I’m checking your work.’

"And?"

’Acceptable.’

He paused. "You’ve been spending too much time with Mira."

Lyra’s shoulders shook with silent laughter, and from the sitting room, Mira called, "I heard that."

Dexter looked toward the door, and Lyra immediately covered her mouth, looking delighted.

For a while, that was how the massage continued. When he reached her calves, he noticed that she kept flexing her feet. "Still tired from yesterday?"

’The haunted house had too much running.’

"You were chasing me."

’You were running.’

Her eyes curved. He shook his head and continued. Compared with Mira, Lyra responded more openly to the relief. Her breathing slowed, her hand slid beneath her cheek, and every now and then a quiet thought reached him.

’But then, a little lower. There. Don’t stop yet.’

He followed each request, watching for fatigue and discomfort.

Eventually, she became so relaxed that her eyes closed, and Dexter lowered the intensity of the glove and finished with her hands again. "You’ll fall asleep if I continue."

[A/N: Didn’t fulfil yesterday’s quota. 2 Chapters Left which will roll over.]