“My last words?” I asked, my breathing heavy. “Yeah… I guess I have something to say.”
Or at least, I have something to do.
“Fuck you,” I spat.
And with that, I grabbed the blade firmly within my one good hand and pushed it backwards with all of my strength in one quick movement. Strong enough for it to fly right into Thea’s face, sending her straight to the ground.
I waited a moment to make sure she was down before proceeding to throw the sword into a corner as far away as possible. With two injured hands, it was impossible to wield it so removing it from the field entirely was better.
I didn't waste time after that though. Somehow, even though I was still weak, I then slowly managed to get back on my feet. I had to use the wall to support me, pressing against it until I could stand on my own unsteady legs.
However, my legs were probably the least of my current issues. After
…What the hell is this? I should be dead. I know I should be. I’d received a lethal blow to my shoulder with silver. No one could survive that. And yet… And yet I couldn’t help but notice that, if I were dead, then the Abyss smelled oddly like a hospital room. A new renovation they must have added since the last time I visited. Everywhere in my body ached, everywhere felt… cold. Except for one place. My hand. My right hand felt warm compared to the rest of me. So, if I’m not dead… then what sort of intervention had Selene done this time? Was this the same year or had she brought me back to an earlier time? Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if she had just sent me on my way without even telling me. After all, I did try to kill her the last time we met face to face. That probably didn’t instil a desire to catch up and chat. Though how many times could she do that without completely destroying herself? I’d seen the way Se
A week. I lasted a week before I started to get restless, wondering how much longer I’d need to wait before my body could finally cope again. But surely a week was long enough, right? Enough that I would be allowed to begin what I wanted to? And so I quickly grabbed the clipboard at the end of my bed, the one that was for my medical chart, and flipped the pages over to start writing on the blank side. …And I closed my eyes, concentrating as I gave myself over to the old side of me that knew how to effectively strategise an enemy. It took several hours over the course of three days before I finally finished. To be safe, I only worked within small windows every day, choosing to do so between when I would get another dose of pain medication and when I would need to let myself sleep. This was something delicate and I knew I needed to be at my most relaxed for it to work. By the time I was done, it was an in-depth timeline of
Most of the preparations were made within that meeting. Or, at least, right up until I could start to feel the medication begin to wear off. After which, we all agreed I should be moved back to the packhouse until everything was arranged since that would be easier to defend. For obvious reasons, I wasn’t privy to any information regarding the move. It was all to be kept completely secret from myself, and even Aleric wouldn’t know exactly where until it was time to go. Cai took on the responsibility of choosing the location to ensure that there would be no chance of Thea finding out beforehand, preparing envelopes for us both; one for Aleric, to be opened only when we were leaving, and another for myself, for in the event of an emergency occurring. I was nervous, to say the least. How could I not be? So much was riding on just theories. But I had to believe that it would be correct. I needed space to be able to work on fixing myself; both internally and externally. An
1… 2… 3…. In… and out. I sat outside in the fresh air amongst the trees, breathing carefully as I focused on clearing my mind. I’d been working on these techniques over the last two weeks, and it was coming along nicely. Or at least, it seemed that way. How well it held up when it came time to actually use it, I couldn’t be sure. However, I’d definitely been getting better. Creating distance had seemed to have worked a little since every day that passed, I felt her presence a tiny bit less. Almost enough to make me wonder if it was possible to just wait it all out until I was completely free of her. The only thing was that, unfortunately, at the rate I was going, that might be maybe months or even years away. Something we probably didn’t have time for, much to my disappointment. Settling for just strengthening my mind would need to be enough in the meantime. But… there were also some downsides to my improvement too…. I got up from the ground
His free hand immediately found my waist, pressing me against him, and his lips enveloped my own. It was like we’d both been starving as we hungered for the other, everything happening so quickly. A response probably resulting from how long the two of us had been holding back now. It didn’t take long for my body to then find the wall behind us, his hands supporting my weight as I clung to him. With one of my arms around his neck, the other was grabbing at his chest greedily, feeling his body against me. Constantly wanting more… and more… almost as if an insatiable desire was moving me forward. And though I was giving myself over to my yearnings completely, I’d never felt more in control than I did in that moment. That there was not even a shred of doubt in my mind that this was exactly where I needed to be. “I want you,” I moaned against him, repeating the words he’d wanted me to admit. Because I was hungry for so much more than just this. He’
I woke up with a long, satisfied stretch in bed, feeling more content than I had in years. The last few days had all blended together so much that I could barely keep track of time anymore. Was it a Tuesday? Morning? Night? I didn’t know. All I knew was that my last week had been spent with Aleric, living and breathing every moment he could spare for me. I continued to stretch, trying to wake up but, as I did so, I suddenly felt a pulse of pain emanate from my shoulder. Something I’d been ignoring the last few days despite my actual purpose in coming here. Well, if it gave another reason to stay here a little longer, it couldn’t be all that bad, right? I sighed. I didn’t want to leave. Of course, I didn’t. It was so easy to ignore all my impending problems waiting for me at home, choosing to just live inside my own little bubble instead. I was happy here. Actually happy. Something I hadn’t felt in so long. Given everything I’
“Aleric…,” I cried, feeling completely useless. This wasn’t good. This was really, really not good. And worse, even on the small possibility that this wasn’t Thea’s doing, there was no chance she didn’t already know by now. Either way, I was wasting time being stuck inside this vision. I needed to get out. Now. 'Wake up.' I slapped at my cheeks, wishing more than anything to break out, but it was no use. I wasn’t really ‘here’ so there was no physical pain trigger. A snapping sound then came from somewhere in the distance, and I immediately looked up towards it. It sounded like someone had stepped on a branch further into the woods. I wasn’t the only one who noticed either as Aleric also detected something, walking cautiously towards it. It didn’t leave me many options in what I could do next… I had to follow him. We walked for maybe a few minutes, deathly silent the entire time, before a clearing came
It was the most difficult decision I’d ever made. Sacrificing someone in order to save myself. I felt sick even thinking about it… but I didn’t have a choice here. And not just that, but I also didn’t have time to digest it further if I wanted to escape safely. On the off chance that Thea had people lying in the wait to catch me, I gathered only whatever I could pack quickest, ripping open the emergency envelope with my location and beginning the long drive home. And whilst I had taken the time to retrieve the ring, I unfortunately couldn’t risk wearing it. If I were suddenly ambushed, then I needed to be ready to fight. One critical blow to my body and I would be instantly dead in seconds without my natural healing, something the ring would prevent. It meant I needed to work even harder to keep Thea out of my head, despite everything threatening to overwhelm me. 'Calm. Composed.' 'Everything was fine.' We were two h