Frost Bitten (BxB)

Chapter Twenty-Three

(Joseph's POV)

It was hot outside. Hot to the point where sweat was literally dripping right into my eyes, and after about twenty minutes into our search, I had to shed the jacket I had been initially wearing. Of course, the first thing on my mind was Asurah, and how he was handling such a high temperature. Was it cool enough for him in Vextian's castle? Did he still have his cooling beads with him so he didn't overheat?

Surely Vextian wouldn't go as far as to attack a planet, and kidnap the king just to allow him to die from the temperature, right? So...he has to have something keeping Asurah safe and alive.

At least...I prayed he did.

I was doing that a lot lately, I realized. Praying to some fictional dude in the sky that apparently could solve all of your problems with a snap of his fingers. But then again...I was desperate at this point. Desperate to have the man I loved back in my arms where he rightfully belonged, healthy and happy. Gosh, the things I would do to just hear his voice again. I missed him so damn much, and it was like there was a hole in my chest, begging desperately to be filled once again.

And that's why I was here, trekking through the sand with a piece of metal jammed into my leg and a massive gash in my side. There was nothing in this galaxy that was going to prevent me from getting my husband back.

"Joseph, you need to slow down, else you will cause yourself more damage."

I pulled out of my head and glanced over to Teiken, wincing at the intensely worried look on his dark face. "I'm fine, really. We need to find Delkele and Jox and pray that..." they're alive, I wanted to add, but decided not to. I mean, our hopes were already waning the longer we were out here, so I didn't want to dampen the mood even more than it already was.

Though, Teiken seemed to already know what I had been going to say, for his eyes darkened just slightly before he nodded his head and tightened his hold on me.

We spent about an hour searching before Teiken and I let out a breath of relief, our sights immediately captured by the familiar pale figure of Jox, so cool in tone compared to the warm sands around us. However...our relief morphed into worry when we caught sight of the bloodied, unconscious form of Delkele on Jox's back, and I worried that what Jox carried, wasn't his dead body. After a moment, Jox finally noticed us, his blue eyes lighting up in relief as he made his way over to us.

"Thank the gods you are both ok. I-I was worried that neither of you had made it, I mean, hell, I'm surprised I'm still alive," he said once he was closer to us, a deep gash cutting across his brow as his blood dribbled down his cheek and face. He then noticed our worried glances towards Delkele and began nibbling at his bottom lip, glancing over his shoulder towards the other male. "He's alive...just...he was injured pretty badly when we were thrown from the ship. Of course, leave it to the dummy to try and take the brunt of the force in my stead." Though his words were joking in manner, his eyes said another story, those crystal orbs filling with sadness and worry.

His gaze then dropped down to my leg, or well, more specifically the metal piece jutting out from under my kneecap, the man grimacing. I waved my hand in the air dismissively, causing Jox and Teiken to both frown as I loosened my grip on Teiken. "It's not as bad as it looks, honestly. Hell, I've dealt with worse on Earth when I was in the military."

The Volcion next to me snorted in disbelief, turning those vibrant orange eyes in my direction. "And yet you cannot even walk on your own without assistance, Joseph. I believe you're still in shock after the whole ideal, and that is what's causing you to be numb to your pain. Just wait until that shock wears off." He then turned that fiery gaze back in Jox's direction. "I think we should go back to the ship and camp for the night. It seems the lot of us were unconscious for quite a bit of time as it looks like night is quickly approaching us. I'd rather not be caught out in the open in the middle of the night for some creatures to pick us off."