A court of Night and Fire

don't climb after being stabbed kids

Nyx POV

We manage to find a cave at the base of the mountain to hide in. We stay there for the rest of the day and all through the night. All the time, Ash never let's go of Asterin. He clutches her to him as if she were his last ounce of life. He slept curled around her, as he is now, pressed to her back, holding her close. I want to do exactly that. The need to do exactly that surges through me but one us has to stay sane if we want to survive this. She stirs and Ash's eyes snap open. Hazel eyes meet turquoise and gold ones.

Ash POV

I wake up to Asterin moving. I open my eyes, staring back into turquoise and gold ones. She's twisted her head around to look at me. I say nothing but I pull her to me tightly, crying silently. She's still alive. She's alive. She laughs slightly but cringes and presses a hand to her ribs. "are you crying, Ash?" she asks quietly. I don't say anything, I just bury my face into her shoulder. She reaches a hand over and wipes away my tears, wincing slightly. The sight of her in pain is like a physical blow to me. 

She sits up and I do as well, supporting her and shifting around so I'm sitting behind her, allowing her to lean into my chest, resting a head on my shoulder. I can't help it. I reach my hand up and brush a stray piece of hair from her face. She smiles and looks to Nyx, who's smiling back at her. "morning princess" he says "morning you overgrown bat" She's back with me. She's alive. And she still has that wicked little attitude. I can't help but smile. "well, what are we sitting here for, don't we have a blood rite to win" 

I growl, the sound burning down my throat. I managed to wear it raw screaming for her.  she turns to me, frowning "you're not going anywhere. You reached the mountain, that's good enough. Just stay alive for the next two days" I say firmly. She glares to me "not a chance. We're doing this and we're winning this damn thing" "in case you've forgotten, darling, you just got stabbed" Nyx points out "in case you've forgotten, Nyx sweetheart, neither you or Ash can stop me. So I'd say it's in your best interests to come with me instead" "can't you just rest for once?" I say, sighing. "no way in hell" she says, smirking. 

I look to Nyx "well then, let's win this thing" I say. Nyx grins. "but know, darling, that I will be as Feyre call's it, an overbearing mother hen" I say to her and she laughs, wincing slightly at the movement "somehow I think I can live with it" she says. I help her to her feet carefully. She insists on leaving straight away and it's all Nyx and I can do to slow her down. We managed to find a small med kit on the male, and Nyx and I managed to stitch the wound closed whilst she was still unconscious. There was no doubt that there would be internal bleeding but we couldn't do anything for that. Providing she could live through the next two days without causing anymore damage her fae healing couldn't fix, it shouldn't be enough to kill her when we get out of here. 

We climb up bottom slopes of the mountain and Asterin seems to be doing okay so far. But this is the easy part. The next part is a vertical climb to the top. The climb would've been a challenge when she hadn't been stabbed. We'd planned places along the route to stop for breaks so that our strength would not falter enough that we would fall. The actual climb shouldn't be too hard - the rock is jagged and crooked making ample amounts of holds, but the problem was the strength and stamina to complete it. When we reached the base of the rock face, we looked up. Asterin grimaced slightly, but reached up tentatively and took hold of the rock. She lifted her foot and planted it firmly on a small ledge, pulling herself up. I can practically feel the pain she's in by just watching her, but she keeps moving. I follow her, with Nyx following me. We climb at a reasonable pace and despite every instinct in my body urging me to do so ,not just for myself but for Asterin and Nyx, we do not stop as planned.

Stopping means that starting is ten times harder again. Plus, currently most of the pain Asterin is feeling is muted by the Adrenaline surging through her veins. If she stops climbing, she'll feel every bit of it. Pain alone is enough to cause someone to collapse and even die. So, we keep moving as the sun rises and sets, even pushing on through in the dark. My muscles are burning, my legs and hands are shaking and my whole body is screaming in protest, but I keep climbing. After hours of this, I'm so used to the constant agony that it doesn't bother me that much. It must only be a fraction of what Asterin is feeling. I keep periodically checking on Nyx below me. He seems just as weak and just as determined as myself. Together, the three of us climb, the top of the mountain where the stone lies drawing nearer and nearer.

We have about 50 metres left to climb when dawn breaks. The sky is clouded over with dark grey clouds, and it starts to rain. Shit, shit, shit. Rain is the last thing we need. We're so close, so damn close. My fingers and feet start slipping as the rock grows wet. 25 metres. I've almost fallen about twice now. My hair is plastered to my face and I'm soaked through. 10 metres. I can see the end. 5 metres. We might actually do this. I watch Asterin disappear over the edge and spur myself into life, pulling myself over the edge after her. I manage two steps on shaking legs, before collapsing in a heap next to Asterin on the ground. A second later, Nyx collapses beside me. The three of us say nothing for a few minutes before Asterin starts coughing violently. I sit up and look over to her. She's deathly pale and as she removes the hand covering her mouth, I see blood. She's coughing up blood. Shit.

"we need to go" I pant, pushing myself into a standing position and helping Asterin and then Nyx up. Together, the three of us walk over to the monolith. In unison, we place our hands on the stone. There's a bright flash and the mountains disappear.