Marked Claws (Mystic Bonds #2) | COMPLETED

3. Lucien/Damien

(Lucien's P.O.V)

Four days had passed by and it was at an agonizingly slow pace.

The first day had been the worst. Chaotic.

The second was a surreal feeling for us. Desperation.

The third day had me losing hope. Because for him and her, I'd had it. Hopeless.

One day ago, the guy who was my best friend had finally stirred up out of unconsciousness and I hadn't ever been as happy as I was in that moment.

"Ah, hell. I feel like I died."

Damien's voice was croaky. But he was alive and that was all that mattered.

I gritted my teeth and swallowed, "That's because you did."

I gave him a wry smile as he winced while getting up. Almost healed, thanks to his vampire heritage and the healer's work, he was able to sit up in the bed. 

His midnight black hair might not have been shining and his cobalt blue eyes weren't buzzing with electric lightning but....

Damien was alright.

We stared at each other in silence and then he smirked, opening his arms. I was so relieved and surprised that I couldn't remain detached. I took his invitation up and we hugged.

"You had me worried sick." I glared at him when he let go and he gulped down the water on the bedside table.

We were the only two in the room at the moment, Arion was busy with....a lot.

Damien frowned, looking away. "Wh....What happened, Lucien?"

The aftermath of what happened was...too much to put into words. I exhaled a heavy breath and rubbed a hand over my face when his voice broke me out of my internal turmoil.

"You look like someone tortured you." He chuckled, though it was strained but I didn't share his sense of lightening the atmosphere.

"Well, someone might as well have." I sent him an icy stare and he narrowed his eyes. "Fighting Daeva wasn't what I'd had in mind when your mother sent us here. I didn't think the Golden Pack would be there. Or that whatever light would bathe us."

He cringed and ran a hand through his hair, skin paler than acceptable. I knew I wasn't any better. I had a stubble, felt physically and mentally tired because after that fight I couldn't get a wink of sleep being so worried over Damien and Cara and what not after Arion had to single handedly get order back to Valeryn while mourning his sister's death.

"And I didn't expect to feel...whatever that was." I uncomfortable rubbed my chest, remembering how pinpricks of pain had embedded themselves into my heart. "But then you were screaming and had a beating heart and then you...just. You died, Damien."

I'd laid it all out now.

Vampires are immortal like us shapeshifters. So to see Damien dead was too hard to digest. On top of that, I knew his death was actually because of....Cara.

Which had to mean that Cara was dead.

"Is...Is Cara..." He closed his eyes, "Is Cara alright?" Of course he'd worry about his Soulbound.

But thing was that I was in the same boat.

I stiffened.

I sat back down on my chair and folded my hands over my chest.

What Arion and I had discovered was something that even had my stomach drop. Arion's shakiness during the battle mirrored Damien's and was yet different. I'd kept Damien with the healers and despite wanting to stay there, we had more pressing matters.