The Noblesse and his Love

Chapter 62

*M*

It had been three days, three days since I had last seen Rai-Lin awake. She had remained in Frankenstein's lab, unmoving and pale for three days. When I had first went down to see her after she had been hurt, her expression had been one of pain. Even unconscious, she had not gotten a respite.

Raizel had barely moved in the past three days. He remained seated at her side with his hand holding hers tightly. Sometimes, he would wince as what I assumed was a particularly bad bout of pain came across their link. Every time this happened, my heart clenched, and I had to look away.

I sat a Rai-Lin's side now, holding the hand Raizel wasn't holding. He suddenly tensed. I did the same, immediately assuming the worst. A smile slowly spread across his face. "She is waking."

*Rai-Lin*

The fire that had been engulfing my body for eternity was starting to die away, replaced with a dull burn. I was able to feel my limbs again instead of just the fire. I tried to wiggle my fingers only to find something was holding them in place. Confused and tired of the darkness I had been in, I peeled my eyes open, a monumental task.

My eyes opened slowly. My first feeling was of disorientation. There was a bright light above me, which caused me to hiss and close my eyes again. After a second, a melodic voice reached my ears, a voice that caused my heart to beat faster. "My love, it's okay. Open your eyes."

I did as I was told, cracking one open and then the other. The lights had been dimmed considerably. Above me now were three anxious faces. Despite my grogginess, I recognized them all instantly: Frankie, M, and my love.

I tried to sit up only for pain to shoot through my body from a spot in the right side of my chest. I gasped. My hand flew to the spot. There was a bandage there. My mind whirled as I remembered what had happened to me, and the last thing I saw: my family fighting against Kelebros.

My eyes searched for M's once more. He had pulled away from me after I had attempted to sit up. He seemed to be having a battle with himself, but before I could figure out what it was, Raizel's voice grabbed my attention. "Rai-Lin."

When I spoke, I found my voice wouldn't go above a whisper. "Is everyone alright? No one is-"

Frankie put a gentle hand in my shoulder. "Everyone is fine, Rai-Lin. Nothing more than a couple of bruises. You definitely got the worst of it."

I smiled, feeling too drained to say anything else. At least, I was until M's thoughts entered my mind. He was wrestling with blaming himself. He kept repeating what the others had said inside his head. Though it broke my heart to know that they thought they had failed me, I was grateful for their support of M.

"You know, M," I said, and his head snapped to me. "It really wasn't your fault. I know better than to get distracted, yet I let myself be distracted anyway. Please, don't blame yourself."

M lowered his head, fists clenched at his sides. Then, his fists loosened, and he looked at me. "I'm trying, Rai-Lin. It's just...I thought we'd lost you," He choked. "I thought we'd lost the light of our family because I was too weak. I couldn't bear the thought of life without you. You've shown me the meaning of family, of love. You've shown it to everyone else as well, and I thought it was ripped away from us forever."

"You are not weak, M. None of you are. You are strong because you love. And I am glad to call you my little brother. And you are lucky that I am your older sister, and that I am extremely hard to kill." I grinned cheekily, trying to lift his mood.

When M's mood didn't seem to lift any, Frankie broke in. "You are hard to kill, aren't you? You're like a cockroach."

"You didn't not just compare me to a bug." I tried to make my voice full of sass, but I sounded tired to my own ears.

Raizel laid his hand over mine. "You should rest. You have much strength you need to recover."

"But I want to see everyone," I protested, though my eyelids were heavy.

"They will be here when you wake again. Now, sleep."

"I love my family," I mumbled before I fell back into a deep sleep.

I didn't wake up with any degree of lucidity for three more days. When I did, I found both Raizel and M at my side once more. M was asleep, his head on his forearms, which were on my bed. I smiled at him before turning to Raizel. "How long has he been asleep?" I whispered.

"A few hours. He hasn't slept well since you were hurt." Raizel frowned.

"Poor M. I wish he could see that it wasn't his fault." I played absentmindedly with a strand of M's hair.

"He knows it isn't. While I think a small part of him will always blame himself, he has for the most part accepted there was nothing he could do."

"Then why can't he sleep?"

After my words, M started to move a little in his sleep. Then, without warning, he bolted upright, breathing heavily. His body was tense. His eyes searched the room until they landed on mine. Some of the tension left his body.

I didn't need to be able to read minds to know what his nightmare was about. I reached and grabbed his hand. "Everything is fine, M. Everyone is fine."

"I know," he said softly, bowing his head. After a moment, he raised it. "I'm glad to see you are awake again. I was beginning to get worried."

"Don't be. I've always slept deeply. Right, my love?" I glanced over at Raziel.

He shrugged. "You've always loved your sleep, perhaps more than you love me."

My mouth fell open. "That is not true. I would go a thousand sleepless nights if it meant I would prove my love for you."

Raizel's lips quirked up in a smile. "It's okay, my love. I was, as the children say, joking."

My jaw dropped lower if possible. "You...you..." I sputtered. "You just made a joke?"

"Indeed."

I laid there in dumbfounded silence for longer than I cared to admit. Gathering up my shreds of dignity, I started to sit up. If I was going to be embarrassed, I was at least going to be able to look my love in the eye and possibly slap him for doing that to me.

"What are you doing?" M asked sharply.

I ignored him, focusing on not causing myself too much pain. My wound hurt much less than the last time I had been awake. I was able to sit up without too much difficulty. My healing powers must have still been working somewhat. Once I was in a full sitting position, I beamed. "Well, would you look at that. Progress. Now, to stand up."

I swung my legs over the side of the bed as M protested. "I don't think you should be doing that. At least wait until Frankenstein is down here."

"You know he wouldn't be able to stop me if he tried," I said. "Speaking of my brother, where is he?"

It was Raizel who answered. "Frankenstein is upstairs with the others. None of them have returned to school since you have been hurt. They worry."

"Well," I said, feeling the cool floor beneath my toes. "Let's go relieve their worries." With that, I stood up.