The Hathway Kingdom (Book 2)

Thirty-Three.

~Thirty-Three. ~

Larissa coughed and whimpered.

Her throat felt like it was on fire and her mouth felt drier than any desert she'd ever been in. She coughed and whimpered once more, wanting to get up and get a drink, but just the thought of doing that sent any energy that she had gained from being unconscious and waking up fleeing from her body like a bird taking flight when it was startled.

Her entire body felt like it was on fire. Each breath she took felt as if she had swallowed nothing but razor blades for days. She wanted nothing more than to get something to drink but she could not expand the energy to do much more than continue trying to breathe without pain. Slowly, and almost excruciatingly so, she felt her breathing ease and the pain went from sharp to a dull ache and she was thankful for it.

Next, Larissa resisted the urge to cringe at the thought, she had to open her eyes. The groan that escaped her was soft and strained but it escaped, nonetheless. Taking in a deep breath, which resulted in a low hiss and several very unladylike curses under her breath as pain shot through her body, Larissa did her best to open her eyes a little. Again, little by little, Larissa began to open her eyes, allowing them time to adjust to the lighting of the room she was in.

From what she could tell, it was late in the evening. Candles were scattered about the room, strategically placed so that it was still dark in the room but allowed one to move about without knocking into anything. The moon shone brightly through the window, but the curtains had been half-closed, so it wasn't as bright in the room as it ought to be. Blinking several times as her eyes adjusted to the light, Larissa looked towards her left arm when she felt something take her hand and frowned when she saw Romulus, head resting on the bed and his hand holding hers.

She went to speak but her mouth was too dry to speak. Closing her mouth and eyes again, she did her best to wet her throat so that she could try again and was unsuccessful. So, she tried again. And failed. Trying one last time, Larissa almost gave out a yell in triumph at having been able to wet her throat enough to be able to speak.

"Rom...Romulus?" she managed to get out, though it was nothing louder than a whisper. He stirred where he sat, turning his head slightly before his grip tightened ever so slightly around her hand. She fought back at wince at the action before she spoke again.

"Romulus?" she asked again, her voice a little stronger but not going above a loud whisper. He jolted slightly, coming awake as he blinked his eyes several times to rid himself of the sleep that still clung to him. He lifted his head and shook it before his eyes went to Larissa, who had been watching him the entire time.

"Larissa?" he asked as he looked at her carefully, his grip tightened ever so slightly and this time, Larissa didn't hide her wince.

"Larissa...Oh my...Theo!" Romulus called out, getting up and moving closer to her as the doors to the room she was in burst open, and Larissa heard hurried footsteps entering the room.

"Larissa. Oh, thank God! You're awake..." Romulus said to her before he leant down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips before resting his forehead against hers gently.

"I'll fetch Lady Cooper, Your...I mean, Romulus," came Theodoras' voice and Larissa had to guess that Romulus had shot Theodoras a glare when he had gone to call him by his title. She looked at him as he turned back to her, placing the hand he held against his chest as his free hand reached down to cup her cheek softly, his thumb stroking it just as gently.

"How...did you...find...me?" Larissa asked in a broken sentence, needing to pause every few words to breathe and fight against the pain. Though she could tell he didn't want to, he helped her sit up slightly before he hurried over to where the water just was in the room and poured some into a glass. He hurried back over to her and placed the cup against her lips, tipping it gently until she took a few cautious sips. When she'd had enough, he moved and put the cup to the side before returning to his place by her side.