Bound For Eternity

3

I finally understood what Dimitri felt all those years ago on the side of the road in the rain. I knew what that horrible ache felt like first-hand now.

He was technically dead, that much I knew.

Ivan kept trying to get me to move, to sleep, to eat, but I couldn't move. I just sat and listened to the almost non-existent sound of his heart beating. If I breathed too loudly, I couldn't hear it.

"Rose, it's been hours. You need to give yourself a break," Ivan said quietly.

"Being close to him will help him heal," I whispered but Ivan moved to stand in front of me, blocking my view of Dimitri.

"And he can't heal if you are run down. You know that you can help him heal, but you can't do that if you aren't well. You need to eat something and you need to sleep. Please," Ivan implored, crouching down so that he was at eye level with me.

My lip trembled and I looked him in the eyes. "I can't lose him," I trembled.

Ivan nodded and hugged me, resting his chin on top of my head. "I know. But you need to take care of yourself too. He wouldn't want you to do this to yourself."

I closed my eyes and sighed. Ivan was right; I couldn't help Dimitri if I was physically weakened. I let him pull me to my feet and he guided me out of the library and into the kitchen, putting me into a chair and finding me something to eat. My eyes moved back toward the library, the urge to go back to him was strong.

"Don't. I will strap you to that chair if I have to," Ivan said dryly, setting a few pieces of cold pizza on a plate in front of me. I ate them robotically and then grumbled when Ivan put a bottle of water in front of me too.

"Drink it."

I sighed and cracked the seal, swivelling around on the chair. "How can he still be alive? They snapped his neck."

"Ekons are hard to kill. Stakes are really the only way to do it," Ivan said, "He did die for a second, that's why you feel it. If they tore his head clean off, he would have stayed dead."

I bit my lip and clutch the water bottle tightly. "I want to go back," I said quietly and slid of the stool, padding back into the library. We managed to get Dimitri on the couch and I sat on the floor in front of him, resting my head on the couch and picked up his hand, holding it to my cheek.

I hated that his hand felt cold. He ran at a cooler temperature than I did, but this was cooler than usual. I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to channel my energy into him. It was hard to do it, it wasn't usually done. It made me exhausted, but I needed to help him.

When Ivan and Alberta brought Dimitri in, they thankfully closed his eyes. I couldn't bare seeing his eyes looking lifelessly, and it made my stomach roll thinking about it.

"Try and sleep," Stan voiced from the doorway but I waved him off.

"I'm serious. It will help," Stan said as he came in. He adjusted Dimitri's body and then helped me to my feet. I toed my shoes off and he told me to lie down with Dimitri. I raised my brows at him, but he gave me a look I was all too familiar with.

I took my sweater off and carefully climbed onto the couch with Dimitri, curling against him and the couch.

"Put your head on his chest," Stan said, draping one of the throw blankets over us. I shifted my head so that it was directly over his heart, searching for the quiet sound.

"Try and sleep. It will help, trust me," Stan said softly as he flicked the lights out in the library. I shrugged to myself but used the moment to cuddle into him. The ache in my chest made it hard to breathe, but being pressed against him helped alleviate the pain.