Alhaitham X Kaveh - Love and Logic

9."I've Been Through Worse"

Someone yelled but Alhaitham couldn't make out the words. He felt like spiders were crawling over his skin.
He is gone.
Someone grabbed his arms, shaking him to break through.
It's too loud. I can't...
"Alhaitham, there are no bodies." Candace's voice got through when one of the walls collapsed. He stared at her, too afraid to say anything. She pushed him away while jumping, the arrow barely missing her. Her shield appeared in her hand, creating a whirl of water. Alhaitham took a deep breath and touched his earpieces. Everything went silent and he felt the cold handle of his sword in his hand. The two men firing at them were set up on the top of the tavern. The attackers had no way out, so they were sacrificed. He signaled the Traveler, ordering them to go after the men they captured before. He took a deep breath before focusing on the specific spot behind one of the archers.
"Candace, cover me."
He vanished, his body reappearing behind the young man on the roof. His sword cut through the fabric and before any of them could react it pierced the heart. The Scribe vanished again, a sword of the third, hidden attacker slashing through the air. His eyes widened in fear as he felt his knees buckle, his hamstrings cut. He cursed before seeing the Scribe cutting down the second archer, blood spilling from the wound in his neck. He watched as he struggled on the floor, his body twitching as Alhaitham walked up to him, ignoring the suffering man on the floor. This was the Scribe of Akademiya? The attacker couldn't move, he could just wait to meet his end. He closed his eyes and heard Alhaitham scoff. The end didn't come and he heard footsteps before he was yanked up, his face inches away from Alhaitham's.
"Where are they?" his monotone voice showed no emotion, while his eyes glared with rage. The question, simple as it was, made him realize Alhaitham knew about the diversion.
"Alhaitham!"
Candace supported someone as they slowly walked towards the tavern. He could see a floating device circling them, Mehrak. He teleported back down, the attacker still in his hand as they formed on the ground. Letting him fall he ran towards Candace, only to realise Kaveh wasn't with her. It was Dehya. Mehrak dashed to him, his face scared.
"Where is Kaveh?" Alhaitham's voice was harsh, making Candace halt and glance at the man on the floor. Dehya tried to move, but she was injured. Candace picked her up, giving Alhaitham a sad look as she said: "We found her like this. The Traveler is still searching for Kaveh."
Before Alhaitham could reply, Dehya grabbed his hand, making him look at her. Her voice cracked as she tried to explain: "They took him. He made sure we were hidden and lead them away... Please, he... he saved me. Stubborn idiot... I told him to wait."
Her grip loosened as she fainted, exhausted from the pain. Candace squeezed her closer, before running towards the medical shop. Alhaitham turned to Mehrak, Kaveh would never leave him behind like this. The machine was clearly distraught, their face switching between sad and angry as they floated side to side.
"I suppose you don't know why he left you behind either."

He woke up to a familiar taste of iron in his mouth. They need to stop beating up his pretty face. Pain shot through him when he tried to move.
"Easy there cub. Sounds like you broke a few ribs."
Her voice. The message. The woman stepped out of the shadows. Her dirty blonde hair was cut short and she wore the Eremite attire. Kaveh scoffed: "How the mighty have fallen..."
She chuckled stepping closer. Kaveh felt his head turn from the force of her palm hitting his cheek. He blinked away the tears in his eyes, clenching his jaw. She smiled, lowering her face to his. Her scarlet eyes stared into his, the scar on her cheek throwing the symmetry of balance. He noticed his arms and legs were tied to a chair and the room he was kept in seemed to be carved in stone. The ruins, but which ones? The vision on his belt shimmered, making his captor break the uncomfortable eye contact. She glared at it before getting back up and turning her back to him.
"I see you still like to take your time revealing the plan." he tried to keep his voice stern. He knew it was only a matter of hours before he begins to feel just how badly he was beaten.
Did they find Dehya? The blast hit her before Kaveh could protect her. If only he was faster...
"I see you're still disrespectful to your elders, cub." Her voice snapped him back into reality. She was turned back to him, her face tensed into an unflattering grimace. He smiled before stating: "Respect is earned and I don't remember you doing anything worthy of my respect."
He expected to be punched again, but he did not expect her to punch him in the stomach. He struggled to breathe, hearing her chuckle above him. She made him look at her, pulling his hair.
She hissed, every word made his chest tighten: "The only reason you're still alive is because of your boyfriend. The moment I get what I want, your life is over."
Kaveh's eyes widened.
Boyfriend? What is she rambling about?
A knock at the door made her let go, turning to one of the men who entered. Kaveh heard him mention a group of people approaching their location. His captor cursed and ordered the men to get ready to flee. Kaveh chuckled, as brave as always. He felt her pull his hair again: "Let's see how much he loves you, shall we."
Kaveh's lips trembled making her laugh with sadistic pleasure.
I am going to die when she finds out how wrong she is.

Cyno approached the camp with a few of his men. He followed the last of the traitors to the camp after he got the message from Alhaitham about Kaveh being kidnapped. They have yet to determine why they did this, but from what he gathered, Kaveh was the target from the start. After they realised he left Sumeru City, they abandoned their posts as well. The matra kept the appearance of not knowing about the traitors, but Cyno still failed to find the connection between Kaveh and the group of mercenaries that evaded his capture for far too long. They were supported and used by the previous Grand Sage, which explained how they knew whenever Cyno was close to capturing them. He spotted a blonde figure stepping out of the camp, pulling someone behind them. He raised his hand, signaling his men to halt. The hostage, it could only be Kaveh. He couldn't see him clearly, but from the way he was moving, he must be in pain. Funny, seeing him stand next to his captor, they look so similar...

Kaveh could see the General contemplating something. He could see his expression switch to one of fear. Something was very wrong. He heard the whistle seconds before he dived to the left. He was a bit too slow, feeling the arrow pierce through his shoulder. He thought it would hurt more. It did, the second she tried to pull him up. Kaveh realised her plan, she wanted to use him as a human shield. He gathered all his strength sending all his thoughts into his vision. The explosion threw his captor back, right in front of Cyno. The general knocked her out before she could strike and ordered his men to tie her up before he ran to Kaveh. The blonde felt lightheaded, chuckling at the general. Cyno's serious expression switched to worry. Kaveh started to doze off, but Cyno slapped him to keep him awake. His voice shaking: "You can't die now. Come on. I didn't know you looked so similar. My archers..."
Kaveh laughed, it was manic, Cyno shouted something to his men before he turned back to him. The blonde felt someone pick him up before he started to explain:" Of course we are similar. She is my aunt. She is just as bad as me, a rotten apple, ha. She thought she could use me to get to Alhaitham, can you imagine that Cyno? Is he ok? Did Mehrak get to him safely?"
He slowly lost consciousness unaware of Mehrak floating next to him as tears fell on him, from those pools of fire and peace he loved so much.

I am sorry for the long wait, I was a bit stressed. I appreciate all the comments <3
Also I apologise for all the mistakes, I realised I missed some of them when rereading the previous chapters.

What do you think about the update though? And the Kaveh backstory leaks? I might have cried reading them 😅