The Awakening

Chapter Thirty One

An entire week had passed since their incident in the library, and at some point Avelon had contemplated cornering Balor for information on when Brianne would wake up. She had stayed out of consciousness for most of the week, only rousing enough to turn or groan.

Balor had sent those shadows. She knew it with every fibre of her being.

Avelon did not risk leaving the room for too long at a time, fearing for her friend and herself. Thankfully, nobody – not even Balor himself, had come looking for her, and after their delightful encounter at the stables, Lugh had managed to stay away from her as well. She had left him behind right after he had offered to help her- offering him no answer or acceptance.

Lingering for long periods roused the fear inside Avelon that Balor or Elha would seek her out within the confines of their room and perhaps harm Brianne more than she already was. Thus, Avelon would only check on Brianne from time to time and go about her normal daily duties.

Avelon re-entered the room for the umpteenth time to check on Brianne, grateful to get away from her never-ending slave duties within the palace. Her eyes widened as she noticed Brianne stirring in bed the moment she entered the room. Hope spread in her chest as Brianne's eyes opened carefully. She gazed around the room in confusion before her gaze finally landed on Avelon, a small smile spreading on her face.

"You're awake! Thank Gods, Brianne! I thought you'd be out for another week!" Avelon cried out in joy, enveloping Brianne in a tight hug as she struggled to sit up in bed.

She could not remember the last time she had been so grateful to be able to hug someone.

"Ave," Brianne gasped, her voice strained with pain as she carefully tried to grasp a breath. Avelon pulled back slightly, loosening her grip on Brianne apologetically. Brianne's eyes sparkled despite her lingering fatigue and pain.

"Sorry," Avelon blushed, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "I'm just so relieved that you finally woke up."

Brianne scrunched her nose at her words. "You said you were worried I'd be out another week, how long has it been exactly?"

"A week to be precise. I'm glad it's not two." Avelon said timidly, offering Brianne a tight smile. "But nothing extravagant has happened since. I've tried steering away from everyone completely. Jeera's been some help, although, I must admit that I don't particularly get along with her." Avelon rose her eyebrows in emphasis, rousing a chuckle from Brianne.

"Let's just say we tolerate each other." Avelon picked at her fingers, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that Balor hasn't done anything crazy since the library. What does Jeera know? And where is the tome?" Brianne frowned, trying to piece together all the bits of information swimming around in her mind.

"Jeera just knows that Balor is up to something. As for the tome..." Avelon replied, her voice barely above a whisper. She stepped back, feeling the weight of the mattress beneath her as she sank onto her bed. The soft creak of the bed felt unnervingly loud in the silence surrounding them.

"I hid it in the stables." Avelon said as she chewed on her lip. "I've only been there again twice since stashing it. I haven't really found anything that could help us- yet, but I have been trying to unravel the riddle."

"What aren't you telling me?" Brianne narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Avelon could almost see the gears turning in Brianne's mind.

She opened her mouth to protest, however Brianne cut her off. "Don't even think about denying that you're not hiding anything. You're gnawing at your lip like it's a piece of meat and your whole body's gone rigid. Something happened." Brianne sat up straight, rolling her shoulders to relieve some discomfort in her stiff body.