Wings

37: This Could Be Our Last Chance

NPOV

Track: 1685, Zedd feat. Muse

It takes some time for things to calm down after the battle ends—and I use the word "calm" extremely loosely. Hundreds or thousands (I can't quite tell among the crowds) of Guardians and humans are carried into the hospital wing of the castle—the queen among them. Lieutenant Jason Grace among them.

My sister among them.

It takes approximately ten seconds after the terribly wounded are transported for fingers to begin pointing again, but I'm tired, and I cannot bring myself to try to calm things down. I try to push myself to my feet to find where they took Bianca. I can't really remain upright, though—I feel like I've spent the last few hours holding up the sky. Every muscle in my body is exhausted, and although my life force was returned to me the moment the queen fell from godhood, I still find myself feeling quite dead.

Will stays by my side, murmuring comforting words and holding my hand and doing whatever else he hopes will help. Although I can't quite manage to stay on my feet by myself, he catches me before I fall back toward the earth, and he slings one of my arms around his shoulders.

"I love you," he tells me as he helps me walk toward the castle again, knowing I want to try to find my sister without me having to tell him.

"Love you, too," I reply, but I'm not sure I'm totally coherent right now; my mind is muddled in the way that only happens after a dangerous amount of time of no sleep. I feel like I could sleep for weeks and it would never be enough. I guess having the life literally drained from your body will do that.

I'm not sure I manage to stay awake all the way to the infirmary wing, and my memory of the events goes in and out. One moment I'm walking, supported by Will, and the next, he's carrying me, as my exhaustion has overcome me.

--

The next time I wake up, I'm in a medical bed, and it is only then that I realize Will was taking me to the medical wing for me, not Bianca.

(Then I realize Bianca is in the bed next to me—terrifyingly pale, but alive. She must still be alive, or she wouldn't be here at all. Maybe he brought me here for both of us, then. I wonder how hard he had to fight the nurses to make sure she was next to me. I love him so much right now, I feel my eyes burn with tears—or maybe that's from how overwhelming it is to have my sister near me again, even in these circumstances?)

(No, no, it's definitely from love.)

(Okay, maybe it's from both.)

Sleep is a powerful thing, and my body is greedy, and so I am overtaken again by the dark.

--

The next time I wake up, Will is next to me. He's got heavy bags under his eyes. He's got a first aid kit in his lap, and he's only half-sitting in the chair next to me—the rest of him lies against my bed, his hand in mine even though he must have fallen asleep ages ago.

It takes me a few moments to realize he must be trying to help heal everyone. I'm glad, at least, that he's getting this moment to rest, no matter how brief it might be.

Bianca is still unconscious. I try to convince myself that she just needs the rest—maybe being a star for so long makes being human again absolutely exhausting. Maybe her body is just re-adjusting. Maybe she's going to be okay.

I squeeze Will's hand in mine to try to quench the temptation to sit up, get out of bed, and shake Bianca's shoulder. The temptation doesn't go away, but I feel a little calmer, and soon I manage to fall asleep again.