Between Shadow & Ruin (Fangs & Fae Saga Book 2)

fifty-four.

I walked inside the house to breakfast being cooked. The twins were in the living room, waiting for food. They looked tired, but more like they stayed later than they should've and not like they were part of a fight they had no business being in.

"Where's Odie and Ella?" I asked Zane.

"In his room..." he said.

"Have you had a chance to check them out? Make sure they're not too hurt?"

"No. They both only just finished up in the shower. I was going to offer after we ate." I nodded, walking upstairs slowly. I knocked on the door.

"Yeah?" Odie called out.

"Can I come in?" I asked. The door opened. Ella was sitting on his bed while Odie sat on the chair at his desk. He wiped his face. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Momma..." he said softly. He looked at Ella and she looked at me.

"What is it? Are you two okay?"

"Uh, I'm not sure..." Odie said. He kept closing his left eye, grimacing.

"Your eye's still bothering you?" I asked, walking over to him. He nodded as he rubbed it. I put my hand under his chin, holding his face up. He blinked slowly and I looked at his eye, moving his face around. "Odie..." I said, slowly. I took a deep breath. "You need to let your dad check you out – both of you."

"Ella, first..." Odie said, softly. I texted Zane to come up and check on the kids.

"How are you feeling, Ella?" Zane asked, after closing the door behind him.

"Sore. Weak. But okay, I guess." Zane sat down on the bed next to her.

"Breathing okay? I don't know if you remember anything... You had a couple of broken ribs that punctured your lung. I did my best to speed up the healing process for you." Zane's voice was soft. He was so tired – I wished I could have fixed all of this for everyone. Let them all rest.

"I remember. If you didn't help me... I'd probably be dead. Thank you."

"Lie down a sec. Let me just double check that everything else is okay." She nodded, scooting down on Odie's bed. Zane passed his hands with blue magic over Ella's body. He hovered above her ribs, taking a second to make sure her ribs were properly healed. He stopped when he reached her head. He took a deep breath. "...I can make you forget things that are hard to bear. Dylan said you were going to be mentally fragile... I can help, if you like."

"What?" she said. "N-no. I'll be fine. I was just stuck in my own thoughts. I know what I thought wasn't real. It might take some time."

"Okay. Well... if you change your mind, Val or I can help you."

"I appreciate it." The magic on Zane's hands faded and he helped Ella sit up.

"You look fine. You let me know if you need anything." She nodded, pulling the covers up to her arms, throwing the blanket over her shoulders. "Alright, Odie. Come on. What's going on? You're awfully quiet..."

"I'm fine, Poppa. I don't need you to 'inspect' me. Nothing's broken or sprained, I'm not sick. I'm fine."

"'Fine' except you keep messing with your eye since this was over. And it was bugging you before then. So, what's the problem?" I asked. He and Ella shared a look.

"...Odie, just tell them! They're your parents!" Ella said. He took a deep breath.

"I didn't want to worry you guys... But... I – I don't think I can see out of my left eye..."

"What!?" I said, loudly. "What do you mean?"

"I keep closing it because it feels weird! It's gotten worse since I defeated Liam. Everything was blurry then, but now... I can hardly see." Zane rushed over to him, surveying his head. He touched his thumb to Odie's temple, it glowed bright blue.