The Opelux and Other Monsters || Book One

CHAPTER 55 - ORION

I managed to hold onto my consciousness.

Back inside the shower in the Infirmary, Colleena made me promise I wouldn't use my Nourr on Tritteon or she wouldn't let me hold onto him; at least not until the Asoiri finished filtering out his blood because the water and Carnac poison together would fight my Nourr and harm Tritteon in the process. Bones and flesh were one thing. Apparently, blood was another. I would have fought her over it, but it felt like my limbs had been weighted to the shower floor and someone five times my size was sitting on my chest. All I could do was struggle to breathe and grip Tritteon's wrist, secretly afraid that if I let him go, his pulse would disappear.

Desraeon sat outside the glass in a soft chair Colleena had brought in. I could see him through the aromatic steam and the glass walls, watching both of us intently. Colleena had provided him with bandaging at one point and they'd had a quiet, urgent conversation that ended in her freaking out over something. I faded in and out of consciousness throughout the majority of the exchange, but it had taken a while for her to calm down.

When I came to again, Pharro stood beside Desraeon. His voice seemed to reach my ears in short waves, but I could see his mouth and Lexicon helped me lipread.

"Are there any remaining Kovei?" Desraeon asked.

Pharro shook his head. "Not a single one. But the three dozen guards you shielded have had the building thoroughly searched and cleared."

Desraeon pressed his forehead into his hands and I couldn't see what he muttered.

"Any progress?" Pharro asked, looking in at us.

Desraeon lifted his head, dragging his hands down his face. "Tritteon's body should have already used up everything Orion gave him as soon as his pulse returned, and the poisons in his system should have shut him back down. But Orion hasn't let go of him since she brought him back and Colleena believes she is unintentionally keeping him alive."

I squeezed Tritteon's wrist tighter. Was this true? Was my irrational fear subconsciously rational after all?

I drifted out again. When I came to, my entire body felt lighter and I realized I was no longer holding Tritteon's arm.

I sat up, jarred by terror and adrenaline, and grabbed for his wrist and neck at the same time.

His pulse was stronger than it had been the last time I'd been awake. He was still ashen, and his veins were still prominent, but they were more of a dark gray than black.

I slumped against him, resting my head against his chest, listening to the methodic sound of his heart.

"Colleena said he has stabilized," Desraeon said without looking up, his voice echoing in from the ceiling. "Whatever you did, you did it perfectly."

I sat up slowly, testing my body's strength.

He beckoned me closer.

I hesitated.

"You haven't touched him in the last twenty minutes, and he is still alive. He will be just fine."

I squeezed Tritteon's wrist gently and let him go.

Desraeon watched me. "We all knew this was not going to be easy...bringing you here."

I avoided his eyes. "You look tired."

He chuckled quietly. "I'm exhausted."

"You haven't slept?"

He shook his head and gave me a weary but warm smile.

I leaned against the glass frame of the doorway. The warm Asoiri splashed my legs and the steam moved in and out of my lungs, causing a pleasant tingle with every breath.