She Who Owns The Dragon's Heart

Chapter Fourteen (XIV)

Acheron

Fury didn't cover what I was feeling.
Sadness didn't even cover what overcame my heart.

After people caught Kristine, I ran over to Sapphire, my heart shattered over the sight.

A tiny fetus right next to her body. My child, my unborn child, next to-

"Sapphire..." Her heartbeat was so faint. I couldn't hold in my sorrow. "Sapphire, don't go..." Tears slid down my cheeks as I tried to keep the bloodflow inside her by holding my shirt over the wound.

"MOVE!" Enyo pushed through, kneeling down to Sapphire. Tears flooded her cheeks as well. "Erszi is coming... She'll be okay, Acheron. She has to be." Enyo wasn't much of a healer, but she used some of her water magic to help slow the blood flow and help heal her, but it wouldn't be enough.

Erszi pushed through, along with three elves. Two to carry her, one to hold pressure. Weak kneed, I couldn't stand. Closing my eyes tightly, in attempt to stop my tears... I failed.

I failed her.

"Go with them, Acheron. You need to be with your mate." Opening my eyes, my unborn was no longer on the cobblestone, but rather wrapped in a small, ornate box. "Go, now." I could barely hold onto the box, but I followed unsteadily to the hospital, praying to Kaiah that she was going to make it.

***

They forbade me from following her into a room. Six hours of waiting beside my mother with my child in a box in my hands... I was wretched.

Erszi came out, looking exhausted. She also had a bandage on her arm, like she gave blood.

"I have no say on if she will surface soon, or if she does at all... I had to give her blood because she lost so much and we were the same type... Unfortunately, I can't tell you if the damage will be permanent." Once again, crushed.

"Can we please see her, Erszi?" Enyo asked, as I was unable to speak.

"It's not a pretty sight, Enyo... She's unresponsive right now and she's ghostly white from the blood loss..." Enyo didn't care. She dashed in...

I couldn't move.

"Acheron. If I know anything about this... She needs you in there to help her pull through." She took the box out of my hands. "This will be at your family's land, awaiting a proper burial. You need to go focus on Sapphire." She knelt beside me. "If all goes right, Acheron, there will be many, many more children... But there will never be another Sapphire. You will never have another mate..." I couldn't stop the ache in my heart. I couldn't stop my body from dealing with the pain. "Nobody said it would ever be easy... The only thing we can do is try to move on and keep going." I covered my face with my hands, holding back a roar of anguish. "I'll be at your cavern... If you need me, I'm a call away."

***

After attempting to calm myself down, I went into the room. Enyo was torn all over again, a simple joy by the thought of becoming a grandmother, taken from her.

My child was taken from me... Now... Possibly my mate.

I sat beside her bed, seeing her face. It wasn't peaceful, it wasn't pained.

It was expressionless. Lifeless.

Her heartbeat was so faint, it's like she wasn't even alive.

"They got the wound closed and healing... But... She might not be strong enough..." She was choking on her words.

"Mother... I need you to do me a favor..." My own voice wasn't even my own. "Go leave an offering for Kaiah... Say a prayer... I need to stay here with her." I took her cold hand into my own, feeling no spark. No tingle.