Last Fae

Chapter 25 ~ Alive

I woke to the steady beep of a machine. There was a pain in my chest like someone had poured silver down my throat and stabbed me in the heart for extra measure. My mouth felt like sand paper and my throat raw and swollen. Every breath felt like I was inhaling flames. It burned down to the deepest corners of my lungs. I wanted to reach inside my chest and pull burning organs straight out.

I tried to speak but no sound came out. The attempt sent a shock wave through my body and I clawed at my throat in an attempt to make it stop.

"Try to stay still sweet heart."

My entire being stilled at the words. The beeping sped to an unhealthy rate and my breathing spiked.

A croak was the only sound I could get out. I clutched at my throat, squeezing it as tight as I could to try and ease the ache deep inside. Her hand stroked my face and I blinked my eyes open. I had to squint against the too bright light blaring down at me from overhead.

"Do you want me to turn the light of for you?" That soft, lilting voice set the monitor off again. It couldn't be. Could it?

"Mm." I croaked out. The word not forming the way I wanted it to. I needed to know if it was really her.

The light disappeared, replaced by shadowy darkness. I pulled my eyes wide and searched the room. She stood by the door, her fingers resting on the light switch. Her long auburn hair framed her pale face. Mum, I thought. Wishing I could say the word out loud.

She gave me a soft smile and floated back over to the seat by the bed. Her hands fluttered in her lap. She lifted one and swiped a strand of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear.

"We thought you were dead," She whispered. Her eyes started to well and she glanced away blinking rapidly.

"For so long we thought you were dead. And then Mia overheard the guards saying your name. We knew we had to get you before they sent you away. Or worse..." She trailed off. Mia was alive too. I felt my face contort as I tried to fend of the onslaught of tears I knew was coming. My mother and my sister were still alive.

"Oh, sweet heart. It's okay. You're okay. You're here with us now. And we won't let anything else happen to you I swear. I know the rescue attempt went a little sideways. But we got you out of the Mists. No one will hurt you now that you're here."

I shuffled my hand down the bed, reaching for her. She intertwined her fingers with mine and a smile broke over my face. Seeing her again was like seeing the sunrise for the first time after years of darkness. I didn't want to look away. I wasn't even sure that I could.

"Mother?" The quiet voice came from the door. It was probably the only thing that could have forced me to look away from my mother. I drifted my gaze over to the doorway. Mia stood there her big green eyes staring at me caught somewhere between fear and awe. I grinned at her. Please come closer, I thought.

She took a few steps further into the room but hesitated her eyes flitting to Mum's. Mine followed and I held my breath as she dipped her head and Mia ran the last few steps to my bedside. She looked much the same as she always had. The image of her that I'd seen in the cell before I got to this place had been eerily accurate. I wondered for a moment if they had modelled it on the real thing, rather than pulled the image from my mind like I had thought.

"Hi, Dellie." Her voice was like music to my ears. I'd gone so long with out it. So long believing I had let her down. I'd failed to get her to safety. I hadn't been able to save her. And here she was. Alive and well. The tears started to fall then and once they started I lost all control.

I sobbed loud and uncontrolled. Each hiccoughing cry wrenched from my throat in a wave of agony. I was desperate to stop, to release myself from the added pain but every time I came close my eyes would land on one of their faces and the whole process would start again.

My mother's tears joined my, her body shaking with every sob, eyes rimmed in red. Her hands hovered over me stroking my face, my arms, my hands. Mia watched us for a while her eyes full of moisture, the emotions swirling behind her eyes suppressed until she could hide it no longer.

She leapt forward and wrapped her arms around my prone body. A jolt of fire lashed from my chest down each of my limbs. I cried harder and wrapped my arms around my baby sister. I squeezed her tighter than I ever had before. The memory of what I'd seen in the cell entered my mind and fear spiked my heart rate through the roof. I was afraid to look and even more terrified not to.

I held her tighter. Pushed her back. I clamped my eyes closed.

"Dellie? What's wrong?" She whispered. I opened my eyes the image of her broken body impossible to forget. She stared down at me with those beautiful eyes and I could breathe again. I pulled her back into my chest relishing in the pain that lanced through me.

They were really, truly alive. A laugh bubbled through the tears and I set it free. It was the first real laugh that had come from my lips in so many years. It shook my whole body and every jolt reignited the fire in my chest. I laughed anyway. They were really here. They were alive.

Vote/Comment !! I'd love to know your thoughts. Delilah's family is alive!! :D