The Dragons' Crystal

Chapter Twenty-Five

Tears stung at my eyes. I was hesitant to look up at Darius. He seemed paler than before, but I blamed it on what I was going through. Pain made you see strange things sometimes, I'd been told. Wide eyes from all over stared down at me, the widest being Darius's. He kept mouthing his apologies. 

With each passing second, the pain worsened. My blood felt as though it was boiling and I could feel the sweat starting to come down my face. It was hard to breathe and each joint ached with each electrical bolt they took. I was gasping for the cold air, the heat radiating off of me. I clutched at my chest in attempt to keep my heart in place. If I closed my eyes, I would have believed someone was physically ripping it directly from my chest. 

This sudden increase in pain wasn't enough to cause too much concern in me. However, it never lasted this long. Minutes after Darius had removed himself the pain went away. I couldn't imagine it had been too long, but it was already seeming like too much time had passed without the pain letting up. It simply got worse. 

My vision blurred between the pain and the tears. I was able to see several bodies pushing through the gathering crowd and past Darius. They knelt beside me, carefully laying their hands upon me. They were speaking but I couldn't translate it. I could recognize their language as my own but their words were pure mush. With my legs having already given up, my waist was the next to go. As the people began fumbling with their bags, I collapsed onto my side and stared up at the night sky. 

The yelling increased. 

The corners of my vision began blackening, setting a focus around the falling snow. Each flake brushed against my skin and melted upon contact. Even with my back fully in the snow and the flakes falling onto my face I was still burning up. Without having full control of my legs, they began to tense and kick. I tried to grip at the snow to give any sort of comfort but it was of no use. Nothing was working. 

The tears that had pooled at my eyes had long gave way and were now flowing down my cheeks. The stream was just as hot as I was, burning as it went down my skin. It was enough to cloud the rest of my vision, leaving me almost blinded. I had attempted to hold back the screams but those walls were beginning to fall. It was as though someone was tearing me limb from limb with their intentions being to see me suffer. I wasn't going to be granted a swift death. 

A gentle hand held my cheek. It was cool and was enough to soothe the burning of my tears. "It's okay. They'll make it stop soon." Her voice whispered into my ear. It took me seconds but I soon recognized it as Dove. 

I took the comfort I could from the gesture, unsure of what the rest of the world currently looked like. I leaned into her touch, desperate for the coolness of her hand to spread; desperate to be free of the everlasting pain. "Why is this happening?!" I wept to her, trying to take my mind off of it. I thought if I stopped focusing on the pain that it would hurt less. I was wrong. If she answered, I couldn't hear it. My lips were trembling and my hands were starting to feel numb, though I was unsure of it was from the snow or the heat. "Dove," I cried out, unsure of how many people could hear me. I didn't care. I had lost control of my thoughts and the only thing I could think of was why this was happening to me. "Why is it... That the one person I might... Love is the only one that... Hurts so bad?" I said in intervals, gasping between phrases. 

"I know, I know." Dove whispered back into my ear. She mumbled something I couldn't understand, it blending in with the other voices around me. 

Without warning, the people that had rushed to my aid were pulling me to a sitting position. One supported my back, the others at my side. I couldn't quite see what they were holding, but the devices were pressing into my arms and legs. I could see a blur of my body with a person kneeling in front of me. As I followed their body up, I held back the gasp as Darius' face appeared to me clearly. His eyes stood out the most. He was saying something to me while his tears fell into the snow. He wasn't smiling. 

I shook my head, gritting my teeth as the electricity raised itself into my head. I watched his mouth but was unable to catch any of it. 

Darius clenched his jaw. He swallowed hard. He spoke again, this time angrier than before. His entire face grew red, a vein in the middle of his forehead bulging out against his skin. Despite his anger, his tears fell faster. 

My heart skipped several beats. For several seconds, the pain hesitated. With it came my understanding of everything being said around me. I could hear frightened shouts and the panic of the people around me, who I now realized were medics. Only one sentence stood out from the rest.

"You can't love me! I won't allow it!" 

"Wh-What?" Had he heard me? I swallowed, trying to catch my breath. The pain still existed but was beginning to let up. I couldn't understand what had changed though I wasn't about to question it. I was merely thankful that it was coming to an end. "I don't understand." 

Darius hesitated. As he looked me over, his expression softened. With less intensity, he repeated himself. "You can't love me. I won't allow it." Just as I went to argue, he held up his hand. He spared a glance to the crowd that had gathered around. There was something else going on, I could see it. "Odelle, I... I hate you."

Mere moments ago, I had felt what it was like to not be able to completely breathe yet I could already agree that his words felt worse. The pain disappeared, leaving me feeling as I had right before I had touched me. I felt slightly weaker, but otherwise better. I tried to process what he was saying. "What are you talking about? I thought we were friends!"

"...No. You helped me with what I needed. You're of no use to me now."

"Darius! What has gotten into you?!" I picked Dove's voice out from behind me, but I didn't want to look at her now. I wanted to stare down Darius, certain he was making a mistake. None of this could be true.

Finn came out of the crowd. He tossed a glare in Darius' direction, placing his hands underneath my arms. He lifted me from the ground, supporting my posture with a hand around my waist. "The poor girl just went through all that and you think this is the best thing to say right now?" 

Darius swallowed, locking his eyes with mine. One last tear fell. "Odelle, I don't want to see you again. You are to pack up your stuff and leave. If you know what's best for you, you'll go straight home and never venture out in the world again."

I reached a hand out towards him. "Darius, you can't be serious!" My chest was aching, though it was nothing like the pain I felt when we touched. It was far worse. It was as though each part of my heart was shattering, dropping into the pit of my stomach. 

With a stone cold expression that would move mountains, Darius raised his chin. "The people of Erstonia were right about you." He cleared his throat, lowering his gaze away.

"Go home, Odelle."