Chain of Iron

Chapter Forty-Four

When Matthew opened his eyes, he was blinded by a bright light that seemed to be shining right down on him. He blinked a few times and squinted to see that he was in the infirmary of the London Institute and that the initial bright light he had seen was the sunlight streaming through one of the grand windows. His body felt heavy and weak and he looked down at himself to see that his chest was covered in bandages and many iratzes were covering his bare arms.

"I thought you would never wake up, Sleeping Beauty." A voice spoke from beside his bed.

Matthew looked over to see James sitting there, a smile on his face. Matthew felt his anxiety dissipate at the sight of his Parabatai. James looked very tired; there were dark circles underneath his eyes and his black hair was a bit disheveled. Although, his golden eyes were bright with happiness from seeing Matthew awake.

"Much sleep is required for one to look as handsome as I do." Matthew spoke in a hoarse voice. His vocal cords felt tender and weak.

James chuckled and his eyes became warm. "Thank the Angel that you are alright, Math. I had been very worried there for a moment that you would not make it."

Everything then came back to Matthew in that moment. Belial. The Shadow Realm. The feeling of the demon's pincer cutting through his back and how Matthew's vision had gone white with pain. He recalled collapsing to the ground and seeing Cordelia race towards him as he had lost consciousness.

"What happened with Belial?" Matthew tried to sit up, feeling worried. "Is everyone alright? Is Cordelia--"

James laid a hand on his arm, calming Matthew down. "Everyone is alright, Matthew. Cordelia and I had no injuries when we returned. It was only you that was hurt."

Matthew sighed in relief and laid back down. He did not know what he would have done if something had happened to Cordelia. He knew that if Cordelia had died, a part of Matthew would die as well.

"What ended up happening?" Matthew looked up at James.

"After the demon stabbed you, I had collapsed in pain through our Parabatai bond. It was Cordelia who had taken The Mortal Sword and stabbed Belial with it; he vanished and then so did his realm. When we returned to the Institute, Uncle Jem came to look at you. He said that the demon had missed your heart by only centimeters and that you would survive." James explained. "That was two days ago and I have been sitting at your side, waiting for you to wake up, ever since."

"Well," Matthew spoke. "That is the closest to death that I ever wish to come."

James chuckled and Matthew grinned up at him. He could not explain the sense of comfort that one received from their Parabatai, but he felt very lucky to have one in this moment. Matthew did not know what he would do if he did not have James in his life.

"Did you and Cordelia return The Mortal Sword?" He asked.

James nodded. "We did and we did not get caught. We explained to Uncle Jem why we had taken it, when he had come to heal you, and he had agreed to bring it back to the Silent City without anyone ever knowing."

Matthew sighed in relief, closing his eyes. "Stealing The Mortal Sword was one of the more riskier things we have done in our lifetime, wouldn't you say?"

"I thought you enjoyed risky things, Matthew Fairchild?" He could hear the amusement in James' voice.

Matthew opened his eyes. "Not when we could quite possibly have our marks stripped because of that risky thing."

James breathed out. "Yes, that would have been quite a shame, wouldn't it have been?"

Matthew eyed him. "I never wish to hear or see or even think about that bloody Shadow Realm ever again. It has caused enough damage to our lives already."