Embers

Never the Same

Chapter 34

Geralt's POV

Jaskier woke up first, much to Geralt's frustration. Not that he would have hoped the bard was gone, but Eira kept her eyes firmly closed. The bard woke up with a jolt, jumped up right on the bed where he laid himself next to the Elemental.

"Eira!"

His voice frantic while his arms waved around him.

"Fire," he murmured in panic, "There's flames everywhere."

"You're back, Jaskier," Geralt told him when he firmly grabbed the panicked bard by the shoulders and forced Jaskier to look at him. "You're awake."

The bard stared wide-eyed at Geralt before he finally calmed down and snapped his head into Eira's direction. Geralt took a deep breath in through his nose.

"She isn't awake. What happened?"

Somewhere behind the Witcher Yennefer moved slowly towards Eira and put her hand on the Elemental's forehead.

"She's sleeping," the Sorceress looked at him. "She's fine. Tired, but fine. Whatever the bard did, it worked."

Geralt let Jaskier get up from the bed and took a step back. It was clear on Jaskier's face that he needed a moment. The way the bard was going through his hair with his fingers, nervous and breathing hard. Geralt wasn't keen on the fact that Yennefer wanted Jaskier to go help Eira.

When the Sorceress had told them that there was a way to link both minds together, Geralt had offered himself up to go and find Eira in her own mind and pull her out of it again. Or fight whatever was in there.

When Yennefer had told him she wanted Jaskier to do it, Geralt had laughed out loud and was met with two serious faces.

"I think you might consider the fact she would ice you as soon as she sees you," Gerald had said, but to his surprise, the bard merely shrugged his shoulder and had given Yennefer a firm nod.

Triss Merigold helped Yennefer with the spell while Geralt stood by and watched everything unfold from the back of the room. There wasn't anything he was allowed to do and it frustrated him.

When Jaskier was asleep and the link between them worked, Triss had left the room while Yennefer came to stand next to him.

"She will be fine, Geralt," she had told him in her confident voice. "The little one is strong, even now I can feel her magic. Faint, but still there."

"Why the bard?" He had grumbled.

"I hope she's angry enough at him which will make her wake up. And defeat whatever is in there with her."

He had laughed, a dry, but sincere one and had to agree with Yennefer's way of thinking.

"Maybe," he had muttered between his teeth. "Eira isn't one to carry a grudge."

Yennefer' violet eyes had blinked mischievous.

"Don't underestimate a woman whose heart got broken," she simply countered back and made her way out of the room.

Geralt had sat beside Eira on the bed, staring at the wall until Jaskier had finally woke up.

Now, the Witcher followed the nervous Bard with his eyes.

"What happened?"

"Ah," Jaskier scoffed and finally settled himself down on the only chair in the room.

Both the witcher and the sorceress looked down at him.

"Black Elemental," Jaskier mumbled and Geralt stood up a bit straighter. "Fire. She could do the fire magic thingie. She was scary, Geralt. Like black eyes and everything."