Salvation : Book 3

CHAPTER 9 : Hold Me Up

He looked smaller, that was the first thing I noticed. He had lost a lot of weight, too much weight, to the point he looked unwell. The second thing I noticed was his ashen complexion. His golden tanned skin had faded away replaced by ghostly pale flesh that made my body shuddered.

The third thing I noticed were the injuries that surrounded his body. He had cuts on his arms; most of them were superficial but there were some that protruded deeply. There was blood significantly staining the front of his shirt, it looked damp, meaning the injury was probably fresh. Adrian had his hand pressed against that spot, trying to stop himself from bleeding out.

Instinctively I reached out for him, placing my own hands over the wound. I called all the magic I could summon, which wasn't much considering the cuffs were still dampening my powers. But it had to be enough.

My magic burrowed into him, teasing his tissue, egging it to reweave itself back to normal. The veins in my hands bulged as they turned black, absorbing his pain. It coursed through my own body burning me from the inside but I refused to let go.

I had to do this.

Fear that this wouldn't work erupted from my gut. Flashes from the last time I'd tried to save him surfaced. Him lying on the ground, with a injury quite like this one. I'd cried begging my magic to heal him, but it hadn't worked. I'd failed him then, I couldn't fail him now. Dread clogged up my windpipe, my lungs burned as my body refused to take in air. I was seconds away from collapsing from sheer exhaustion. I was drawing too much energy from myself but it didn't matter. I had to save him.

However, it wasn't long before the cuff started glowing, signifying that I'd strained myself too much. My magic began to dwindle, my glowing hands flickering right before they ceased their misty purple luminous glow. A tear trailed down my cheek as the word "No," fell off my lips in a desperate gasp. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly as a wave of disappointment overtook me.

A cold, coarse hand cupped my chin raising my head, I slowly opened my eyes to meet Adrian's torso-Adrian's healed torso. He had the blood soaked shirt lifted to give me a good look at the wound that was no longer there. The only thing that remained was a small white scar.

A small smile was etched onto his face. "You healed me," he said, his voice croaky and strained as if he had to push the words up his throat. I looked at him, just looked at him. For the first time in months I was looking at him, his beautiful face, though bruised and cut, it was still beautiful. Still the same mesmerizing green eyes. Still the same pretty pink lips, though the bottom lip was split open. It was still him, it was him.

Adrian. It was Adrian. I couldn't help but pull him into my arms, hugging him so tight I was almost afraid I'd suffocate him. I couldn't let go though. I wouldn't. I need to hold him, to make sure this wasn't a dream, that this was real. I needed it to be real, and I prayed to the goddess that it was.

"How?" I asked when I finally did pull away from him. "How are you still alive?" I asked as I pressed my palm against his cheek. It was cold, but I didn't flinch away. He raised his gaze to meet mine. Tears trailed down his cheeks and I used my thumbs to wipe them away.

"I don't know," he said, struggling to sit up against the wall. He wheezed, the sound making me wince. "I remember the attack, I remember falling to the ground, you by my side, I remember holding your hand. And I remember... dying," he said. His eyes glossed over as he turned his gaze from me, he looked down at the stone floor before he continued, "I remember the world around me growing dark, your eyes were the last thing I saw before... Before everything ended. It felt like drifting into the nothing, heading towards a door, following the light to the other side. But I never reached it.