A Slave to Broken Hearts (A Slave to Love Sequel)

Chapter 30: Delicate

When I woke up, it was quiet. Dark. Fear crept up my chest and throat that maybe it was the end, that I was truly dead, but how could I be dead when everything hurt so much? My eyes, heavy and hard to open, adjusted to the dark and I could just make out Blade's familiar profile next to me, passed out next to me, body touching mine. Was this another nightmare? Was he even breathing or was he going to be lying in a pool of blood just like--

His head turned, body shifting slightly, eyes cracking open. The air left my body in one huge gust of relief. He blinked a few times, then sat up abruptly. "Are you okay?"

I shook my head, barely having the strength to do that, the urge to cry hitting me, face crumpling. Everything hurt so much, but he was here next to me, and I could feel him through our bond, that this was real, it had to be real, he was here with me and he was alive...

"You're okay, you're okay, you're okay-" I couldn't stop saying it, all I kept seeing was him lying on the ground, dead and still.

He wrapped his arms around me, solid and real, stroking my hair like he'd done a million times. Behind him, Ace was asleep in a chair, head rocked to the side uncomfortably, long legs splayed out, clothes rumpled and wrinkled. What the hell he was doing here? Why did everything hurt so much? Why was it so dark? Why was Blade shaking--

********

"Hey..."

My eyes fluttered open, barely making out Blade's blurry form in front of me before they closed again, like they were weighed down. I mumbled something, not even sure what.

"How are you feeling?"

Another sound, incomprehensible, at the back of my throat. I was so tired.

Something cool brushed across my forehead, resting for a second there. It felt so nice when I was so warm.

"I know you want to sleep, but you have to eat. Once you have something, you can rest more, okay?"

I didn't want to eat, didn't feel hungry, I just wanted to pass out again, where it was cozy and comfortable and drift off to that place where nothing hurt anymore.

"Come on, just a few minutes to eat something then you can sleep," he said, voice quiet, the cold sweeping down my temple and jaw. "Promise."

I pried my eyes open, squinting at him.

"I've got some warm toast," he said, a plate in his hand. The smell of it wafted over to me and though I wasn't particularly hungry, it did smell good. I sighed in defeat. "Here, let's sit you up properly."

He helped me sit up a bit, more like did it for me because I was still a dead weight, and I munched slowly on the toast with my eyes closed, plate on my chest where I'd slumped down slightly.

"How are you?"

I half shrugged, putting all my energy into chewing.

"Are you seeing things still?"

I shook my head. What was I supposed to be seeing? I didn't know.

"That's good," he said, then it was quiet. My toast was cold by the time I gave up trying to eat and I could feel the sleep creeping back up on me.

"Let me just..." the weight off my chest lifted, and it took me a second to remember the plate had been there. By the time he turned back to face me, I was already sliding back to lie down, reaching blindly out till I found his leg, then dropped my cheek onto it to use him as a pillow. There was a freshness to him that cooled me enough to keep the blankets around me and when his fingers started to card through my hair, it wasn't long before--