The Four Protectors

Forty Three

3rd Person POV

Cassius had almost drifted off to sleep completely when he heard her scream. He shot up, ready to attack the intruder, scanning the bedroom to locate Catherine. Her aunt had called them earlier and they'd taken her home, promising the poor woman that they'd keep her safe.

She'd been asleep until now.

"What's going on," Desmond asked sleepily.

Azriel was already approaching her crouched form. She was huddled in the corner of the room, curled into a ball smaller than Cassius would have thought possible. She was screaming and crying, and her screams only got louder as Azriel got closer.

"Azriel I don't think you're helping," Cassius said softly.

The stubborn warlock didn't listen. He reached out a hand to try and soothe. She was shaking violently now and it killed Cassius to see her that way.

They'd reduced her to this and he'd make sure he burnt that damn organization to the ground for that.

"Don't touch me. Don't touch me. I'll hurt you. Please. Please," she cried.

Cassius came over the Azriel's side and moved him away. Azriel was crying at the state she was in but he let him pull him away anyway. Her violent shaking slowly went down but her eyes were still closed as her earth-shattering screams mellowed to heartbreaking whimpers.

It was a good thing Maia was already awake, talking in the living room with Talia. Theo had disappeared earlier in the night with Annabelle following him.

"This used to help me when I had nightmares," Desmond said stoically.

Cassius shelved away that revelation as Desmond strode forward and picked up Catherine in his arms. She struggled, kicked, screamed and cried and Cassius debated tackling Desmond to the ground to release her. Desmond looked pained but he didn't loosen his grip as he strode out the door and into the nearest bathroom.

He planted her in the bathtub and turned on the shower.

Freezing cold water hit her head and Cassius flinched. Her screams died out for a split second, like the cold water had been enough of a shock to shake her out of it. Then she began to shiver from the cold as her eyes slowly opened.

"What, What's going on," she asked weakly.

"You had a nightmare," Desmond stated bluntly.

He leaned over and turned off the shower. Catherine still sat in the bathtub, frozen. Desmond leaned down and lifted her up into a standing position.

She remained mute as he reached for the towel. Her wet clothes stuck to her body, emphasizing the amount of weight she'd lost in the last month. The dark circles under her eyes looked even more prominent under the flickering halogen light of the bathroom.

Before Desmond could dry her off, Azriel's magic swept over her, instantly drying her clothes. She didn't protest this time as Desmond swung her up into his arms again. Cassius could see that he realized it too, how much smaller she'd gotten in the last month.

He didn't comment though as he carried her back to their room.

She lay there cradled in his arms with her head against his chest as he settled himself more comfortably against the headboard. Her eyes were closed but Cassius could tell she was awake. He sat next to Desmond with a hand loosely holding hers.