DEVON
Theo's pale skin was soaked with sweat and his fever was skyrocketing. He was gasping for breath even as he slept fitfully. The bags under his bags were darker than ever and he looked so frail. I was terrified and I was sure I was going to loose my mind. Seeing Theo like that scared me. I couldn't bear the thought of loosing him.
"Isn't there a way we can help him?" Luke said to the white haired woman whose name was Alba.
She turned to look at me, a strange look in her eyes.
"You're his mate, aren't you?" She said, her eyes glowing.
"I am" I respondedd.
"Good. You can help him, then" she said.
"How?" I asked, confused.
She took my hand and started to draw a rune on my palm.
"Why are you helping us?" I asked.
She gave me a knowing look.
"Two simple reasons. One, I owe him my life. Two, he's the last hope of the fae. I can't simply let the crown prince die such a miserable death" she whispered.
I watched her draw a similar rune on Theo's palm.
"How does this work?" I asked.
"He's going to be drawing strength from you. We don't want to drain you...so it'll be like taking sips from a bottle of soda" she said and I nodded.
I held Theo's hand and the runes began to glow.
"Come on, Theo. You can do this" I whispered, placing a damp towel on his forehead with my free hand.
After thirty minutes, I was asked to pull away from him. I was slightly lightheaded but it was worth it. Theo's knee had healed half-way.
"My job here is done" Alba said to us before giving me a bottle of the yellow liquid she'd given Theo earlier.
"That's the only painkiller that can help him now" she said and went downstairs with Rachel.
"You should get some sleep, Dev" Luke said to me.
I shook my head, my gaze not leaving Theo's pale face.
"You're exhausted, Dev. You won't be much help to him if you fall sick"
I sighed and rose to my feet. I leaned over Theo's body and pressed a kiss to his warm forehead. Then, I laid down on the couch in Theo's room. From across the room, I watched the rise and fall movements of his chest until my eyelids grew heavy. Slowly, I sank into slumber.
*****
Theo remained unconscious for five more days. I had to visit more frequently. It was Saturday morning and I was sitting by Theo's bedside, watching him breathe.
His eyelashes fluttered and I leaned forward to brush his hair away from his face.
He let out a groan and slowly opened his golden eyes. I let out a sigh of relief and kissed his forehead.
...
THEO
The first thing I felt was the terrible pain in my bones. Next came the weakness that spread through my whole body. But then, as soon as I saw her ocean blue eyes, my breath caught in my throat.
I was alive. I'd survived it and I wouldn't have survived without her help. Despite the fact that I'd basically been in some sort of coma for days, I still felt awfully tired.
"Thank you for not dying on me" she said as she brought a glass of water to my lips. After she placed the empty glass on the night stand, she gazed at me passionately.
"I can't believe I came so close to loosing you" she whispered. "You didn't loose me. I'm right here" I croaked.
Tears filled her eyes as she stroked my hair.
"Luke told me about Matthias" she said.
"Yeah. I guess that's what your brother was referring to when he said that my lost friend would become my foe" I sighed.
"How are you feeling?" She asked.
"Horrible. I feel so weak and I'm not a fan of weakness" I groaned and she chuckled.
"You'll be fine. Good thing you have me to give you a bath and feed you" she said and I wrinkled my nose.
"Stars, no. You're not doing that" I groaned.
"Who do you think has been giving you sponge baths, mister?" She said, chuckling.
"Oh no" I muttered.
"It's okay to let others take care of you, Superman" she said. The door opened and Luke walked in. His eyes widened when he saw me.
"You're awake" he said with a smile on his face.
I tried to smile but my face muscles wouldn't cooperate with me.
"I'm so glad you survived it" he said.
"What exactly was that thing?" I asked.
"It's called a dragon blade. It's the only thing that can kill royal faeries"
I stared at him, blankly.
Perhaps, I was even more exhausted than I thought because I could barely keep my eyes open.
"You should get some rest, Theo" Devon said, giving me a smile. I closed my eyes and could vaguely hear Luke's voice.
"He's really weak, isn't he?" He said.
"He is"
"I'm sorry, Theo. I'm really sorry" Luke said to me right before I sank into oblivion.
..
The whole place is so dark and foggy....my breathing, strained. There's something glowing few metres away. Moving closer, I realize what it is. It's glowing brighter.
A door. A golden door.
I move closer and wrap my fingers around the door knob. My breathing quickens, sweat soaking my skin. I yank the door backwards and it falls apart. The room is empty but the walls and ceilings are painted a blinding white. Slowly, I step into the room. The floor disappears. Then I'm falling. Falling into an endless depth. I can't breathe. I'm screaming but no sound escapes my lips. I'm terrified, fear paralysing me.
Suddenly, my fall comes to an end. I'm on hard floor, pain shooting through my body. Shakily I rise to my feet and realize that I'm in a room full of full length mirrors. I gasp, realizing that my skin is bare. My runes are gone.
Confused, I stare at my reflection which slowly transforms into something I can barely recognize. It's still me but my hair is gone. My head is cleanly shaved and my clothes are torn and stained with blood. My fingers are thin and claws are protruding from my fingers. Horrified, I stumble across the room only to face another mirror. I'm crying but there are no tears. Instead, my eyes are bleeding.
My golden pupils are gone. They are replaced with a pair of black pupiless eyes. Fangs are protruding from my mouth.
Shocked, I stumble away from the mirror. I fall to the ground, my body trembling hard.
Devon's reflection appears on one of the mirror and suddenly, my fear is gone. It's replaced with a new emotion. Love.
Her kind eyes becomes bitter.
"You're a monster! I hate you!" She yells at me and vanishes. The mirrors shatter into pieces, the broken glasses attacking me. I'm bleeding everywhere. I can't breathe. It hurts.
..
"Theo! Wake up!"
The voice pierces right through my consciousness.
I let out a gasp and opened my eyes. Devon held me in her arms as she stroked my hair. I was shaking so much and was panting hard.
"It's okay, It's just a dream"
My cheeks were damp and I realized that I'd been crying.
"You were screaming... I was terrified" she said, using her thumbs to wipe away the tears on my face. I stared at my trembling hands.
It was just a dream, I thought.
But somewhere deep within me. I had a feeling that it wasn't just a nightmare.
I remained in Devon's arm until I lost track of time.
"You okay?" She asked, cupping my face.
"My head hurts" I said and she grabbed the painkiller from the table.
....
The dream repeated itself the next day and the day after that. I became terrified. I started to try everything to stay awake. Devon would leave for school and visit me after school. I was stressing her out, I knew. There were bags under her eyes and she was always looking very worried.
When she visited the next time, I knew she needed a break. I was sick of feeling so helpless and it didn't help that my dreams were stressing me out.
"How're you feeling?" She said to me as she walked in.
I forced out a smile. A smile that of course, didn't reach my eyes.
"I take it that you still feel like crap" she said.
"Devon-"
"I'm really worried about you, you know" she said as she gently massaged my knee. "Dev-"
"I just don't know what's really going on. You won't even tell me what you've been dreaming about-"
"Listen to me" I said and she froze. "I'm sorry, I-"
"Come here" I said and she let out a sigh and came to my side.
"You haven't been sleeping, have you?" I said to her and she dropped her gaze.
"I can't sleep.... knowing that you're not okay" she said.
"I know how much you care about me but... you should take care of yourself too. Lie with me" I said.
She grinned and took off her boots. She laid down beside me and I placed my arm around her. She buried her head in my neck, our limbs entangled.
"Gosh, I miss this" she sighed. "Me too" I mumbled.
"Sing for me?" She said and I chuckled.
"Anything for you, love"
I started to sing and she closed her eyes.
"For the record, your singing is awesome" she said, sleepily. I closed my eyes, exhaustion catching up with me.
"I think I'm in love with you" I heard her mutter just before I fell asleep.
....
When I awoke, Devon was still in my arms but she was awake. "How did you sleep?" She asked, tracing the runes on my skin.
"First good sleep I've had in days" I said and she beamed.
"So, you didn't get the nasty dream?" She said and I nodded.
"That's great"
We stayed in bed, quietly basking in the warmth of each other. It was snowing outside and I wished I never got hurt in the first place.
"Rachel said you have to try to move around the room for a bit. You don't want your knee to become stiff, right?" She said and I groaned.
"I can barely stand on my own"
"I'll be here the whole time. I'll help you" she said and I smiled.
"Maybe some other time we can take a walk to the park" she said, helping me up. My head spun for a bit but the dizziness faded as quickly as it came.
Devon helped me to my feet and I leaned heavily on her.
"That's it.... you're doing great" she said when I successfully moved across the room with her help. She helped me sit on a chair by the window when the pain in my knee started to worsen.
"Ow. That really hurt" I said and she smiled.
"You know, you're really strong and I'm so proud of you" she said and kissed me.
I smiled against her lips and kissed her back.
I'm so in love with her.
She warms my heart.
Her phone rang and she picked the call.
"Hey, mum" she said.
The smile on her face vanished.
"He's home? But, mum!"
"Fine, I'm on my way" she huffed and the line went dead. "I'm so sorry Theo. My dad has returned and he's asking for me. I have to go" she said.
"It's okay.... you're free to go, love"
She smiled and kissed me again.
"I'll help you back to the bed" she said and I shook my head.
"No. I'll ask Rachel to help me with that, later. Right now, I just wanna enjoy this view" I said, gazing outside the window. She laughed.
"You love winter, I see" she commented.
"Yup, now get going. You don't want to get your parents to ground you"
She laughed and left the room. I let out a sigh, resting my head on the window sill. I gritted my teeth as pain spiked up in my knee. I needed the painkiller but it was across the room.
'You're a monster. I hate you!' those words repeated themselves in my head all over again and I suddenly wanted to curl into a ball.
Something was wrong with me. I should be getting better but I was not. My mind had become cloudy and it was so hard to think, especially when Devon wasn't there. I felt like I was sinking into a bleak darkness. I was falling.
Just like the way I fell in my nightmares.