Joined (The Secret World Of Atlantis 4)

Chapter 8 - The Wilting Flower

As we’re flying towards Dairelis, soaring through the cold air, I keep looking over my shoulder. I can’t help shaking off the feeling like Flora is barely hanging on. Demitri and Eros both have determined looks on their faces, trying their best to keep her magical crib as steady as possible, but it still keeps swinging back and forth, at times making me fear that she’s going to fall out.

The flight back seems to last forever. It seems like it’s taking much longer than when we were flying towards the Gray Woods. I know it’s taking us exactly the same amount of time, and that it’s just my mind playing tricks on me, because Flora’s life is in danger.

This is all my fault. If I hadn’t insisted on staying back and fighting … We were all exhausted from trying to capture Zara, from combining our powers to add our own seal to the portal and then I even made everyone fight those werewolves. How could I have been so stupid? So damn foolish?

I glance back at Flora once again, her eyes fluttering as she’s trying her best to keep them open. I can’t see what is happening to her leg, but I’m sure it isn’t a pretty sight. Stop torturing yourself, please. This isn’t your fault, Eros speaks up in my mind, probably growing tired of my inner monologue. Our eyes meet for a moment, before I turn my head forwards, and I realize I might be right.

But I told everyone to fight. If I hadn’t this wouldn’t have happened, I declare, trying to deem the topic finished. I am even tempted to block my mind, so he wouldn’t have to listen to me anymore. However, I don’t have the heart to do that. Annoying or not, I know he still doesn’t want me to shield myself from him.

You are not annoying. You are simply too good to realize that there are some things you don’t have control over. I mean, did you bite her? he implies, making me let out a frustrated breath.

No, of course I didn’t. Last time I checked, I wasn’t a werewolf. I don’t think they can fly either, I remark sarcastically, earning myself a wave of amusement coming from him.

Feeling cheeky, aren’t we? But I’m glad you got the point. You are not a werewolf, and you didn’t bite her. Therefore, none of this is your fault. Is that clear enough now? he responds, making me clench my jaw. Arya?

I can’t just not feel guilty, alright? Just let me fix this, and ask me about my conscience then, I burst out, suddenly feeling too overwhelmed by everything that’s happened. I bite my tongue in regret. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to use that tone with you, I tell him sheepishly.

He doesn’t answer for a few moments, already making me turn my head towards him in panic, only to meet his pitiful gaze. I know. I’m the last person you should be explaining your feelings to, he simply answers, offering me a reassuring smile.

I return it, my chest relaxing in relief, then quickly turn my head forwards. Now I can already spot the familiar towers of the Royal Palace in the distance, my eyes gleaming with hope. We’re close, we’re so incredibly close now!

“Keep holding on, Flora! We’re almost there!” I yell over my shoulder, but all I’m met with, is silence. I turn my head, gasping in horror as I realize her eyes are closed. I can hear Demitri cursing under his breath, but I don’t freeze.

I turn back around, flapping my wings with even more force, to try and get to the Palace as fast as possible. I soon begin speeding away from the others, but they keep their pace, slowly making progress.

My forehead is filed with sweat, and my dress is soaked. Not a good combination with the cold wind blowing against my body. But I’m not important now. As I get closer to the Palace, I notice a few familiar figures standing outside, starting to wave their arms at me, as they notice me heading towards them. It’s my family. It seems like they’ve been waiting for us to arrive.

The moment I land, I put my wings away, rushing to their side and pointing towards the sky. “We need healers, Flora has been bitten by a werewolf!” I shout out, before anyone is able to ask anything. Aunt Berenike grows incredibly pale as she hears her daughter has been injured, while uncle Kaspar and Nahuel seem like they’re frozen.

With my grandparents looking like they’re unable to function either, father seems to be the only one that has come to his senses. He rushes into the Palace, ordering around to everyone he meets on the way. “Keep the entrance open! You! Prepare the bed in the emergency room! And you, gather all our healers! Tell them they need to treat a werewolf bite!”

I turn around, checking what it’s taking everyone so long, when I just see they’re about to land. I rush over to their side, hearing the footsteps of the other members of my family behind me. Flora’s face is pale, but the moment Demitri and Eros put their wings away, she turns her head to the side, grunting softly.

“Flora! My dear, sweet child,” aunt Berenike sobs, shaking her head in disbelief. Nahuel and uncle Kaspar both wrap their arms around her, trying to comfort her, whilst doing their best to get on terms with what is happening.

I’m the only one who seems sane enough to tell everyone what to do. “Carry her into the Palace, please. Father has instructed someone to prepare an emergency room for her,” I say, Demitri and Eros both nodding at me with solemn expressions on their faces. I head inside, father just rushing out to meet us.

“Good, you’re here. Follow me,” he says shortly, rushing through the hallways with long and quick steps. I have to push myself a little to be able to follow after him, but we soon rush through one of the doors on our left. “In here,” he instructs us.

I step inside, giving Eros and Demitri space, so they can carry Flora to the bed, positioned in the middle of the room. They place her on it with the magical sheet, making it dissolve underneath her as soon as she’s in position.

I rush to her side, shaking her shoulder slightly. “Flora, wake up. You’re here. You’re back home and you’re about to get treated,” I tell her, earning myself only a soft grunt in return. This is not a good sign. This is not a good sign at all.

I pull the hem of her skirt up, bending her knee, so I can begin unwrapping the temporary bandage off her leg. Her thigh somehow feels even more swollen than before, and the moment I see the wound, I freeze in horror.

Her leg isn’t purple anymore. It’s blue now, almost turning green. And her veins are suddenly standing out in a purplish tone. The wound is a story for itself. It seems to have gotten infected on our way here, and apart from blood, there is also a yellow-green pus oozing out of it.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I hear Emilia chirp behind me, before hearing her footsteps as she rushes back out to the hallway. I swallow nervously, trying not to breathe too deeply in order not to smell the wound. In that case, I would surely follow right after my cousin.

“We need to wash the wound,” I hear Eros say silently, his eyes suddenly gaining focus as he moves next to me. “Use warm water, I’ll make it dissolve,” he instructs me. I force myself to concentrate, directing my palm into the wound, to wash it off, just like I did in the forest before.

“What is taking the healers so long?” I hear father mutter under his breath, when there is suddenly the sound of multiple footsteps coming from the hallway. I don’t have the time to turn around, but I can hear father’s disappointed sigh as he sees who’s coming. It must be the rest of our family.

“Elena, come. We’re making a crowd,” Demitri suddenly tells my best friend, and I see him putting his hand on the small of her back from the side of my eye. He leads her out, and I keep trying my best to make the pus disappear. However, no matter how much time I spend washing it off, there seems to be more and more coming out.

I can hear someone pacing up and down the room, recognizing the footsteps as my father’s. The tension in the air is so thick, that I am truly surprised the water even flows from my hands. Someone is sobbing. No, not just one person, there must be at least two of them, maybe even three.

I almost begin cursing underneath my breath, when there are suddenly much more quicker footsteps rushing towards the emergency room, and I hear father exclaim: “Finally!”

“Let’s leave this to the healers now,” Eros tells me silently, and I stop the spell, moving aside to let the professionals do the work. I can feel my bonded’s hands on my forearms as he leads me past the healers, my father, grandparents and Flora’s family, my hear thumping against my chest nervously.

I turn around just in time to see father striding out and closing the door behind him. I stare at him with wide eyes, my hands trembling in fear. Fear for Flora’s life. It’s like father can read that inside my eyes because he sends me a reassuring look. “You’ve done everything you could, sweetie. And you couldn’t have done a better job at it. Now, there’s nothing left to do for you, but wait until the healers finish their work,” he tells me softly. But no matter how soothing his words should’ve sounded, they don’t do anything for me. Because I still can’t help but feel like this is all my fault.

Eros stiffens, his hands gripping me a little more tightly, than they should have. “If it would make you feel any better, we could go to the Temple and ask the Gods to save her,” he suggest in the next moment, his hands releasing me suddenly.

“Wait, I need to know about Zara first … What happened? And how did Flora get bitten by a werewolf?” father interrupts me before I even begin to answer Eros’s question. I watch him for a long moment, trying to find a way to tell him this without making him worry. But I guess I can’t do miracles.

So, I take a deep breath, and finally speak up. “Zara got away … She went through the portal and sealed it behind her, so we couldn’t follow her,” I begin, then continue explaining how we decided to put our own seal on it, so she couldn’t lead Teivel and his army back through it, buying us some time to better prepare for the war. Then I tell him about our meeting with the enormous werewolf pack and how outnumbered we were.

By the time I finish, father seems completely unfazed, but I can see it in his eyes, that he’s barely holding himself together. He nods slowly, trying to process everything I’ve just told him. “Thank you for taking the time to explain the whole ordeal … And I’m truly, deeply sorry that neither of us came with you to help. I hate that we abandoned our wings … The very part of us, that makes us who we are. If we could’ve come with you, perhaps Zara would be brought back here,” he says, his face trying to look calm, but I can see something gnawing at him. Something that is very familiar to me at the moment. Guilt.

I place my hand on his shoulder, patting it in a comforting way. “You couldn’t have known you would ever have to use your wings again,” I tell him, offering him a small smile, that doesn’t quite reach my eyes. He sighs, shaking his head, but doesn’t respond anymore.

I glance at Eros, noticing how hard he’s trying to project calmness and bravery. Or perhaps I only know how hard he’s trying, because I can feel it coming from him. I turn back to my father, moving my hand away from his shoulder.

“We will be at the Temple if there’s any news to be delivered. Or would you like to join us?” I ask him, but he shakes his head immediately.

“My brother and his family need my support now more than ever. I will stay here and inform you about Flora’s state, as soon as the healers do their job,” he replies, glancing at the closed door behind him with a troubled expression on his face. But when he turns back around, it’s replaced by an unreadable one. “Say a prayer in my name, will you?”

“Of course,” I assure him, giving him a hug, before turning back to Eros. We stride down the hallways, both of us still shaken from everything that’s happened. I truly hope that the healers will be able to save Flora. No, they need to save her, or else I won’t be able to live with myself anymore.

Stop saying that. I thought we already cleared up, that this isn’t your fault, Eros scolds me in my head. I slowly exhale, trying not to let everything that’s been piling up burst out. Now I’m not so sure you need a prayer anymore. It seems like you could do better with some Combat, he remarks next.

No, we told father we’re going to the Temple, so this is where we’ll be. We just need to find the others and ask if they’d like to tag along, I turn him down, even if I agree with him. We can still fight later, I then add, making a small smirk play around his lips. As I realize what he’s thinking about, I smack him.

Ow, what was that for? he wants to know, rubbing his arm, while staring at me with a frown on his face.

For having dirty thoughts even in a moment like this! Flora is fighting for her life back there! I scold him, feeling the urge to smack him again, for being clueless about what he just did wrong. He stops, takes my wrist, and spins me into his embrace.

The moment I feel his arms wrapped around me, everything comes crashing down at me. And inside my safe haven, the tears make their way out of my eyes. He holds me as I sob into his cloak, running his hand up and down my back. “It’s alright, let it all out,” he whispers into my hair in a soothing voice. “But don’t you worry, Flora will be up and about sooner than you think. She is tough and stubborn. She’ll make it out of this alive,” he consoles me, pressing his lips on my forehead as he finishes.

I breathe in deeply, wiping my tears away, as I try to get myself to calm down. “I truly hope you’re right,” I whisper back.