1 | cardiac arrest [darkling]

thirtyone

PEELING HIS EYES OPEN, HE WINCES at the sudden light. He looks around, trying to figure out where he is. The last thing he remembers was fainting due to pain as soon as they passed the Fold. The pain was still there, but less than before.

He glances down to his side and notices Nyx sleeping in the chair next to him, resting her head on the bed, with her arms crossed under. He tries to push himself up, only for a sharp pain to shoot through his arm. Accidentally he exclaims in pain, and Nyx wakes up as a result.

"What? Adrian! Are you okay?" She asks in panic as she realises he's awake. He watches as she stares intensely at him and he raises an eyebrow.

"Are you checking the state of my organs?" He asks, slightly amused and she glares at him in response. "I'm okay."

"I won't believe you unless you push yourself up without making a singular sound or expression of pain." She says pointedly and he winced as he realises he has nothing to say as a retort.

"Can you help me sit up?" He asks, making her sigh and helps him. She tugs the few hair strands that are falling in front of his eyes, to the side and smiles softly.

"I'll go get the nurse." She says, before leaving him. He sighs as he lets his head fall back against the headboard of the bed. That's when he realise he's on an actual bed, in a tent. Which meant the army had set camp. How long had he been unconscious? Before he can wonder any more, Nyx comes back with a woman by her side.

"I see that mister Irvank has finally woken up." The nurse says as he looks at her in confusion. He was certain that that was the last name of Nyx, not his. He didn't have one.

"There seems to be a mistake, I'm not Irvank." He says, making the nurse raise an eyebrow and look at Nyx.

"Is Irvank your sister's wedded name then?" The nurse asks and he looks at Nyx in disbelief. She shrugs nonchalantly.

"Not married. He probably hit his head to hard. You know how little brothers can be." Nyx waves her off and she nods, before starting to take care of Adrian's wound. No one says anything as the nurse puts a fresh bandage on the wound, making sure to disinfect first. As soon as she's done, she leaves Nyx and Adrian alone. "They require a last name in the army to get registered as a member. Nikolai suggested his, but as tempting as it is to be a Royal, it's not up to him."

"Oh. Right, that makes sense." He felt a little disappointed, he'd thought that she'd given him her last name because she considered him a part of her family.

"And also, so that we both have someone we can call family through these hard times." She says honestly and he perks up, smiling excitedly. She chuckles softly, before sitting down on the edge of his bed. "I know Nikolai is helping us and I did watch him grow up, but I can't say for certain he'll always help us. With Zoya and David on the other side, we only have each other now. And having nearly lost you, I realised you really have grown on to me."

"Thank you." He says, making her look up at him. A tear rolls down his cheek. "Ever since we've met, you've encouraged me and shown me so much care. And as much as I don't want to die, before throwing at least one punch at the Darkling, having you by my side made it feel less scary."

"Adrian, you're Grisha. You have still so many years ahead and I'm not ever ready to see you die before me." She says softly, tears having formed in her own eyes. "And you have such a bright future and so much potential. I want to see your ambitions bear fruit."

"So does that I mean, I get to call you sister now?" He asks teasingly, making her look at him with a raised eyebrow. "That's weird right?"

"Yup. Definitely weird." She nods in agreement, making both of them chuckle. "Okay, I'll let you rest. I'll fill you in on everything after, alright?"

"Nyx, could you stay? At least until I fall asleep." He asks nervously and she smiles softly, before standing up.

"Let me help you lay down." She hums, helping him lay back. Once she's certain he's comfortable, she lays down next him, resting her head on the shoulder which isn't wounded. "You don't need a sleep time story do you?"

"I'm not that young." He grumbles and she chuckles, closing her eyes, taking this opportunity to get some rest too.