The Emperor's Concubine

B.2 Chapter Seven

"Your highness!" Lance shouts, bursting through the office doors.
I jump, staring at Lance's panicked horrified expression. Cabel's eyes move to focus on Lance.
"Lance?..." I call out.
"K-Kerin has killed himself... Cethin is deeply injured." Lance speaks, pale in the face.
My heart drops as I hear Cethin's name.

"Cethin!" I scream, running into the infirmary.
Cethin lies on a stretcher, his body being moved onto a bed by nurses and doctors.
I watch in horror as thick red blood seeps through the bandages from his eyes.
"Ugh... Lu-na..." Cethin mutters in pain.
"I'm here! I'm here! What happened to you?" I frantically move to hold his hand.
"I-I don't know..." He mutters.
"I need everyone out of this room, now!" I shout, panicked.
"We can't, you'll have to leave! We need to perform surgery on him now, he's losing too much blood!" A doctor shouts back.

"Listen to what she says."
Everyone turns to the doorway as Cabel stands there, his brows furrowing as he watches.
"Your highness, he could die if we don't stop the bleeding! His blood is pooling in his brain as we talk, we can't waste time!" The doctor exclaims.
"I don't care. Let Luna deal with it, everyone out, now."
The doctors and nurses look back at each other, and back at Cabel, his cold icy glare piercing into them all.
They hesitate until bowing their heads, leaving swiftly.
"Do it." Cabel nods, locking the door.
"Thank you." I smile, reassured by his support.
I place my hands over the bandaids covering Cethin's eyes.
My hands glowing with a gold haze, causing my fingers to grow warm.
"Cethin, I'll make it stop hurting. Listen to my voice." My eyes fill with tears as I look down at his pained expression.
"I trust you, Chicky... Thanks for being my friend..." Cethin weakly chuckles.
"Don't speak like you're going to die!"
"I know, but I will eventually. So, if I die now... I want to make sure you know, you're the sweetest friend a sinful guy like me could have ever asked for..."
Tears roll down my cheeks as I listen to his pained voice.
I shake my head, attempting to hold back my tears.
"D-Don't say that." I speak, my voice cracking as I try to remain calm.
"You're such a cry baby." Cethin snickers, his hand lifting to touch my arm.
His hand glides, following my arm, up to my face. His cold fingers wiping my tears.
"Don't be like that, you're not going to die. We have too many memories to make, okay?" I let out a small laugh, my tears continuing to pour out of my eyes.
"I know... It's so warm." Cethin takes a deep breath, his pained expression turning relaxed.

Cabel sits beside me as we wait in the room for Cethin to wake up.
The door knocks.
The door opens slightly as Petunia peeks into the room, her eyes filled with worry.
"Is he okay?" Petunia asks, her eyes filling with tears.
"Yes, he's resting now." I reply.
She stands at the door, staring at Cethin lying in bed.
Cabel scoffs.
"Come in, bring the rest of the freaks in too. If you stand out there depressed, the doctors will get depressed too." Cabel gestures for her to come in.
Petunia walks in, followed by the rest of the assassins.
They stare at Cethin with looks of worry and concern.
"He should be up soon, I promise he's fine." I smile reassuringly.
They sit down, soon their tear filled eyes overflow as they watch Cethin.
Cabel gently takes my hand, planting a kiss on my fingers.
I smile, tightening my grip around his hand.

"Call for me if anything happens." Cabel whispers with concern.
I smile, nodding.
"I will. See you later." I wave as Cabel walks away, turning back to look at me one last time until disappearing down the hall with Lance.
I sigh, taking a seat beside Cethin's bed.
Jax and I only left in the room as the sun rises.
"Luna..." Jax quietly speaks, pained.
I look at him as he bites his lip.
"Something went wrong..." Jax looks up at me, his eyes full of sadness.
"What did?"
"Cethin used his ability to look into Kerin's soul, but then he suddenly collapsed..."
"He did?"
"Yeah..."
I pause, remembering how I asked him to use his ability.
A heavy sensation of guilt washes over me.
"It's my fault..." I whisper, staring at the bandages around his eyes.