Flame Inside ✿ Damien and Matthew

Chapter 29

Thalia channeled her energy forward through the hall, wanting so much to go back to the room, flop onto the bed, and sleep. However, something in her gut stopped her from moving as she approached her bedroom door. Something felt wrong. Whether it was something in the air or her natural instincts screaming at her, something was throwing her off and she couldn't pin down why. A pained groan escaped the room, her suspicions were confirmed.

Thalia peeked into the bedroom to see Damien curled up in bed, gripping his head and pressing his knees into his chest. As Damien let out another pained grunt, she rushed over and knelt by the bed, now insanely worried. As she got close, however, Damien jutted his hand out, facing his palm to her in a tense position, "Stop! Don't!" She froze in place. His face was contorted to one of extreme pain, gritting his teeth and crushing his eyebrows together in a tight expression of agony. Damien violently shook his head, digging his fingers further into his head, "P-Please just stop!"

It was then she realized his mind reading was out of control. Thalia immediately snapped her mental shield up. As she did, Damien continued to shake, but not as violently as before. Thalia quickly sent a telepathic message to Diana, hoping she would come and help, before kneeling on the bed in front of him. She placed her hands over his, slowly removing them from his head, before placing her hands where his hands were previously. She leaned her forehead against his and imagined her shield moving over him. She had never projected her shield before, but it was worth a try. It seemed to work a little bit because his pain seemed to lessen, but it was still there.

"Libera mente tua." Thalia let out a small sigh of relief as Diana's voice echoed through the room. She slowly began retracting the shield and pulled away from him. Thalia looked to Diana as she stared hard at Damien, holding a hand out to him. Her fingers and palm began to glow a dark purple color, like a flame dancing over her skin. Damien slowly rolled onto his knees on the bed, gripping his head and growling to himself as Diana slowly approached him, holding her hand close to his forward tilting head.

"Libera mente tua!" The flames around Diana's hand sparked, intensifying in its glow, as Damien winced and hissed out from a sting of pain. Thalia had an idea of what Diana was doing, but she focused more on making sure her shield was up. Very slowly, Damien's head began to glow the same purple color before a stream of purple energy began to trickle from him towards Diana's hand. As it connected, the energy around Damien's head began to fade at last and Damien's tense form began to relax.

Diana tensed her hands and caused the flame around her skin to warp around itself, forming an orb above her palm as she turned it towards her. As it settled into a physical purple ball, she grasped it and let it shatter in her hand. Glass and blood began to trickle from her closed grip as Damien finally released a breath of air, slamming his hands down on the mattress beneath him and curling him and curling himself further over his knees. Thalia placed her hand on the back of his head, gently combing her fingers through his hair. He was paler than before, but his face slowly melted to an expression of calm relief.

Thalia looked back at Diana, seeing her lift her hand to her mouth and lick over her new wounds. Blood trickled down her arm, but she managed to catch most of it with her tongue, unfazed by Damien's sudden relaxation or Thalia's stare. "Thank you." The apprentice stated earnestly, removing her hand from Damien's head.

Diana kept her focus on her arm and hand as she replied, "It was nothing, dear. Honestly, his brothers should have done that a long time ago."

"What was that energy you pulled from him? I read about what a mind barrier spell entails, but I never read anything about that sort of energy."

"That was something that shouldn't have been there. It's nothing to be concerned about. Right, Damien?"

Thalia looked over at Damien to see him looking up at Diana with a grateful look. "However, as you know, that spell won't last forever. He'll need to maintain it using energy, but I'm sure you can provide that, correct?" Thalia nodded her head in reply, but she still wanted to know what that energy was. "What was that energy?" She asked again.

Diana gave her a firm look, crossing her arms, "A little piece of the Demon Lord that was haunting him. Happy?"

"What?" Her eyes widened.

Diana shook her head and let out a sigh, "He can explain if you're that curious."

Diana then turned on her heel and walked out the door. Damien laid his head on his fiance's. He let out a tired sigh as she looked up at him. Just from his expression, she could tell that he was beyond relieved to be out of the torture the mind-reading had forced upon him. Thalia cupped Damien's cheek, feeling him nuzzle into it. "Are you okay?" She asked him.

"I am now..." She could hear the ease drip from his voice, making her smile.

Thalia wrapped her arms around his body, feeling him cuddle into her embrace and let out a hum of joy at the feeling. It was cute for her to see him like this, but then again, he was cute to begin with. Thalia ran her hand slowly through his hair as she let him settle down from the ordeal he went through. She could tell he was exhausted, just like she was. However he began to speak, making her awaken enough to pay attention to him. "I've been having nightmares, too."

"You have?" Thalia kept falling into Emma's dreams, so she didn't know Damien was also having nightmares.

She looked down at Damien as he nodded and looked up at her. The dark circles under his eyes were much more prominent the closer she was to him, making me frown a bit at the sight. Still, he continues, "Some sort of shadow kept visiting me and taunting me for my choices... It would change shape every time and, just now, it only helped in making my mind-reading abilities worse..."

"Damien... I'm sorry I couldn't be in the dreams with you. I've been too distracted with Emma's nightmares to realize that you had your own nightmares. I could have been there for you."

"It's fine." Thalia smiled and gave Damien a small squeeze, making him lean up and kiss her cheek before nuzzling his head into her shoulder, continuing, "I didn't want to worry you with it, so I didn't mention it." She nuzzled his head gently, "It's gone now... There's nothing for you to worry about anymore..."

"I know..."

Damien and Thalia held onto each other, both settled into the situation they were under. The exhaustion that plagued them took over them at last, driving them to sleep within each other's arms.