Heroes Never Die ✓

Chapter 6 Darkness Rising

Skylar was sitting next to her daughter's bed, holding her little hot and sweaty hand tightly. The room was small, but it no longer felt cosy and friendly. The little tables were covered with herbs and potions and all kinds of medicine they must give her to keep her alive.

It's been three days already since Thalia fell sick, and they were no closer to finding the cure. The healers quickly determined that her current state is undoubtedly the work of poison, but what kind was still a mystery. It was nothing anyone had seen before, and no medicine seemed to work. They got her stabilised, but it was hard to tell for how long.

Skylar barely slept, and she didn't leave her daughter's side for a second. She was in a fever-like state, waking up from time to time, only to call for her parents and to fall back into restless dreams.

Sky felt as if the whole world crumbled on her head. She could barely breathe as if tonnes of stones were crushing her chest every time she tried to suck in the air. The helplessness was killing her from the inside. She could only sit here, holding Thalia's hand and watching how her little body was fighting some impossible toxin.

The door creaked, and sure footsteps barely made a sound on a plush carpet. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Sky, you need to rest," Gawyn said gently.

"I can't. What if she wakes up? What if she calls for me, and I'm not here?" she asked, her voice breaking and eyes filling with tears once again.

"I'll be here. If anything happens, I call for you."

"I'm not leaving her!" she protested.

Gawyn sighed. "How about we make a bed here in this room for you. Will you rest then?"

After a moment, she nodded.

Gawyn kissed her head. "I'll see it done."

"Is there any news?" Skylar asked before he left.

He paused at the door, and his shoulders slumped a bit. "Nothing yet," he replied, not looking at his wife. "But I'm sure we'll find something soon."

"We have to," she whispered. A lone tear slid down her cheek while she brushed sweaty hair from her daughter's forehead.

***

Skylar was sitting in a council chamber, mindlessly fidgeting with her fingers, her thoughts still at her daughter's bed.

"Can you please surmise what we know so far, Gawyn?" Aliyah said. She loved her niece dearly, and she was just as horrified by the situation as Thalia's parents. She looked exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes.

"We know it's poison and that Thalia was explicitly targeted. No other child suffered."

"Has anyone seen the person who was handing sweets?" the Queen questioned.

"Yes and no. Many people saw him, as a man, but everyone describes him differently as if they saw several different people," Gawyn said. "I think it is safe to assume that some foul magic was involved.

"Magic? Like, Blighted Lands kind of magic?" asked Aurora. "Are you certain?" She arrived at the capital the day before to support her sister in this challenging time.

"Not completely. But just before Thalia fell sick, I spotted some very suspicious-looking stranger on the market. I'm confident I saw the markings of the sorcerer on their hands. I would pursue them, but then Thalia fainted, and I had other matters on my mind."

"Have anyone else seen the sorcerer?" Aliyah asked.

"Not as far as I know. But the guards are searching the capital as we speak. If they hide in some hole in the city, we will find them. And we will get answers."