The Nights Song

Chp 20

*Asher's POV*

I snarled and raced forward as Cress fell to the ground, barely catching her in time I could feel her trying to stay with me, her mind quiet except for a few words that kept repeating.
Stay strong and wait for me...
I hugged her body to my own and kissed her forehead.
"Stay with me Cress please.... I can't lose you..."
I heard footsteps and shouts echo in the clearing but it all sounded far away, as if in another world. I cradled her gently in my arms as I stood and followed Akari to the Med den, blocking out Isla's soft crying at the chance that her daughter might be seriously injured.

We got her on the cot and I sat beside her, clinging to her hand while Akari rushed around and hooked her up to a few machines and all that. The odd thing was, Cress wasn't actually physically injured, sure she had a few scratches, a broken hand and minor burns but none of that would cause her to black out and not respond to shaking, yelling, screaming, crying or even slapping.
Akari chalked it up to exhaustion and working to much in such a short period of time before promising if she wasn't awake in a week we'd take her to a human hospital to see if they can do anything. I simply nodded in response and ran my finger over my mates knuckles, staring at the ring I gave her not that long ago.
As soon as she wakes up, I'm giving her a real ring... I don't care if we're just teenagers, I'm making sure everyone knows she's taken permanently.

I felt Mittens agreeing with me as he tried to help Shadow heal Cress faster. Hours went by with no change and before long the sun was lowering in the sky, making my heart sink. Cress has been through so much in her life, and now her being in a coma for most of her birthday just adds to it. I sat there, stroking her hair, and quietly promising to show her Astoria, the island she and I would probably end up ruling one day, the one place that's safest for her.

The long hours turned into days, the days turned into a week and then two when Akari finally decided it was safe for Cress to fly and that we could take her to Astoria. I'd rather wait until she was actually awake so I could see the way her eyes sparkle when she steps off the plane, but I had to admit it was safer this way. So, early on the fifteenth day, we -my parents, Mav, Akari, Cress' parents and siblings, some guy I didn't know that Arie insisted on bringing along, myself and obviously Cress- all boarded a private plane and left Alaska to go to the hidden island known as Astoria, the perfect place where almost all supernatural creatures live together somewhat peacefully. Sure there's an occasional fight or whatever but it's home.

I passed the time scrolling my phone and watching the videos of Cress and myself just messing around, some of the photos had Cress sticking her tongue out at the camera with a wink, some she's wearing my hoodie and hugging Aster like the adorable little mate she is and some of them we're leaning on eachother, grinning, and giving the camera the biggest smiles we possibly can, obviously having a contest.
I inhaled sharply as I noticed a video at the very end that I hadn't seen before, i tapped on it and it started out with Cress adjusting the camera, wearing my hoodie and shorts for some reason. She sat on my bed that was behind her.

"Hey Ash! I'm really hoping you don't see this video until it all goes down.... Um, I just want to say that I love you, so much you have no idea. Mahira -or Fuego as you know her- showed me a few things that might happen after the battle and I decided to make this. I'm not going to tell you everything, but I'll tell you that I'll probably be asleep for a while. That's the best case scenario. Just...." She pauses and took a deep breath, grabbing Aster from behind her.
"After a little while you might think it's cruel, but you remember that race I won at the store? Yeah.... My favor is you have to stay strong for me ok? I'll come back to you that's a promise. I love you, Cya soon!"

As the video clicked to an end I stared at it blankly, my mind stuck on the fact that she didn't have time to make this on her birthday before I realized she said she'd be asleep for a while.
"I love you too Cress." I whispered to myself, turning my phone off and looking out the window to keep myself together. One thing was for sure, I wouldn't let her down.

~~~~

Hours later we landed and got Cress to the infirmary in the castle so the doctors there could keep an eye on her condition and, after getting her hooked up to everything, they told us there was a chance she wouldn't even wake up. I immediately growled and took a seat beside her hospital bed, heaving a sigh. This was going to be a long wait.

Hours quickly turned into days, days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and eventually it all turned into years. Three years passed, Cress' twentieth birthday flew by in a flash and yet, she still didn't wake up. Each day felt like living through hell, only to repeat it once again the next day. I hated not having her awake and by my side. I hated not hearing her laugh, seeing her smile and watching her pull pranks on everyone.
My heart ached anytime I wasn't holding her hand, Mittens has gone mostly silent as he uses any energy we actually have to help Cress in anyway we can. She was completely healed, the scratches and break were nonexistent, all we needed now was for her to wake up.

Which of course, she had to do it the one time I decided to eat dinner with my family instead of in her hospital room.

A/N I'm so sad to say this... but I'm almost done with this story QwQ. It's been amazing hanging with y'all on this emotional rollercoaster of a story, and yes, I'm aware this chapter was kinda lame, but I figured I should let you guys know she's not dead, she's just in a coma for a looooooong time.
I promise I'll make a sequel after I finish a few other stories, I have so much on my plate rn it's hard to keep up. Anyway, I hope y'all like the rest of the story!