Whispers of A Dead Empire

Chapter 120

Calixa POV

When I awoke, it was with tears in my eyes. The memory haunted me. The pain was all too real. She wouldn't die, and it hurt me to watch that. Why wouldn't she stay dead? I was close to sobbing from the pain I felt in my heart.

"Empress?" Words gently touched my ear, and I recognized it. With a cry, I reached up and wrapped my arms around her. Aware of how much more solid she felt under me.

"Alessia, you fucking idiot!" I cried as I pulled her as close to me as I could. Why, why would she die for me? Why would she risk her life for me like that? It wasn't fair. I don't deserve someone like that.

I couldn't even see the amount of tears that were pouring from my eyes. But I could hear her shift uncomfortably under my onslaught. Her arms went around me as I cried into her chest like an idiot. The walls that held back the tide of sadness and despair broke and clashed with the relief and happiness that I felt now that she was finally awake.

She held me close as I sat there, sobbing into her like a child. I've been so emotional lately, and it's infuriating. It made me feel vulnerable, and that alone made me uncomfortable.

I felt her hands run up and down my back as I held her for dear life. Thankfully, my heartbeat slowed, and my tears dried a bit, but it took what felt like an eternity. "Alessia, I swear to you that I'll kill you myself if you do something as stupid as that again." I pulled away from her, and wiped away some of the excess tears pouring down my face, hoping that my gaze was filled with daggers to get my point across.

Her face looked more human-like than before, and this time it held a small smirk. That stupid, confident smile. "I understand, Empress."

Without hesitation, I grabbed her shirt and pulled her towards me, mashing my lips against hers. Something that I've been aching to do for so long but haven't. My stomach fluttered, as did my heart, with each passing second. Until I broke the kiss to take a breath. "I was so scared you weren't going to wake up." I sniffled slightly and pulled away, feeling slightly ashamed of my outburst.

"Now, Empress, not even death will keep me from you." She gazed at me with such happiness that it made my heart jump in my chest. I didn't deserve someone like her. My heart ached in so many ways. Especially after I watched her die in my dreams. It wasn't fair.

I leaned forward again and chose just to wrap my arms around her. I wasn't sure what to say nor do in this situation. The act of being romantically involved with someone was alien. Have I had feelings for someone before? Yes, but to be in a functional relationship was something that I hadn't experienced before in any real capacity. Just various one-night stands and a slew of failed relationships. But this was something else, and I was terrified to lose it, and above all else, I was terrified to lose her. "Please don't leave me again." The words came out in almost a quiet whimper as I sat there on the bed, pressing against her.

"Never." Her arms came around me and held me there as I basked in the feeling of acceptance, yet the memories of what I saw lingered there. Her death haunted me, but I couldn't bring myself to tell her I saw it. In a way, it felt like I was violating her privacy, which I didn't want to do.

I opened my eyes and looked across the bedroom and saw that Nyx was still deeply asleep, curled up happily in the blankets. A part of me was happy that she didn't see that. Not that I was bothered by the idea, it's just that it would lead to questions that I didn't quite know how to answer right now. I've never had to deal with telling a child that I was romantically involved with someone, and right now, it didn't seem like it was important.

I pushed away from Alessia, sat back in my chair, and wiped away the rest of the tears, unsure of what to do next. Instead, some notifications appeared in the corner of my vision and were blinking violently, begging me to pay attention to them. With a quick gesture, I opened it and looked it over, and shuffled away from the notifications about the new undead that I had unlocked.