Delta [Epsilon #2]

Chapter Fifty-Four

Kyra

There wasn't a sound when I woke. Part of me feared I'd gone deaf when I opened my eyes, receptive to the bright light and yet seemingly shut off from the sounds of the outside world. For a moment, I panicked, my eyes darting around the white-walled room as I tried to regain my bearings. A metal table. A wafer-thin mattress. A butterfly needle in my arm, linked to a mounted bag of fluid. Ah, infirmary. Right.

The memories came rushing back, and my hands instantly went to grope my side, where a tight bandage had been wrapped around my torso. I palpated the spot for a moment, the skin around the wound tender despite being cushioned by layers of gauze. Pausing, I blew out a breath, instead lifting the gossamer material of my nightgown to see the mess that had been made of my chest. I found that my chest had been bandaged as well -- any potential carnage hidden from my eyes. I swallowed. Part of me didn't want to know how bad it looked.

"You're awake," a voice to my left said, but he might as well have yelled it. I winced against the sound, my head whipping around to find a dark-skinned male staring back at me. Even through the fogginess of my mind, I could never forget those eyes. 

"Faelen?" I croaked, sitting up a little further in my bed. A sharp pain shot down my side, and I bit down on my wince. 

Faelen stood for his chair, rushing over to aid me. "Hey, you alright? Don't move too much. You might undo your stitches."

"Right," I said, falling back down on the pillows. I continued to stare at him, and he back at me and, for a while, we just sat there in silence. 

"So," I began after what felt like an eternity. "Did all of that actually... happen? Was it all real?"

"Yes." Faelen's throat bobbed, his eyes suddenly apprehensive. "How much do you remember?"

"Some," I replied, eyeing him carefully. 

 "Like?"

"Well, I remember Azriel's shucking off his silver bands. Then, I got shot in the side," I added, motioning to my bandaged midriff. I frowned. "How the hell did he manage to get those off, anyway?"

Faelen's eyes flashed with anger. "They don't know yet. They suspect some sort of foul play, but the intermediary from our side insists the bands were solid silver when he checked them. Anyway, continue."

I frowned but didn't press him on the matter. Instead, I drew my brows together, trying to sift through the fogginess of my memories. "Well... then Azriel took control of me, and I remember he tried forcing me into a deal. When I refused, he threw me a dagger and commanded me to kill Zion. I--" I paused, powerless against the sudden flood of emotion that accompanied the thought of Zion. At the thought of how much he'd suffered. "I... was forced to attack him. Somehow, when the dagger was falling, I managed to regain a little bit of power and re-direct the dagger. It was aimed for my heart..."

My voice trailed off, eyes knitting together as I scowled. I distinctly remembered the dagger being primed for my heart, so why wasn't I as dead as a door nail right now...?

"I zapped you," Faelen said, and I turned to him, puzzled. He seemed startled by my sudden attention and cleared his throat. "When I saw the dagger was on a beeline to your heart, I did what I could and sent out a lightning bolt. It struck your hand just in time to change the dagger's trajectory, but... it still landed in your right side, so I suppose it wasn't enough."