Out of the Shadows // Sebastian Sallow

Chapter Sixty-Five

I came to on the floor. A pile of drool mixed with a little blood on the floor under my face. My tongue was sore. I must have bitten it and bled onto the floor.

I sat up slowly, my head hurt too. But only slightly. I assessed myself quickly. I looked normal. No glowing. I felt ok too besides small aches. I couldn't feel Will's pain anymore.

I looked around. It was still dark but only just. There was a light pink glow at the bottom of the windows.

I looked up to Will. He was sound asleep still. His breathing was normal. I reached my hand out to entwine his fingers slowly.

I took a breath of relief. I could feel our connection. It was faint. But there. He was healing.

"Will?" I croaked out into the darkness. "Will, can you hear me?" I squeezed his hand gently.

No response. Well, at least I've done everything I can for him. I sighed deeply and got up to sit in my chair again. I didn't know how long I'd slept the first time or how long I'd been unconscious on the floor. But I didn't feel tired. Just worried about Will... and what I had done.

What was all that? Granted, I'd never tried to just pull pain from someone and then absorb it. And when you add our magical connection, especially with our hands locked together... I had unlocked something insanely powerful and incredibly dangerous! I had no intention of EVER doing that again. It was too much. Far too much.

I sighed deeply again. "Will... please, please heal now. Get better. I need you here. Wake up, please." I squeezed his hand. He slept on. And I watched him.

Once the sun started peeking in through the windows, Nurse Blainey bustled over with fresh dressings. I scooted over and watched her remove his old ones.

"This is looking very good." She said. "I think in a few days we could remove these stitches. He's healing remarkably fast." I smiled.

"How long until he wakes?" I asked timidly.

"It's hard to say, Ms. Bennett. With such trauma, some bodies need longer to cope. I have hope that with how fast he is healing he will wake soon."

"Very soon." Will's voice sounded in my ears, rough and tired.

"Will! Are you really awake? How are you feeling? Oh, my god, I'm so glad you're awake! Are you ok? I'm so, so sorry, Will. I'm so sorry...." I was immediately crying and bringing his hand to my lips to kiss it.

He softly chuckled and then winced in pain.

"Are you ok? Try not to move. Are you still hurting?"

"If you would shut up for a second, I could answer all your questions." He said sarcastically.

I laughed out loud with relief and happiness.

"Mr. Avery, how do you feel?" Nurse Blainey asked him.

"Like my back is on fire. But... ok, I think. What is it... like back there?" He tried to lift his head and then winced.

"Stay still. Don't move. You'll pull out your stitches." I told him.

"Stitches?" He asked.

"Yes. There's quite a lot of them. I'll let Nurse Blainey tell you about your wound." I looked at her while the happy tears fell down my face.

"Mr. Avery, when Ms. Bennett brought you here, you had a significant wound in your back, your internal organs were shredded and you had lost a lot of blood. We did what we could to repair your organs and then stitched your back. After many blood replenishing spells, and your sister's constant vigilance I assume, you are healing quite quickly. But you mustn't move for a little while yet and then we'll start moving you gradually. I expect you'll be here for a couple more weeks. I am optimistic about how fast you have healed. Be positive." She smiled gently at him. "I'm going to get the two of you breakfast and leave you to chat." She laid a reassuring hand on my arm and then turned away to fetch us a meal.