Eyes Up, Guardian

Chapter 25

Tessa's eyes opened to hazy black and white. Deathsingers songs rang in her ears, so loud they were almost deafening. All around her, thrall lunged at her, in sharp shades of black and white as she felt herself torn between dimensions. Whispers sounded in her ears and Oryx flashed before her eyes, only to disappear and fade back into the thrall attacking her. She saw Damian being thrown across the battlefield by his blast of light, and she saw Oryx, clawing himself up to glare down at them, his eyes seemingly fixed on her. Darkness wrapped like a fist around her throat, choking her even as she tore at the clawed fingers. The taste of blood coated her tongue and the scent engulfed her until she could hardly breathe.

When she finally tore herself awake, it was dark, but as soon as her gasp sounded through the quiet air and she'd bolted upright in her thin hospital bed, the whole room was flooded with light. Her entire body was drenched with sweat, and she felt her whole being descending into a panic until she gripped a familiar hand, holding hers tightly, but she still felt she could hardly breathe. A doctor said something beside her and in seconds, she felt like she was fading, drifting back into another pit of darkness. But she didn't want to go, and she clenched that familiar hand as tight as she could until her whole body went slack and she drifted somewhere else.

۞۞۞

When Tessa finally opened her eyes again, the whole world felt too bright for her. As soon as she had opened them, she shut them again, rolling to press her head into her pillows as she felt an ache latching onto every part of her body. She wasn't sure how long it took her to fully awaken, as she spent a good while in a haze, refusing to lift her head from her pillows as she drifted, sleep taking hold and letting up periodically. The whole thing was peaceful, as her memories stayed distant from her, her only concern being sleep and comfort.

When she finally was able to open her eyes and keep them open, her memories came rushing back to her. She remembered Oryx and their battle, and how Damian had thrown all his light into his last attack, setting her up for the final, killing blow. Damian, her heart clenched with worry when she thought of him, and as she turned to look for him in the room, she saw that the second bed in the room, which she assumed must've been his, was empty, his robes folded neatly on a chair beside the bed.

Where was he? She wondered, was he alright? He wasn't... no, he couldn't be. She shook her head, trying to push the worried thoughts from her mind. She had to know where he was, what he was doing, how he was feeling.

Thankfully, she wasn't caught in her worries for too long, as the door clicked open and the nurse entered, offering her a warm smile.

"Is he alright?" Tessa asked quickly, before the nurse could say a word to the huntress.

The nurse glanced over at the bed beside Tessa's taken aback by the urgent question.

"Yes," She said, and she felt her whole body relax. "Yes, he's alright. I believe he's in a meeting with your vanguard. They whisked him off about as soon as he could stand. No one was very happy about that."

She wouldn't have been either, if she had been awake. How had he woken up before her? He'd lost all his light, by all measures, he should have been dead, and yet he was up and in a meeting before she even woke up? It didn't make any sense.

The nurse removed her IV as she prattled on to Tessa about her superiors' impatience. She felt her focus slipping, unable to really hear what the nurse was saying, her mind running to fast for whatever medicines were in her system.