Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Nolen
Derek was screaming in pain. In fear. And I was too weak to do anything about it.
I grabbed him and placed his tense body into my lap as I called the rulers.
All they heard was his screams, but it was enough.
Guards were already swarming us, looking for a fight at first, but when they saw it was me, they went to get help.
Trise was the first ruler to arrive. I knew they were busy, but the fact they dropped everything for my mate, meant the world to me. “Oh, my,” she whispered, her tone filled with sympathy. How my poor mate could continue to scream was a mystery.
Grovar, Mia, Alec, and Henriette were right behind her, all looking worried and exhausted. With all the rulers surrounding us, we did get a few odd looks from the castle workers, but I was immensely glad it was too early in the morning to gain more attention.
“What happened? Explain each detail,” Grovar demanded. He was the silent ruler, the one I had heard speak the least. The fact that he spoke up now alerted me to their fears. I felt myself get even more afraid than I already was, but I knew Derek needed me to focus so I could help him.
It was hard talking to them with Derek screaming in my lap, but I had to try.
“I pecked him on the lips just as you called, he started shaking as we spoke and only hugging him helped ease the tremors. He kept shaking, and I think it was getting worse. Then we got here and he seemed fine, until he stepped on the ground and just collapsed. Then he lit up, like the babies used to do when they shared their magic with the earth. I tried helping him up from the ground… and then…”
“He started screaming,” Trise finished for me.
“Do you have any idea why?” I asked, tightening my grip on my poor mate.
“Remi got his magic when he came here too. Just like Derek, but it helped Remi. This reaction worries me,” Alec said, kneeling next to us.
Derek’s screams stopped, but I could tell Alec had used his magic to mute him.
It helped not hearing his pain, but the fact he was still screaming was enough to erase the tiny bit of relief I’d felt.
“Lay down with him on the grass again,” he ordered, helping me lay back with Derek snuggled into my side.
Derek’s body slumped in relief and Alec removed his magic when we saw Derek had stopped screaming.
“He needs the earth,” Henriette said, sounding a mix of worried and relieved. “I believe his body needs the help and magic from our world to heal whatever his body has been exposed to.”
“Exposed to? We only shared a second of a kiss. I don’t even think it could be called a kiss,” I defended, slightly angry she talked about our kiss as if I’d somehow done him wrong.
“Not by you, dear Nolen,” Trise said, kneeling next to us beside Alec. “That behavior shows his magical core has been damaged.”
“Damaged?! By who?”
“We don’t know yet,” Alec responded. “We know as much as you do.”
“But then how do you know it’s his core that’s damaged? Have you seen this before?”
“That is how our people react when their magic is taken away by force,” Mia replied. “Whoever hurt Derek, must have used magic.”
There was a beat of silence as I looked at my sleeping mate. I knew he’d been hurt, but by magic?
A groan came from Derek, who finally opened his eyes. “What happened?” he asked, looking dazed. His voice was hoarse and hearing it broke something inside me.
“We don’t know yet. Not exactly,” I replied, stroking his cheek. I was glad he seemed okay now, but also terrified of moving him again.
Henriette came closer and gave him a kind smile.
“Hello, Derek. My name is Henriette, and I am one of the five rulers.” She pointed to the others and gave Derek their names before continuing.
“We believe you’ve been exposed to magic before today, and we need to scan your body to learn more.
Do we have your consent to do that here and now? ”
“Will it hurt?” Derek asked, his voice fearful and exhausted. I almost whimpered. My poor mate.
“No, my sweet boy. It will only feel like wind caressing your skin as we work,” Trise explained. “We need to look at your DNA and your core, no pain. I promise.”
Derek nodded, snuggling further into my side. “You have my consent, but please don’t take Nolen away from me.”
I did whimper then, unable to stop myself. He needed me, and I wouldn’t let anyone come between us.
“We would never part the two of you. I actually believe Nolen might be the reason you survived getting your magic.”
“Survived?! He could’ve died?!” I almost flew up from the ground in anger had it not been for Derek’s body next to me. Anchoring me to him and the ground below us.
“Remi seemed to heal a part of himself when he finally got his magic. But Derek’s core has been through something we’ve yet to figure out.
Too much pressure on an already broken core could have killed him.
We didn’t know that his core was damaged until now.
Had we known we would’ve helped before letting him touch the ground. ”
“I hear all of that, but how? Shouldn’t his magic help heal him?”
“Think of your core as a bowl of water,” Henriette began.
“Then think of the bowl having tiny holes in it. That is what happened to Derek. His core is the bowl filled with holes. It was an empty bowl, and his magic is the water that just got added. The bowl can’t hold onto the magic because it leaks out of the holes too quickly for his magic to heal.
But the earth helped him close the holes, making the magic stay.
I think I speak for all of us when I say that his core needs more healing to keep the magic inside.
Had all the magic run out, he would’ve died. ”
Derek said nothing as we were told how close to death he’d come. I was focusing on what to do now, not wanting to feel the fear of losing him.
I eyed all of the rulers, then asked. “What do we do now?”
Alec spoke first. “Now, we scan him. Then, we’ll help get him to a house you can stay in and focus on his healing. I think he needs to lay on the grass a little every day, and he needs to touch you as much as possible. You and the earth are the key to healing him.”
I could only nod. It seemed simple. “We are getting a house? Not the apartment?”
Trise shook her head. “You need a closed-in garden for his every day healing time with the earth. We have one that’s empty you can use until he’s healed enough for the trip to your own home.”
“Home,” Derek whispered.
I leaned up so I could kiss his forehead. “Home,” I agreed.