Chapter 54
Chapter
Fifty-Four
MAEVE
“Rise and shine, beautiful.”
Confusion swamped my senses as a palm grazed my cheek.
“Pia?” My voice was a groggy mumble at best.
“Try again, love.”
Sunlight blasted my eyes as they snapped wide open, my body fully awakening.
Sebastian was crouched before me, his face converting a look that bordered the line between anger and relief.
“Sleep well?”
Looking around, I noted Kade who was still on his horse, picking at his fingernails seemingly unbothered. Across the way was Pia right where I’d left her, slumped against an evergreen, though she was now awake and being held tightly in Kohen’s arms.
I palmed my eyes before wiping a line of drool from the corner of my lips. “I was supposed to be on watch.”
“That’s what happens when you fight a battle, save someone's life, then go off on a stupid negligent mission instead of going to bed,” Sebastian snapped, his dark brows merging with his eyelids.
“I take it that you're mad?” Batting my lashes, I asked what was obvious from his tone.
“Yeah, Maeve. I’m mad,” he growled. “I’m not going to bother asking why you did it, because I already know.”
I smirked. “Smart man.”
He inhaled, puffing his chest out as far as humanly possible, then leaned forward to kiss me. When he retreated, his scowl returned. “Pack up. We're going back.”
My forehead creased and my lips pursed. “No. I’m halfway there. I’m not turning around now.”
“Maeve…” Sebastian lowered his voice, dipping his lips to my ear. “Pia is pregnant. It’s not safe for her to be out here.”
My jaw went slack. “What?”
He nodded. “About four months. Kohen and her only found out shortly after we arrived in Lumosia.”
My vision skipped over his shoulder, drifting down to her stomach, only then noticing the small bulge on her lower abdomen.
Pia’s sight aligned with mine as Kohen pulled her to her feet. They stepped towards us, and Kade jumped off his horse to join.
“If it's any help, I tried to talk her out of it,” Pia assured, pointing at me.
“You didn't do a very good job,” Kade snorted.
“She’s stubborn and strong willed. It wasn't much of a conversation, more of a, this is what I’m doing and I don't care what you think,” she defended.
“Yup. Sounds about right,” Sebastian deadpanned, his voice bleak.
“Don’t forget impulsive,” Kade added.
“I’m right here,” I quipped.
Kohen clapped his hands together. “On that note, let's go. We have a long day of riding ahead of us.”
“We can come back with a proper army,” Kade concluded.
“But by the time we get back to Lumosia, Mealioria’s army will pretty much be there in full and ready to come back here,” I argued. “There's no point in going back now.”
“Oh yes there is. We can go back, and I can shut you in our bedroom while myself and the rest of the soldiers go to Draemor and do what you seem to think you can do by yourself,” Sebastian hissed, his brows deepening.
“Guys,” Pia tried to interrupt. “This is not the time or the place to have a blowout.”
“How dare you even suggest that. You know how I feel about people trying to control me.” My knuckles clenched and bleached by my sides.
He placed a hand on my shoulder, dropping his face closer to mine. “I don't care if you hate me for it, love. If that's what I need to do to keep you safe, then I’ll do it. I will strap you to the godsdamn bed if I have to.”
“How romantic, Seb. You really know how to make a girl feel special.”
“I’m not trying to make you feel special. I’m trying to keep you alive, for fuck’s sake!”
“And I’m trying to keep you alive!” I shouted back, my voice raising with each word. “How many times must I tell you that I don't care what happens to me? None of it matters if it hurts the ones I love.”
“But I care!” he roared, dropping his hand from my arm and scraping it up to grasp my jaw.
“I care about what happens to you! I care about you more than anything in the universe. And if you care about me at all, then you should care about what happens to you, too! Don’t you get it, Maeve?
I won’t survive if something happens to you.
If you go beyond the veil, then I’m going, too, because I couldn't live with it.
I couldn't live a life without you. So for me, care. Care because I care.”
“Sawyer almost died, Seb,” I wheezed. My eyes, as weak as they were, became soppy. “I can't stand back and watch another person I care about die. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t.”
His expression softened and he pulled me into his chest, holding me there while he stroked the back of my hair. “I know, love. I know.”
“Guys!” Pia whisper-yelled. “Lower your voices. I hear something.”
Turning an ear towards the open air, I listened to the sounds of the woods. A steady crackling of twigs and rock filled the forest. Likely nothing more than a rabbit.
“Come with me,” I urgently breathed into the warmth of Sebastian’s firm chest. “Send the others back and come with me, Seb. Please.”
His pointed chin settled on top of my head as he blew a heavy breath through his nostrils. “Maeve…”
Dragging myself out of his embrace, I looked up into his contrasted expression. “Please.”
A few heart beats of silence passed before his features stirred into a look that portrayed less anger and more empathy.
“Okay.” He nodded, palming my lower back before forcing his attention to the others. “You guys go back to Lumosia. We’re going to take care of Bitchmont.”
“There will be no need for that.”