A Necessary Distraction
Sienna
I’m by his side in seconds, fear crushing my chest. I place a hand on his shoulder, whispering a healing spell, but it isn’t working.
“Jayce…”
“I’m fine,” Jayce hisses through gritted teeth. But he isn’t; his wolf is at the forefront of his mind, his teeth elongated, his claws out, and he’s in visible pain, even when he’s kneeling in the snow like a god.
“Are you going to shift?” Grandpa Al asks, noticing his teeth and claws.
“No, calling my wolf forward just helps with whatever the fuck that thing did,” Jayce says, his voice more primal and rougher as it becomes one with his wolf. He’s in pain; I can feel his discomfort even if he has his walls up.
“There has to be a way to extract the poison; it must be poison,” I murmur, more to myself than anyone, before trying a few other healing spells.
Jayce looks at me before turning his gaze away, a deep frown on his face. I don’t pay him any heed, racking my brain, trying to find the information I need on what could help.
“Go see the healer,” Mikhail says, flicking his hair off his forehead with one hand before turning to Grandpa Al. “And you, pup, secure the grounds.”
Grandpa Al growls. “We’re going to fight this out in the ring when we get a moment, and you won’t be calling me a pup again,” he threatens. Mikhail gives me one cocky smile before heading out into the blizzard.
“Can you stand?” I ask Jayce, about to reach for him, but he tenses, making me hesitate.
“Obviously,” he says roughly. His blazing blue eyes trail over me appreciatively, but it doesn’t match the way he’s trying to keep me away.
It’s his wolf… My heart hammers at the realisation as I stare up into his eyes, before he averts his gaze, his brows furrowing.
“Come on, let’s get you to the healer,” Ahren says as we each take one of Jayce’s arms, slinging them around our own shoulders. My heart races at the feel of his arm around me, and I swallow, my throat suddenly dry, trying not to focus on that as we help him towards the healer’s tent.
“You are a bastard,” Jayce says, and I look up, surprised, only to see he’s glaring coldly at Ahren, who is smirking in return.
“Now, why would you say that?” Ahren asks, feigning mock hurt.
“You can fucking teleport me there,” Jayce mutters.
Oh yeah…
“Maybe I relish seeing you in pain?” Ahren suggests lightly.
Did he do it so we- I- could help him?
“Ahren,” I say in warning.
He sighs. “I used up a lot of power, alright; just walk, it’s only a couple of dozen steps.”
He’s lying…
“Sorry,” I whisper to Jayce. He looks down at me but says nothing.
I can hear his heart beating far faster than it should be.
I hear a shrill scream from the infirmary, not recognising the voice, and almost stop.
“Keep moving, it’s Lieutenant Ana,” Jayce says. That’s right, she was injured, too. Another shrill scream drowns out the howling wind and makes my blood run cold. It sounds like she’s in excruciating agony.
We reach the infirmary, and the moment we step inside, I stop in my tracks at the sight before me: four warriors are restraining her.
She’s torn her clothes off and is covered in bloody gashes.
My stomach twists when I realise they are self-inflicted.
Her claws are out, flesh and blood clinging to them as the warriors try to keep her in place so the healer can administer something.
“This should put her to sleep,” Korina says grimly as she injects her with a syringe full of a potion. Ana’s eyes flutter shut, but a moment later, they fly open again, and she flings the warriors off her, screaming in anguish as she begins to attack herself again.
Ahren sighs as he flicks his finger, caging her in a sphere of darkness. She screams, hammering on it.
“Go away! Get off me!” Her voice is filled with madness and fear.
“What happened?” he asks.
Korina shakes her head. “She’s hallucinating. I’ve been trying to sedate her, but it isn’t working. We will need to restrain her; with that aggression, she will end up killing herself.”
“Understood,” Ahren says as he moves his hand in an extremely fast gesture, and the cage disappears. Instead, in its place, smoke and darkness slither around Ana, pinning her in place. “Bind her and cover her,” he orders the warriors before turning to Jayce.
“You’re not binding me,” Jayce snarls in warning.
“We may need to, if you lose control. I don’t think it’ll be as easy to get you under control,” Ahren points out.
“I am an alpha king! With the hand of Zeus upon me! I am in control!” Jayce snarls. His words don’t sound like him, and I wonder how much control his wolf has right now. It’s fascinating…
My own wolf swishes her tail in my mind, infatuated by her mate; I shake my head, blinking away the dangerous allure. They are part of us; we are in control.
“Is there anything that might work for this?” Jayce asks, now sounding calmer despite his voice still as thick and animalistic as before.
“Not yet, but let’s try to find a solution,” Korina says. “Captain, you are in your senses. Let me take a sample of your injury.”
I look at Jayce’s shoulder; the wound hasn’t closed up...
Jayce walks over to the bed that Korina motions to, by himself, and I’m impressed he hasn’t fallen. While two healers tend to Ana, I go over to assist and help them cover her up and ensure her bindings are secure.
We then carry her to the bed, where we place her down and pull the bedsheet over her.
She’s convulsing in pain, and all I can see of her eyes are the whites, froth dripping from the corner of her mouth, anguished cries escaping her.
“Would putting her into a magically induced coma work?” I ask as Korina scrapes off some blood and flesh from Jayce’s cut.
Korina looks up at me. “Would it hold?” she asks me as I comb a thin layer of my magic over Ana, trying to sense what she’s feeling and going through.
“If it’s strong enough, I think yes. I think I can do it,” I say. “Her mind believes her body is going through far more than it can take, and if it keeps up, she will die a painful death, one within the mind, and that will shut her body down physically, too.”
I look over at Jayce, worry twisting in my stomach.
“That’s a temporary solution, which might buy us some time, but we do need more time and a proper solution,” Ahren says, no trace of amusement on his face. He’s worried.
I nod, knowing what we must do. “We need to get to England.”
“I can’t-”
“Jayce. You might be fighting it off for now, but your body is struggling to keep up. How long can you keep going before you succumb to the same fate?” I ask softly.
He frowns. “You’re annoying.”
I blink, not expecting that, but I’ll take it. At least he isn’t arguing about it.
“I’ll go arrange our departure; we’ll be taking Lieutenant Ana with us.” Ahren leaves the room.
Korina looks up. “I would be offended at the decision over my patients, but I have not seen anything like this,” she sighs.
“You are doing your best, but there are those with healing powers in England who might know the answer.” Or at least the tome Jayce possesses.
The dome hums, and for a moment I can hear it above the howling wind outside, and I pause.
Should I be leaving? I feel as if I need to do something.
I frown; of course we should leave. We need answers to fix whatever has happened to Jayce before he reaches the stage Ana is in.
As Korina begins wrapping up Jayce’s wound, I work on putting Ana into a coma.
She fights me, her mind lashing out as if refusing to shut off.
I frown in concentration, focusing on controlling my power, pulling on my element to make it work.
It fills me fleetingly, and I tug at it, imbuing it into my chaos magic.
I hear Jayce suck in a sharp breath, and I almost lose concentration, worry flooding me.
Focus, Sienna…
With a final surge of power, I’m able to put Ana into a state of sleep, and only when I’m satisfied do I step away and look at Jayce, who is resting his head against the wall, eyes closed. One leg on the floor, the other one bent on the bed. I smile faintly; he always sits like that.
“Stay with him; I will be back. I’m going to try something,” Korina says before she walks off.
“You can leave,” Jayce says after a moment.
“I don’t want to,” I state, as I look around before taking a seat on the bed. “What if the answer is in my dream-”
“No.” His eyes snap open, those brilliant blues cold and hard. “Don’t you ever learn?”
I pout slightly. “I do. I’m not going to barter with anyone-”
“You’re just going to touch that egg thing and hope for a fucking answer? Goddess, Sienna, do I need to put you on a fucking leash?”
“I’d like to see you try.” I frown. “I’m just suggesting ideas! Do you have a better one?”
He raises a brow and looks at me with what borders on arrogance. “No, but I wouldn’t call that an idea.”
“Well, then, I’ll wait for your brilliant plan, Captain,” I retort, crossing my arms.
He forces a sarcastic smile through the pain. “Glad to hear you’ll do that for once,” he counters, sarcasm dripping from every word before resting his head back against the wall, the veins in his neck pulsing.
He’s in a lot of pain, even if he’s trying to hide it. My frown softens, and I move closer.
“Don’t,” he says sharply, stopping me.
“I just want-”
“My wolf is more in control than I am right now, so I suggest you stay the fuck away,” he warns.
I frown slightly but nod. “Fine. I never realised Jayce Westwood, who was always so impeccably in control, is now struggling,” I say, unable to help myself.
He shakes his head. “Don’t forget that right now I’m trying not to succumb to whatever this wound did to me. I’m in control; you have no fucking idea of the capacity of control I’m exercising right now,” he says icily.
“Oh, yes, of course. You should really stop talking and focus on that,” I say with a toss of my hair.
He scoffs again, and I wonder how many times he had to scoff like that to pull it off with just the right amount of scorn and arrogance.
But keeping him talking is good… The more he focuses on me, the less he focuses on the wound.
“Exactly what I’m trying to do,” he points out, gritting his teeth together as he rests his head back against the wall, trying to steady his breathing. “This is not how I want to return to England.”
“Well, there’s no other option; we don’t know what might happen, so I’m afraid you can’t just walk there with your visor under your arm, and your battle scars glowing,” I say softly. I move closer, but this time he doesn’t say anything, or he hasn’t noticed.
He looks down at me, and I stare at his chest. Gods, he’s so sculpted. In the Gods’ Realm, he had many scars.
“Do you think the scars that painted your body were injuries you will attain?” I ask softly, touching his abs lightly, remembering where one of the glowing scars had been.
His hand closes around my wrist, stopping my descent.
“Maybe,” he says quietly, but his breathing is becoming laboured. “There isn’t a drakath in this room with us, is there?”
I shake my head, concern filling me; his body is burning up. “No, it’s just us; we’re safe. Anything you see isn’t real. It’s within your mind. You’re sitting on this bed, and I’m right here. Focus on my touch,” I whisper before I boldly place it flat on his abs, running it down.
My entire body comes alive with fire, with the feel of him beneath my fingertips. I hear a slow, drawn-out exhale, but it’s doing the job. I can see the way his body is relaxing, the way his grip on my hand has relaxed.
How the roles have reversed – only the last time he was able to save me, and I’m unable to save him, but have I really tried?
No…
There’s got to be something I can do. There has to be.
Think, Sienna, think…
Following my instinct, I reach for the bandage Korina had tied and tug it free, placing my hand back on his abs. I focus on summoning my power forward. Chaos sizzles around me, in dark, shadowy wisps, and I stare at his injury.
The drakaths were like a web, all feeding off that egg – the soul, you could say. What if their power is similar? What if, like a web, it spreads within the body… And the way Jayce drew his lightning from me… What if- what if I send my chaos power into him to draw it out or squash it entirely?
There’s only one way to find out.