Chapter Twenty
Dimitris
Amix of lavender and pine had lulled him to sleep, calming every piece of his body as Thalia’s warmth tingled along his skin.
But now, a blood curdling scream ripped through the air as Dimitris shot up in the bed.
Beside him, Thalia writhed in the sheets, sweat pooling around her.
He reached over, wrapping his arms around her, trying to shake her awake, but nothing worked.
That scream just kept releasing from her throat over and over again as her milky sheened eyes shook at an ungodsly speed.
This was not the first time Dimitris saw the seer bent and spiraling, unable to speak or hear, but it was certainly the worst of them.
Glancing around the room, Dimitris searched for the small vial of potion that Cal concocted, the one that was supposed to set her into a dreamless sleep until her body healed from one of her visions.
Gods dammit, he thought. They were in his room, not her own, meaning the vial was nowhere near them.
Could he leave her to run down the hall and fetch the potion?
Could he carry her there without injuring her?
Would she wake on her own without it? He could not risk her convulsing in his arms, the fear of snapping a bone made his stomach turn.
Shoving pillows along her side so Thalia did not roll off the bed, Dimitris raced to the door just in time to notice a heavy scratching on the thick wood.
Flinging the door open, he peered down and his heart unclenched at the sight of Mykonos, the small vial he needed clutched between her teeth.
“You are a brilliant, brilliant little daimon,” he exclaimed, reaching down and grabbing the vial while simultaneously scratching the top of Mykonos’s head. She let out a resounding meow in response. He would need to give her a proper thank you later, maybe an extra helping of fish at dinner.
Without a moment to spare, Dimitris raced back over to the bed, forcing Thalia’s lips open to pour the foul liquid down her throat.
It would work in time, chilling her until she felt like nothing but ice beneath his palms. He would hold her until she was awake—until the pain faded.
It wouldn’t be the first time Dimitris stayed with the seer as she healed—it wouldn’t be the last either.
He only wished there was a way he could take away the pain from the beginning, that she didn’t need to suffer through this alone.
There was.
No. He cursed himself. It was too risky. To even think the thought was against everything he was taught by the pack. Not to mention the wrath Alexander would unleash on him if Dimitris even tried to enact the desmós.
The tapping of the creature racing up to the bed pulled him back to the reality at hand. Mykonos launched herself onto the bed and curled up by the seer’s feet, paws hooked on top like she was hugging Thalia.
It had taken him some time to become accustomed to the creature, but he was glad that he had.
The furry little thing had quite the personality, prowling through the halls searching for mice most of the time, and the other times she spent fiercely defending her human.
At this moment, Dimitris could not be more grateful for the latter.
Mykonos must have sensed Thalia’s pain and known where to go.
It was strange, from all he’d learned about a seer’s psychí, the creature should feel everything Thalia did.
And yet, this time Mykonos seemed unaffected by the torment Thalia felt.
Perhaps it was some will of the Fates, so that the seer had something to ground her to this realm, or perhaps there were other things Dimitris had yet to learn about the daimons.
“It’ll all be alright now,” Dimitris whispered, repeating the phrase over and over again as he stroked Thalia’s hair.
He bent down and brushed one soft kiss between her brows, eliciting a small twitch in one of Mykonos’s eyes.
The creature did not hiss, nor did she pounce at him like she had many times before—the daimon merely remained steadfast in her hold of her human’s feet, though Dimitris thought it looked like she was smiling a bit as she took in his movements.
“So, you have finally learned I mean no harm to her,” Dimitris said to Mykonos as he nodded toward Thalia.
Once more, Mykonos did not move, but this time she let out a small sigh, blinking once back at him.
“You know, Mykonos, you could always put in a good word for me. She seems to listen to you more than any person.” He was talking to a cat—this was something new—but it was a much needed distraction as Dimitris waited for Thalia to wake once more, unsure of how long that would be.
Last time she was this bad was on the Aphrodite after they’d learned Hades had risen.
That time it took the entire night before her eyes fluttered open once more.
Mykonos narrowed her yellow eyes, letting out a chirrup, and Dimitris couldn’t tell if that was in response to his first statement or the second.
“I will take that as a yes, then.” He reached down and scratched under the cat’s chin and the daimon replied with a resounding purr, leaning into his touch.
“Your human, she really is someone I never saw coming. I had resigned myself a lone man—that I would never find my equal in life, someone who I would want standing by my side at the helm of my ship and in battle. But she is it. If she will have me. Gods, I feel like I am asking a cat for her hand in marriage. I am not, by the way, asking for marriage. Only that she might come with me on this journey, be my partner as we fight for peace. What am I even doing? I’m going to stop talking now. ”
Mykonos cocked her head to the side before she stood, padding up next to where Dimitris had his other hand interlocked in Thalia’s.
Sitting back on her haunches, the daimon placed one of her front paws on top of his hand and blinked twice.
Something tingling shot up from Dimitris’s hand, through his arm, and straight to his heart. Then there was only warmth.
Maybe he had said something right after all.
Shadows from the moon’s glow still crept along the walls when Thalia finally began to stir.
Not once had Dimitris drifted off to sleep, he wanted to make sure she was alright when she woke.
At one point he left her side, but only for a moment to collect a damp cloth and a pitcher of water from the bathing chamber.
Sweat had dried on her skin and he wiped it off, allowing her temperature to regulate to its normal level as she slowly made her way back to reality.
Raspy coughs left her mouth, spit sputtering from her lips. Thalia’s eyes squeezed tighter before she eventually blinked her eyes open.
“Welcome back, gatáki,” Dimitris whispered, bringing a small glass of water to her lips. “You need to drink some of this, alright?”
She only nodded back at him before parting her lips to allow the water to flow through. A few sips would do the trick, enough so that her throat would not be sore from her prior screaming, but not enough that she would hurl the liquid right back up.
“How long this time?” she croaked, her voice barely audible to Dimitris.
“Only a few hours. It seems that concoction of Cal’s works better over time.”
“Or I am just becoming used to the pain…” She trailed off, turning her head away from him and staring instead at her psychí who had woken from her nap.
The creature cocked its head at Thalia and headbutted her a few times before the seer gave in and pet her. Gods, Dimitris only hoped Mykonos wasn’t telling Thalia what he’d said—or at least exactly what he’d said, he did ask her to put in a good word after all.
“I am going to die.” Thalia’s voice cracked as a single tear trickled down her cheek.
Dimitris flipped his gaze over to her. What was she talking about? She spent less time unconscious, which was a good thing, not something to fear. Especially not something to think she would die from. Pulling her closer, Dimitris let out a long breath.
“Gatáki, you are not going to die. It was merely another vision, another person passing on to Aidesian.” There was no way in the stars that he would let Thalia die. Not now. Not after he had confessed to himself—and that cat—what she meant to him.
“But I am. I saw it days ago, Dimitris—I should have told you. I saw my own death on these shores, while the fields around me burnt to ash. Before the month is through I will die and there is nothing you or I can do to stop it.”
“There have been no signs of a ship breaking through the wards that surround the isle, nor have we been called into battle. You will not die, I will not let it happen—especially not before year’s end.
” Dimitris pulled her closer, brushing a kiss across her lips.
“It was only a nightmare.” He let out a light chuckle.
“Now rest, before I entice you to stay up for a completely different reason.”
Thalia’s gaze trickled back up to his, and the corner of her lip curved into a small smile. “You really are a rakish fool, Dimitris.”
“I never said I wasn’t—but I am only a fool for you. Sleep, gatáki, I’ll protect you from the creatures of the night.”
Thalia nuzzled closer to him, tucking Mykonos under her arm. “I am counting on it,” she whispered.
“I will always protect you, Thalia,” he whispered back.
Oh, how very wrong Dimitris had been.