Sylas

SYLAS

A lex is propped up in our bed. Her skin has a grayish tinge I dislike. I stayed awake all night with her, checking on the sting, making sure it didn't spread any farther. I've lapped over it more than once, but the poison will not come out, and the only good thing is it doesn't seem to have gotten any worse.

Once it got light, I went back to the spot to see if I could find the creature which stung her. It, or what was left of it, was gone.

"I'm fine, ," she says, lifting her hand painfully and putting it on my arm. "You should get some rest."

She coughs, rasping like Maxym after a night out in Tatatunga.

I wish Maxym were here. He has healing knowledge he picked up somewhere, so he'd know what to do.

"I am not closing my eyes, not until you are better," I say emphatically.

She closes her eyes and leans back against the pillows in our nest, her breath seemingly painful.

"I'd very much like to be better," she says weakly with a wince. "It'll probably pass. I've always been a bit allergic to insect bites and things." Alex opens her eyes. "Which isn't exactly ideal in a forest, I suppose."

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have let you go alone. There's very little which can get through my thick hide." I cuddle into her. She's still too hot and yet her body trembles like she's cold.

"Don't say that." She leans into my side. "It's not your fault, and as for having a thick skin, it's useful even if they did hurt you when they gave you your abilities."

I love it when she calls what was done to me at the farm "abilities," as if they are part of me and nothing to be ashamed of.

Alex is not ashamed of me and says I should be proud of my healing and strength.

"Let me look at the sting again," I say.

"I'm tired, ," she replies with a sigh.

"I can look after you," I growl. "No one needs to be near you. No one but me."

"Okay." Her eyes close. "Whatever you think is best," she whispers.

Her skin is deathly pale, and when I push aside the blanket, the dark stain on her side has spread. She is far sicker than I thought.

"Alex, my eregri ," I murmur in her ear. "You need to stay awake for me."

There is no response. Her body has gone entirely limp.

"Sweet mate?" I brush my lips over her skin.

It is cold.

Claws grip around my heart as surely as if they have been rammed into my chest.

I can't breathe.

I can't breathe.

I can't breathe.

I need Alex to be able to breathe. To be able to live. To be.

"Please, my mate, don't leave me," I whisper in her ear.

There is no response. Her breathing is shallow, her heart beat is hardly even there. Alex is dying. She is dying unless I can find a healer.

The cold steel around my heart abates for an instant, enough for me to see, to know what I need to do. Despite everything, I have to take her to a healer. I have to leave our nest with her and find one. I can't risk leaving her on her own.

But will moving her make it worse? The poison affecting her has been slow since she was still. Indecision chews at my stomach, making every part of me ache.

I can't wait. I have to act or I will lose her.

Placing her unconscious body gently into the nest, I scan the room for what I need. In a flash, my claws have torn down some of the fabric over the window, and I wind it around myself before pulling Alex into my arms and tucking her inside.

With her safely stowed, I stride out onto the balcony, and I'm in the air, wings beating because her life depends on me.

And my life depends on her.

I turn in the direction of Ryle. I have to hope the tiny settlement might have access to a healer, even if it's via comm.

As it's early, there are few people about as I land in the main square. One Tref stallholder is filling up with his wares.

"I need a healer," I growl at him, grabbing his shoulder and turning him to me.

His eyes widen. I'm at least a head taller than him, and his wiry form is nothing compared to mine.

"My mate is sick. She has been stung by something in the forest," I add with a snarl. "I need help."

All three of his eyes go black and his bottom lip trembles.

"If you can't help, then you are no use to me," I bellow, turning away.

"Wait, ," his soft voice calls after me. The sound of my name from him halts my progress. "Let me get the healer for your mate."

I spin to face him, holding Alex pressed tightly to me.

"There is a healer here?"

"Of course." The Tref spreads his hands, as if it's something I should know. "Come with me."

I don't want to go with him. I want…I don't know what I want. So instead, my feet move, and I follow his long, thin form as he walks down the main road. Alex is hot in my arms, and every step doesn't seem to take me closer to getting her back.

I wish she was here to calm me. I need her voice in my ear, her fingers in my feathers.

I need her.

But all I have is her silent form and what's worse is her heat is diminishing.

"Where is this vrexing healer?" I snarl at the Tref.

"I am here, Gryn." A female Tref steps from a nearby dwelling. "Is this his mate?" she asks the Tref stallholder.

"This is Alex," he says, and I don't know which one I want to kill first, the healer for not healing Alex or the Tref for daring to say her name. "She's been stung by something in the forest," he says, giving me a short bow and actually ducking his head so he can't see me or what I might do to him.

"Did it have long black tentacles?" the healer asks me. "Come on, Gryn, tell me!" she adds when I don't immediately respond.

"Brown and green, with a barb at the end," I stumble in desperation. "She is dying…" I dredge up the words I need but find them in my mouth already. "Please…please help my mate," I beg.