Darren felt a pillow underneath his head, he could faintly smell Silvia’s perfume, his eyes opened and took in the familiar bedroom of his mage. He sat up quickly and looked around, Erol was standing near the window at the foot of the bed. Darren turned to his right and saw Archard in a chair staring at him with concern, Silvia lay on the bed between them.

“Take it easy, Darren. You took quite a bit of damage over the last few days it seems.” Archard told him from his seat. “Here, sit still. Basroot, for the pain. ” he reached out and poked a needle into Darren's arm, then one into Silvia's, tapping the back of each with his hand. “What in the hells happened out there?”

Darren grabbed Silvia’s hand and stared at her. She was still unconscious, he reached out with his mind but just felt pure silence through their bond.

Erol walked over and placed his hands on the ornate footboard of the massive bed and looked at him curiously.

Darren kept a hold of her hand as he launched into the story. Everything that had happened since they had been gone. The vylox, the party, and the trip back. Adrock the patron’s death. He described the men who set upon them on the road and saw Archard’s eyes narrow. He told them how they managed to escape as Silvia got shot.

“Really, she was amazing. We couldn’t have made it if she wasn’t firin’ everything she had.” Darren squeezed her hand as he finished.

“Oh I believe it.” Archard said as he brushed her hair back with his hand. “Those men, the assassins in black, they’re known as the NodraKai. Lethal blades for hire. They’ve killed dignitaries, mages, generals. It’s honestly a hefty amount of good luck that saw the two of you through that.” Archard looked to Erol, Reach out to them and ask what the fuck they think they're doing.

Erol gave a slight nod.

“The fuck are they tryin’ to kill us for? We’ve hardly done anything.” Darren asked, wiping the tiredness from his eyes. The medication began to kick in, giving him a gentle numbness in his limbs.

“I can’t imagine a reason. There are dozens of targets that would be worth more in a number of ways. I’ll have to send a message to the other family members to be on the lookout.” Archard replied “It does make me wonder though. It seemed obvious for Silvia to be the target of a kidnapping, non-magical member of our family. An easy target for a high ransom. But the assassination attempt after..” he trailed off.

There was a knock at the door, Erol walked over and opened it.

Archard’s steward stepped in “Sir, a message just came through from the military ship your son Avarith is on. Two nights ago when they were off the ship they were set upon by members of the NodraKai. They managed to get away, but wanted to let you know their return would be delayed as they’re looking into it.”

“Damnable cutthroats.” Archard cursed in surprise as he stood. “I have to send messages out now. Who knows where else they might have hit, or could be planning to hit next.” he turned to Darren. “Do not leave her side for a moment, I don’t want her waking up alone.” Archard looked to his guardian Double the guards for the keep, we’ll send messages out to all other family members to return here immediately. Whoever is doing this might be targeting any Chevalier, or all Chevaliers. He sent wordlessly as he walked out of the room.

Archard, Erol, and the steward all left in a hurry, leaving Darren confused and still exhausted. He looked down at his mage again, she seemed so small and frail lying there. He turned and sat cross legged with his knees resting against her. He lifted the bottom of her shirt and looked at the arrow wound in her stomach, the flesh over it raised and pinkish white. The skin stretched with the rise and fall of her breath. He thought of his own wounds and pulled up his shirt. The whole right side of his torso had the same shiny fibrous texture to it where the vylox had torn through him.

“Rough couple of days.” he said to himself as he looked at her face.

Her features were delicate, sometimes it was hard to imagine her swinging a sword and snapping bones with her magic. Her narrow jaw came down to a slight point at her chin, while the waves of her sunset colored hair outlined her face. He thought about how someone so small shouldn’t have to deal with the things they had to, it seemed unfair.

Darren laid down on his side and took her hand again, staring at her profile as her chest rose and fell with steady breaths. He’d almost lost her this time. This was the first real wound she had, that she almost didn’t come back from. With the Basroot kicking in stronger he thought he might fall back asleep, but he felt something in his mind, something that wasn’t his.

Silvia stirred slightly and felt blankets around her. Their link reconnected in a tidal wave, her mind’s eye was overtaken with a view of herself from the side. She rolled over and even as she opened her eyes the vision stayed stronger than what was in front of her. She stared directly into her own eyes from Darren’s for a moment as she felt a wave of relief. The vision started to turn black around the edges and she felt her head swimming as spots began to appear.

Darren snapped his eyes away from her and looked at the ceiling from his side. “Happy birthday, you’re alive. Glad you woke up, for a minute there I thought you were gonna sleep forever.”

“I think I almos' did.” she replied as she slid one hand under her shirt and felt the scar on her belly.

“I’m sorry.” his voice was quiet

He looked back at her and she felt fear. The growing uncontrollable panic Darren had felt as he saw the arrow hit her, as she fell in and out of consciousness in the wagon. Her eyes widened as the emotion made her chest feel like it was turning inside out. She felt his grip tighten and realized he was holding her hand. She pulled it away and brushed her hair behind her ear as she looked down at the space between them. She felt the bond gain some distance and she felt him less, but after everything in the last few days she didn’t want space. Slowly without meeting his eyes she slid her hand back down and into his. She felt the shattering terror in her turn into something else. Anxious and scary in its own way, but not bad. She felt warm and safe, feelings that seemed rare as of late.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Darren felt it too, the fluttering nerves and what seemed like an electrical charge buzzing anywhere their bodies were too close. Silvia looked him in the eyes again and the feeling magnified tenfold, until he almost couldn’t bear it.

Silvia’s body shivered. The tightening of her stomach muscles caused an ache throughout her torso, centered on the arrow wound. She winced and curled up slightly, clutching her stomach as she blew out a short breath.

“Yeah, that’s gonna hurt for a little while.” he told her as he squeezed her hand gently.

“How were you running around like this after that creature ripped you up?” she asked incredulously.

“Beneath this handsome exterior lies the heart of a true warrior.” he made a serious face before smirking.

“I’ve seen inside your exterior and I didn’t see anything like that.” she chuckled lightly, feeling the pain in her stomach flare in time with her breaths.

“I think yours is worse cause it went all the way through. Mine was all surface, just a scratch.” he winked. “Your uncle gave us drugs though so that should help.” He thought for a moment "Y'know, you were pretty fuckin' intense out there. I mean you handled those guys like it was nothing."

She smiled "It all just felt natural this time. I mean I could've made a few better choices, but it did work out didn't it."

"It definitely did, I've never seen anything like it. The fucking explosion and trip wire on the last guys, so good!" his voice rose in excitement as he relived it in his mind. His voice had a faint echo behind it as the walls seemed to shift, slowly rising and falling as if breathing.

Silvia felt pride mixed with a sweet soft feeling she couldn't name, and a heat in her stomach from the root lightening her pain. Suddenly she thought it was a little odd, them sitting like this, a mage and a guardian, family. But she was tired of listening to her thoughts and just did what felt right. She pulled her hand from his and ran her finger tips up his bare arm, tracing the symbols there. She didn’t have a reason, she just wanted to and wasn’t going to argue. She felt his thoughts quicken, he was confused, nervous. So was she, but she didn’t mind. Everything in the last few months had been completely novel and strange, everything in the last few days exhilarating, and this was both. She scooted towards him and nestled her head under his chin against his chest, she pressed one palm against him, feeling his heartbeat quicken. She took his hand and brought it over her body.

He slid his other arm under her head and pulled gently on her back, pressing her small form against him. They both felt a surge of dizzying energy pass through them, but they didn’t pull away from it. They let it surround them, a drunken feeling that made them sluggish and comfortable. The room felt like it was spinning, but more like a carnival ride than vertigo.

Her whole body was tingling and felt vaguely numb, but her thoughts began to creep back in. I’m not sure this is right. She lay with her eyes open, remembering the rules mages lived by, she stared at her hands on his chest.

“Sure as hell doesn’t feel wrong.” he whispered above her. He could feel her breath on his neck.

Sure as hell doesn’t. Silvia closed her eyes and relaxed her body. She tuned into the bond even more and felt a confused delight radiating out, and the heat of his body pressed against her. They began to fall into a loop, feeling each other’s comfort and contentment and appreciating their own more, then feeling the other’s increase, then their own in kind. The spinning sped up until they both felt nauseous. They each tried to wall the other out and slow everything down, but couldn’t stop the stream of consciousness that poured between them.

Silvia’s breathing became heavy gasps for air.

Darren’s muscles flexed as he squeezed her tighter against him, not breathing at all.

It felt as if they were losing themselves, just becoming one whirlwind of pure being. Unstable and explosive, their senses melted away, until they couldn’t tell where they were anymore.

Darren still hadn’t taken in a breath and began to feel panic. The brain could only handle so much input, and so much coming from both of them was causing other parts to shut down entirely. He tried to pull away from her but his arms wouldn’t release her.

She felt his anxiety and tried to push him away, but couldn’t. His thirst for air made her take in deeper and deeper breaths.

His lungs burned as every muscle in his body fired off at once. He threw himself backwards from her and fell off the bed, thudding onto the thick carpet over the stone floor. He just lay there panting, his mind foggy, unable to think as he stared at the ceiling. He saw Silvia’s head poke out over him from the edge of the bed.

“Are you okay?” she asked, eyes wide with shock.

He sat up, grabbed her cheek and kissed her.

Her surprise jolted through them both before pleasure took over. She leaned into him as their lips pressed together. Their minds sped up faster than they could handle. They pulled apart and each stared into the other’s eyes. Darren still panted heavily from his lack of air, Silvia did the same for reasons all her own. The spinning continued to grow stronger as they stared. Silvia saw flashes of her own face from his eyes and saw the smile spread across her lips, her eyes bright and mischievous. He looked like he had when she’d taken him on the airship in her dream, like he was seeing something his mind couldn’t quantify. Absolutely awestruck.

Silvia saw his eyes partially roll back and his eyelids flutter as his arm slipped from under him and he almost fell on his back again.

“I gotta go.” he rolled away from her bed and clambered to his feet. He put a hand on the chair to stabilize himself a moment before going for the door to the training room. He took two steps and spun as he fell, landing on his back.

She stared stunned, as she felt his thoughts go quiet. The dizziness stopped and she felt the world gradually come back into focus. She’d seen him pass out half a dozen times when they trained their bond, it was nothing to worry about. She shook her head and slowly rose from her bed, carefully pressing on her stomach to keep the pain from climbing too high. Dizzy from the blood loss, the Basroot, and the experience they shared she walked to her door in a stupor and locked it. She grabbed a blanket and pillow from her bed and walked over to Darren kneeling down by his shoulder. Silvia lifted his head and put the pillow under it. She ruffled his black hair and traced a finger along his sideburns down to his jaw, down to his chin, and up to his lips. Happy birthday to me, she thought with a smile. Silvia crawled down, laid her head on his chest and wrapped one leg over his. She pulled the blanket up over them both and slid one hand under his shirt, feeling the warmth of his skin. She listened to his serene breathing while she fell asleep as the evening sun streamed in through the windows.