The White Werewolf || Season One: Ties That Bind

Chapter Sixty-Three

Rinde, 1256

The sky instantly cleared and silence fell upon the partially ruined house. Jaskier stared up at the wrecked stone, waiting for some sort of sign that Robin and Geralt were still alive.

But there was nothing. Nothing at all.

"This can't be happening," Jaskier murmured. "This can't be happening."

****

Inside, Robin yelped as she and Geralt fell. She'd managed to portal them both to the lower floor, and they each appeared to be in one piece.

She closed her eyes and went limp, beyond exhausted. Geralt rested against her, holding her tightly.

A moment later, he quickly scrambled up, taking his weight off of her. "Robin?" he gasped, breathing hard.

He bent to make sure she was breathing too, sighing in relief as he felt the shallow puff of warm air against his ear. "Robin?" he repeated, brushing her hair back from her face. All of it had come loose in the wind. "It's me, little mage. Geralt," he murmured.

He checked her torso where her wound had been and found no trace of it, thankfully, so at least he knew it wasn't that.

Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at him radiantly. "I know who you are, Geralt," she answered teasingly, giggling.

He smiled back, a few tears rolling down his cheeks. "I almost lost you," he whispered, his heart beating faster than he'd ever felt at the thought.

"It's okay," she soothed him. "Because you saved my life."

"No, little mage," he disagreed. "I failed to protect you. She hurt you."

"Did the djinn escape?" she wondered. "Will it be dangerous now that it has no vessel?"

He shook his head. "No, little mage. A djinn is only a dark creature when it's held captive."

She tilted her head curiously. "Oh? How can you be so sure?"

He shrugged. "When did you last feel happy when you felt trapped?" he asked heavily.

One of his tears fell on her face. She reached up and touched the damp spot reverently.

"Geralt of Rivia," she breathed softly, "is that why you can't sleep?"

His eyes widened in alarm. "What? Are... are you reading my mind?"

She laughed. The sound was back to normal, and it calmed his ragged nerves. "Not magically," she assured him. "I just know you."

He stared down at her, smiling slightly.

"You didn't fail to protect me, Geralt. If anything, I failed to protect you. But we both did our best, and in the end, you saved my life, and I won't have you saying it was any other way."

He hung his head, his silver hair falling around their faces.

"Do you really think I feel trapped, Geralt?"

"You've been trapped since you met me."

"You're wrong." She raised a finger to his lips to silence him before he could argue. "I have never felt trapped by you. You have always offered your help willingly, and the only thing you've ever demanded in return is that I do my fair share of the work. You have never pressured me to stay. You were even willing to let me remain with Triss, remember?"

She smoothed his hair back briefly, then let it fall back into place again. "I know that our time together won't last forever, Geralt. I know that once we manage to stop Yennefer, I have some big decisions to make about my life. But until then, we are in this together. By choice, Geralt."