Chapter Twenty One

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Water glides through my parted fingertips, cool and soothing to the touch. I gaze down at the rippling water of the river beside me. Each little wave glitters like a thousand diamonds in the sunlight. So beautiful. The roar of the waterfall fills my ears like a serene lullaby. The water song has a soothing effect on me, it calms the raging chaos in my mind. The silence is exactly what I've needed for  quite a while now. This, this is exactly what I need.

I relax back onto Declan's chest, savoring the feel of his arms wrapped around me in a loving embrace. His familiar, masculine scent washes over me. I inhale deeply. He smells like home. A small smile graces my lips. Because Declan is my home. Everywhere my skin touches Declan's it's like I've been struck by lightning; it's electric. My blood fizzles in my veins, accenting the butterflies in my stomach. It's amazing. After all these years, he still manages to spark a reaction like this in me. He truly is a god; my god.

My Warrior presses a tender kiss to the top of my head, pulling me back down to earth with him. He was right. When he told me that this would help with my stress, I'd been skeptical but now I know that he was absolutely right. This moment right here, this small escape from reality, is perfect.

Declan rests a cupped fist in my hands. His fingers open one by one, teasing me with their slow pace, to reveal my moonstone necklace, the one he'd given me so very long ago. I gasp and pick it up gingerly. I'd thought I lost it!

"You left this in the Underworld when you left," Declan murmurs in my ear as he gently takes it form my hands. His deliciously strong hands brush my exposed skin as he fastens the necklace's chain around my neck. The moonstone settles between my breasts, a familiar weight that I'd missed dearly. I rest my hand on the aged chain and smile softly.

"I was worried I'd never see it again," I admit.

He smiles against my hair. "The things that we love have a tendency to find their way back to us."

I turn my head to the side slightly to press a kiss to his cheek. "Like you."

We sit in silence for the longest moment, but it's a comfortable silence, one filled with love and tenderness. The silence is broken when Declan coughs. He's been coughing on and off all day and it's starting to worry me. Maybe he's catching a cold, I reason, not wanting to get overly worried about nothing. 

Something about this strikes me as not right. Gods don't get sick, the goddess within me says in alarm. The thought causes my heartbeat to pick up its pace tenfold. If he's not sick, then what's wrong with him?

I turn to him with worry in my heart and ask, "are you alright?"

Declan smiles down at me weakly, his green eyes lacking their usual intensity. "I'm fine."

The lie comes out loud and clear. I've known this man for too long to be fooled by his lies. The fact that he felt he needed to lie to me at all only increases my worry.

"Don't lie to me, Declan. What's wrong?" I ask, my voice rising in fear.

Declan sighs, his eyes guarded. "I might be coming down with a little cold-" Another lie.

"Gods can't get sick, Declan. Stop lying to me!"

He doesn't say another word. He just stares down at me with an unreadable expression. I take this moment to look over my Warrior. In doing so, I realize that his skin is unnaturally pale and his eyes, not only are they nearly lifeless, but they've also formed faint blue circles around them. He looks just like Nyx and Erebus when-

"No," I say, putting as much force behind the word as I can. My maimed heart thumps loudly in my chest, threatening to crumble at its seems.

I stand up, causing Declan's arms to fall from around me. I stumble back a few steps, the weight of my realization too much to bear. Declan stands as well, his dulled eyes filled with concern. He reaches for me, his facial expression telling me to forget my discovery. I back up another step, ignoring my tremendous urge to go to him and comfort him.

"He did it to you, too," I whisper, barely audible. "Theo poisoned you."

Declan's sad gaze rests upon me. After a moment of hesitation, he nods slowly, regretfully. His eyes never leave mine, trying to gauge my reaction.

I let out a shuddering breath as my heart cracks and, piece by piece, falls apart. A single tear leaks form my eye, rolls down my cheek and falls to the ground, shattering into a million pieces.

"You're dying," I breathe brokenly, my voice cracking with unshed tears.

My Warrior just stares at me a moment, sadness in his gaze. Then, he shatters my entire being with a single motion. He nods.

My breath leaves me with a whoosh. In that moment, I do the only thing I know how to do; I turn and I run. I race through the trees, staring at the nature around me in confusion. How can it be so normal? Can't it see that my world is falling apart around me?

Suddenly, I'm grabbed from behind and pulled to a stop. I should have known that my Warrior would let me just take off like that. From behind, he grabs my wrists on either side of me. His touch unleashes the floor of tears that'd been hidden just behind my eyes. I sob openly as I fight against Declan. The poison must not have affected his strength at all because he's as strong as ever as he easily ends my resistance.

His hold still on my wrists, he wraps both my and his arms around my waist, embracing me the way only he can. I hand my head, still sobbing with everything I have left inside of me.

My Warrior presses his lips to my ear and whispers fervently, "it'll be okay. We'll be okay."

"How can it be okay?" I cry out then whisper brokenly, "I can't lose you."

Declan reaches up and turns my face toward his with gentle fingers. "You won't lose me," he promises solemnly, with love in his every word. "I may die, but I will never leave you."

Tearfully, I search his gaze for any sign of a lie but I find none. Another sob escapes my lips. I can't lose him.

"Promise?" I whimper sadly.

He presses a kiss to the tip of my nose.

"I promise."

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