Crossing Boundaries

Chapter 31

Luin

When I woke up, it was the middle of the night and I ached. Arrowan was plastered against my side. His body was sticky with sweat and his hair – which was probably due for a cut – was damp with sweat when I ran my hands through it.

We fae weren't prone to illness, and the kinds of illnesses we contracted didn't present like this. No, this was brought on from burning through too much magic, too soon. He would probably have been fine if he had stopped at funneling magic into me yesterday, but judging from the amount of blood Arrowan had gotten on his hands and that soaked Rahul's fur yesterday, the healing would have taken a lot out of him even if he had started on a full tank.

Normally I would have waited until he felt better, then given him a stern lecture on magic consumption. But I couldn't blame him for saving someone. Still, it was clear that he would be out of commission for the next day or two, and I wouldn't leave his side if I could help it. Magic sickness and a bad case of the flu shared a lot of symptoms. He'd be feverish, wobbly on his feet, achy, and probably nauseous. My own aches faded into the background and I hurried to make him more comfortable. I put a cool damp rag on his forehead and started making up a simple broth in the kitchen so we could keep him hydrated and fed. He probably wouldn't be able to stand anything else.

What would help him most was an infusion of magic, and as his bond mate, I knew I could give that to him. Hadn't he done the same for me yesterday? And wasn't he in this state because he did? But my stores were almost drained, too, and passing him what little I had wouldn't help him enough; it would just make me sick, too. Still, it was hard not to feel bad for not trying it. Arrowan was always so good and so generous with me, and he deserved the same in return.

The broth was simmering on the stove and I was headed back down the hall to refresh Arrowan's damp cloth when he came stumbling out of the room at a run, heading straight for the bathroom. The sound of retching followed seconds later. When he was finished, I got him a cup to rinse his mouth out with and helped him get settled back into bed. I made him drink some water, and he passed out again not much later.

We made it like that through to the afternoon. Arrowan didn't seem to be getting any better, which told me his magic stores must have been almost completely drained. How had he managed to stay upright yesterday if the drain was so bad?

The light broth I had made earlier didn't settle well in Arrowan's nauseous stomach, and I finally got desperate enough after another round of vomiting to funnel what little magic I had into him. If it got him through the worst of his magic sickness, I would accept the consequences.

Only... as I sent magic into Arrowan and watched his color come back, watched as his throat stopped working and he straightened up from hugging the toilet, my magic stores didn't go down. I sent more and more into him until I should have been collapsed on the ground and badly sick for days, but it just caused a slight pulling sensation in my chest; that was all.

I didn't stop until Arrowan gripped my arms and said, "What are you doing?! You'll make yourself sick!"

"I feel fine," I said. He frowned doubtfully and I rolled my eyes. "For real, not like you 'felt fine' yesterday."

He grimaced. "Sorry, I really didn't think it was going to be that bad." Arrowan's bright blue eyes searched me, looking for any hint of lie or weakness, but there was none to find.

"Are you sure?" he checked, still reluctant to accept my word – not that I could blame him. It didn't make any sense that I had been able to fully replenish his magic from my low stores without hurting myself.

"Positive."

Arrowan frowned and his eyes narrowed, but he nodded his acceptance. I still felt his eyes carefully following me throughout the rest of the day, but of course he found nothing because I truly was fine. Since I was still watching him to make sure he had truly recovered and he was still waiting for me to fall into a sickness I knew wasn't coming, both of us relaxed for the rest of the day. We took our meals from the ample stores of leftovers in the refrigerator and cuddled in front of the television until it was time to sleep again.