Solstice Souls

A Son's Duty

Wei Ying POV

"A-Xian. A-Xian."

Wei Ying heard his sweet shijie's gentle voice calling him and he could not help but try to open his eyes to look at her beautiful face. His vision was still blurry but he could see her with his heart. He smiled weakly. He needed to reassure her that he was alright. It did not sit right with him that her melodious voice held so much concern, especially when it was for him. The cold cloth she placed on his forehead helped subdue the fever raging inside his aching body and he was thankful for her kindness.

"Shijie." he whispered.

His voice was worn and ragged and he cringed at the sound of it. His tongue felt like it was covered in bamboo splinters. He tried licking them away but it only made them penetrate deeper. Yanli brought a cup of cold water up to his cracked lips which he took readily.

"Drink. Slowly!" She reprimanded lovingly when Wei Ying attempted to take the cup from her hand and pour all the contents down his throat in one gulp. "You have a high fever, A-Xian. You need to sip the water and then sleep."

Wei Ying nodded and laid back down. Jiang Yanli pulled the blanket up over his chest and he relaxed into the soft mattress under him. His body grew heavy, the pain of his injury ebbing away. Just as he was about to drift back to sleep, images of his mother flashed behind his closed eyes.

"Mama! Where? I need......to go....." Wei Wuxian panted loudly. He struggled to sit up but a stronger hand than his shijie's pushed him back down.

"You're not going anywhere, shixiong." Jiang Cheng scolded warmly. "Your father is with her. Won't leave her side. Please, don't worry. Our healers are working non-stop to care for her. She's in a coma but is stable for now."

Draping an arm over his face, Wei Ying silently wept tears of relief. But those hidden tears were quickly replaced with ones drowning in sorrow. Tears that took his breath away and left him empty. Without warning, blinding anger stripped away all his tears leaving his heart raw and miserable.

His emotions were all over the place like fall leaves caught in winter's frigid wind. Both his fever and intense pain were only adding to his lack of control. Helplessness at what he could not prevent, residual panic from the storm and Duoji, and hatred towards whomever had taken his mother from him were all warring for control.

Wei Ying's memories were blending together like diluted watercolors. He remembered Hanguang-jun saving them, killing the Duoji. But then all the talking at Swords Hall rattled inside his brain until the words were jumbled together in a cacophony of nonsense. He recalled someone blaming Lan Wangji for his mother's injury.

Something about seeking revenge? Who wanted revenge? Was it his father?

The more he tried to remember, the more things slipped through his fingers and faded away until sleep pulled him against her bosom once more.

The next day, Wei Ying awoke to a late afternoon sun warming his room. An empty room. The Jiang siblings must be with their parents, he thought. Rising from his fever soaked sheets, he removed his night robe. His eyes fell immediately to the bandages around his torso. He cautiously unwrapped them and stared at the large purple and green bruise on his side. When his fingers lightly touched the colorful skin, he hissed in pain. Most likely he had broken a rib.

Damn.

Walking over to the small tub provided for him, Wei Wuxian disrobed and stepped in and began washing off the sweat and dirt from the hunt and the storm. The water was a bit chilly but he did not care. The cold water was exactly what his injury needed and it helped to clear his mind allowing him to focus on what was important.