Barbaric

Chapter Twenty-Nine

(Delkele's POV)

I felt...heavy. It was almost as if there was some sort of weight on my chest that made my limbs impossible to move, and for a brief moment, I thought I was dead. But then air filled my lungs, cool and crisp, and needed. I wasn't dead. At least, I couldn't be. Which meant that Emylle had been able to find help in time. But who had she approached? One of the staff? Jox? Whoever she had got to help me didn't matter, the only thing that did was that I was alive. Alive, and drugged, judging by the heaviness of my body and the airiness in my mind. It was such a strange feeling, not being able to move, but feeling as if you could do anything. Which meant that I had been put under some heavy-duty stuff. Not that I minded, of course, since I could only imagine what pain I would be in if I wasn't under pain medication. I mean, I got stabbed in the chest.

With a groan, I tried to open my eyes, although it was quite a feat since they felt like they had been glued shut. But when I finally managed to succeed, I winced at how bright the room around me was and threw a hand over my face to shield myself from some of the light.

"J-Jox?" My voice came out weak and broken, and a hand fell onto my bicep, though it was much smaller than my lover's.

I was right, when I shifted my gaze and saw Emylle staring at me with relief on her face, and for a brief moment, I was...upset that it wasn't Jox's warm face that greeted me first. Where was he?

Apparently, my silent inquiry shown on my face, because Emylle gave my arm a pat and gave me a reassuring look. "He's trying to interrogate the one that did this to you. Trying to get information out of them. Would you like me to call him and have him come see you?"

I nodded my head, as best as I could, anyway, and she made her way over to the holographic panel on the wall before she typed in a contact and waited for it to connect. Soon, a face popped up on screen, although, I was too far to see who it was.

"Emylle? Everything alright?" It was Delra's voice that answered.

"Yes," Emylle answered with a nod, her light eyes briefly flickered to me. "Delkele's awake and he wants to see Jox."

There was silence on the other end, then some shuffling and muttering voices before my sister's voice came back over. "He's on his way up there now."

Emylle pursed her lips and smiled softly. "Thank you Delra." And with that, she ended the call and walked back over to me, scooting a stool over before she sat down and got comfortable. We then stared at one another, and after a moment, an image popped into my mind, one of Emylle and Delra leaving a certain...pantry before I was stabbed. They had been together, it seemed, and judging by how disheveled the both of them looked, they had been doing more than having a simple conversation.

"So..." I began, watching as Emylle glanced at me curiously. "You and Delra seem...close."

I blinked when Emylle's cheeks darkened even more, and she shyly tore her gaze away from me before she began twirling a strand of her blonde hair. If that wasn't an indication about how she felt for my sister, I didn't know what was, especially since she seemed so shy right now.

"We...are," she responded slowly, nibbling at her bottom lip as she glanced at me, trying to gage my reaction. "W-Well, when it was looking like you were too busy to spend time with me, she decided to step in and give me company. We grew a bit...close."

I raised a brow and attempted to sit up, causing Emylle to jump up and help settle the pillows better behind me. "Close, huh?"

Emylle blushed again and began waving her hands around as she tried to explain herself. "W-Well, its as I said, she befriended me, and one thing led to another, and I found that she's an incredible person, and I...I like her."

"And is she kind to you?" I wondered, meeting Emylle's gaze once more. "Does she treat you right?"

Emylle stared at me for a moment before a fond smile formed on her face and she nodded, rubbing at her arms. "She is."

I nodded and leaned my weight more onto the pillows, the creaking of the bed making me pause before I deemed it safe and relaxed. "Good. That's good. I'm...I'm happy for the both of you."

Emylle looked as if she wanted to say something else, but before she could get anything out, the doors to the infirmary opened and the familiar, strong form of Jox came rushing in. A look of relief fell across his handsome face, and before I could say anything, he was holding my face in his hands and kissing me senseless, an air of desperation clouding him before he pulled back and rested his forehead against mine, his blue eyes going dewy. "I'm so glad you're ok, Delkele," he muttered, before pressing another chaste kiss against my lips. "I was so terrified that I had lost you, a-and...and I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had. Gods, what happened Del? Why were you in the kitchens so late at night?"

Feeling his distress I placed a hand on his, causing him to glance at me through thick, white lashes as I rubbed my thumb against the soft, pale flesh of his hand. "To put it simply, I was hungry. After all the...well...you know, I grew an appetite and wanted to grab a midnight snack, essentially. I then heard someone approach me after I left, and well...the rest is history. It seems the universe is against me every time I try to find happiness, and of course, now that I have you...everything once again went wrong." I nibbled at my bottom lip. "Emylle said you and Delra were interrogating them. Did...Did you ever find out who sent them?"

Jox pursed his lips and pulled away from me, though he maintained contact by keeping his hand in mine. "Well," he began with a roll of his eyes, "the bastard didn't want to talk at first. Kept staring at me and was refusing to say anything. Then...Delra got persuasive and got them to talk, and they were sent from the Planet Xecto. Apparently, their king has it out for you, for some reason."

I resisted the urge to sigh as I dragged a free hand down my face, annoyance filling me as I nibbled at my lip. "Its because I refused to partner with them when they approached me with the idea of a weapon of destruction. They needed materials found on my planet, and when I refused, King Xilo was not happy. Apparently, he's still butthurt over the whole ordeal. Even though it was about twenty years ago," I added under my breath while pinching the bridge of my nose.

I looked at Jox when he cupped my cheek and turned my face towards him, his blue eyes glowering as he stared down at me. "Well, that bastard better back off, because I'll be damned if he tries to send someone else to hurt you."

"He'll want his assassin back," I said, staring back at him.

Jox frowned and leaned more of his weight onto the bed. "Maybe I should let Delra teach him a lesson, then. She seemed to be just as angry as I was when that bastard tried to kill you. Speaking of which..." his gaze grew soft and he began drawing imaginary shapes with his finger on my shoulder. "The two of you should really talk. Delra's been hiding something from you, and I think it'll do some good to get the two of you to talk about it. Nothing bad, I promise you. But maybe the two of you could work out your problems and maybe you wouldn't have to deal with a less-than-desirable-sister-to-be-around anymore."

I stared into his eyes and saw only sincerity, and because of that, I nodded, nibbling at the inside of my cheek. "Oh, um...ok. I'll talk to her whenever I'm able to get out of here." Silence then fell over the both of us, and after a moment, I lifted my free arm to stroke the back of my fingers against his jaw. "I'm sorry if I scared you."

Jox nuzzled against my hand, those blue eyes impossibly soft as he leaned down and pressed a kiss against my forehead. "You shouldn't have to apologize, Del. Don't ever apologize for something that isn't your fault. I'm just glad that you're alive."

Feeling my heart warm, I pulled myself up as best as I could manage and pressed a firm kiss against his lips. "Me too, Jox. Me too."