Keeping Him Loved

Chapter 36

        Add was absolutely furious with himself. For the moment, all he could do was watch over (y/n) and hope that she showed improvement in her condition. He found himself extremely sensitive to any sounds hoping to hear her voice or signs of her waking. They were safe in the temporary home given to them for their visit, but Add did not feel comfortable here. He wanted to go back to Velder where Dynamo and that annoying old man, Raven, were there waiting for him.

        Last night was an absolute disaster in so many ways that he was tempted to charge right back into the garden and take out his frustrations on the numerous spores taking refuge at the base of the tree. Maybe he would come across the plant that was producing them and cut it down at its roots.

        Getting them out of the garden had been a test of his will, and he just barely passed it. Sael's charm had guided his steps as if someone was pointing out the path to him, but Add didn't quite reach the edge of the garden before he tired out. After mentally exhausting himself that entire day, a physical exhaustion had brought him to his limit. It had been Grandiel that found them, and it was in the elf's borrowed home that he woke up in.

        (Y/n) didn't wake up. The spore could not decide whether or not to leave her alone or continue evasive action leaving her in a sleep-like state akin to a coma. Synn was barely concious, infected by the many spores that attacked them the previous night. The parasitic disease was developing rather slowly within the boy suggesting he had some form of resistance to it. Add himself had a throbing headache that wouldn't go away. He thought it was impossible for the spores to effect humans, but perhaps large amounts of them could still harm other species. However, that was the least of Add's worries.

        He had lost a patient. The elf in the most critical condition didn't survive the night.

        For the first time, he had actually failed at saving a life. The reports that Kassias were supposed to send had stopped because the older elf didn't want Add's morale to take a hit, but more than just his morale was damaged by what he considered the ultimate failure.

        "It's not your fault, doctor," Kassias said from the door. Add still could vividly recall the way Kassias had used his tome to place a barrier around them to stop the spores all while casting a restorative spell to bring back some of their energy. A power unlike the kind Add himself had. Kassias had a charm too, which meant that he could have gone through the garden with ease to reach them.

        "Don't call me that. What are you even here for? You knew exactly what's been going on in Eldemyr this entire time, haven't you?"

        Sael and Ilphas were still searching for Synn. Add had heard Kassias lie to them earlier that morning before the older elf helped Add bring (y/n) and Synn over to be treated in the makeshift lab.

        "I didn't lie to you when I said we needed your help."

        "But you did lie. Now one of your own is sick, and (y/n) won't wake up." Add pulled (y/n)'s cloak inwards to better cover himself. He hadn't taken it off since last night. When (y/n) woke up, he wanted to properly return it and see her smiling at him from beneath its hood. "Why didn't you tell anyone what you knew?"

        Kassias sighed. "I did. The elders didn't want word to get out that the El Tree was contaminated. They're currently casting an illusion to hide its wilting. I have no influence in their decisions, but they do trust me. The best I could do was find someone to help cure everyone and another to take down the plant feeding off of the tree." The elf pulled out his tome. "The best I can do is slow down the effects. We truly had no way to stop the sickness before you arrived here, doctor."

        "I told you not to call me that," Add growled. He reached out and tested (y/n)'s temperature with the back of his hand. "You intended to send her to do it."

        "I did, but that was only after I found out who she was and before I learned who she was to you. If she is her father's daughter, then she can kill the thing feeding off of the El Tree. Her father was a friend to the wind. The shard there will give her strength." Kassias went to the other side of (y/n)'s bed. "I believed she could do it because I knew her father." Add sent his dynamos at Kassias to get him to back off. "When you talked to me the night before, I realized that I couldn't just lead the two of you there and ask her to defeat the plant. You'd forbid it."

        "Damned right I would."

        "I hinted at it hoping that you would make your way there instead. Only I and the elders are aware of what's truly going on. Sael is just following my orders as a member of Night Saver. He and his family have nothing to do with this. I didn't want Synn to get dragged into this too."

        "You practically set him up. It doesn't take a genius like myself to realize that he was going to run into trouble." Add glared at him. "You accounted for that too."

        "I did." Kassias didn't look at him. "Sael would have gone with you into the gardens if it meant ensuring Synn's safety. I simply underestimated Synn a little. He's a good kid. I should have been more careful."

        Add curled his hands into fists. "Did you really know that we were heading to the gardens last night?"

        "I didn't, no. It's by chance that I decided to check on your progress. You didn't seek me out about the lack of reports, so I assumed you had guessed what happened. When I didn't find you or (y/n) there, I knew something was wrong, so I checked the gardens first. Part of me hoped that you and (y/n) had managed to solve the problem right then and there. I still hoped that (y/n) could be like her father." Add stood up and quietly walked over to Kassias before slamming him against the nearest wall to hold him by the collar of his shirt. "I'm not your enemy, Add. I'm doing the best I can to save Eldemyr. If I hadn't asked for outside help, this all could have ended much worse. And it's still not over."

        "I don't care about you or anything you've been trying to do! I told you, you're at her mercy!" He pointed at (y/n) without taking his eyes off the elf in front of him. "I told you if anything happened to her-!" he stopped himself and released Kassias, shoving him aside. He took a deep breath and went to sit back down while Kassias avoided making eye contact. "I'll give you a detailed outline on how to make the elixir. It needs a few more adjustments, but it will work. When (y/n) wakes up, I'm going to put an end to the Alterasia outbreak myself. I don't want your money or worthless apologies. We're going to leave Eldemyr, and if I ever see you again, you'll wish you were never born. Don't speak to me again unless it's about my remaining patients."

        "Even if it means nothing to you, I truly am sorry. You have all of Eldemyr's gratitude for still helping us."

        "Get. Out." Add hissed. Kassias left without another word to check on Synn across the hall.

        Add's dynamos slammed the door shut behind him and returned to spiral behind him. "To have strength but not be able to use it. How pathetic," he thought to himself.

        He got up to place a kiss on (y/n)'s forehead as she slept before sitting back down to start on his last project as a doctor. From this day forward, he would become a ruler, one who could direct the flow of lives and control others just as the elders had come controlled Kassias. Then none of this would ever happen again.
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What?? Kassias was actually hiding something all along? No way! (I'm joking...I knew he was gonna do that haha...) Until next time you astounding readers!