Sui Generis

Chapter 22: Feverish Love

(Neviah)

In the four hours I've been in bed, I must have woken up ten times. Not for that long each time, but enough to break my sleep into un-refreshing chunks. With every disturbance, there was an elevation in the temperature of the room. The heat had invited a morning of restlessness as my shirt and hair stuck to my wet body. With an aggravated kick, I threw the thin bed covering Brax and me off of me in an attempt for some cool air but had no avail.

Irritated, I tossed and turned, feeling the temperature in the room rise at an abnormal pace. Infernae was the hottest place on the island, but I'd never experienced such heat in the six months I'd been here. Even my powers were struggling to keep up with the increase to keep myself cool. The heat felt like it wanted to seep into my bones. When it all became too much, my eyes opened and darted to the clock. It was only two thirty in the morning!

I looked across at Brax to see if he was as affected as I was. He was a dragon, so he probably loved the new condition of our room. My own heart stuttered in worry when I heard his heart pounding against his ribs- face looking pained. I could physically hear it in the quiet of the early morning- it was bearing so hard. His body was trembling, twitching ever so often. Here I was complaining, while Brax looked like he could die any second.

"Brax." I called cautiously. When he didn't wake up from his name,  I went to shake him awake. A sudden scorching pain shocked my hand, causing me to quickly pull back. Amazed, I watched steam evaporate from where I touched him. That only happened when we were having sex. Nevertheless, that seemed to wake him up, his eyes open like two flashlight beams, providing enough light to illuminate our dark room. I watched him in fascination. It looked like a live fire burning from his eyes. "Are you okay babe?" I asked. He said nothing just looking at the ceiling disorientated. I waved my hand in front of his face, but he didn't react. All he did was continue breathing.

Trying again, I put my hand on his forehead and pulled back immediately as the same heat sizzled at my hand. After a while, I stood up from the bed, as he placed his body near me. It was getting painful to be next to him. I liked it when things were cool not desert climate. "It's really hot in here." He muttered, breaking the silence.

"Are you sure you're hot, you're shivering?" It looked like his body was.... glowing. "You're extremely hot. I'm going to call Floren-"

"No don't, I'm fine. It's cold now so close the window." He muttered, eyes drifting back to sleep. Pulling the sheet over his body, he laid back down in the warm bed, eyes semi-open.

Worried I chewed my lip, as I watched his chest rise and fall in a jagged motion. His body was sleeping with sweat. "I'm going to get you something to break that fever," I told him, my mind listing through the different remedies that could work as a cure. As soon as I left the room and closed the door, I could finally breathe. The air felt fresher and in it. I wasn't drowning in heat anymore.

I spent the rest of that morning trying to bring down his temperature. Yet I had no avail. He was still shivering, while sweat bathed down his body. From opening all the windows to circulate fresh air- although I had to keep the blinds closed as he seemed to have developed sensitivity to light. To wipe his skin down with cool water, placing a wet towel on his head, just for it to evaporate in seconds. I made all the teas I could think of from ginger to lemon, to Infernae special bush teas. Any concoction I could think of, I made to replenish the water he was sweating.  However, he continued to be in and out of sleep, barely saying anything coherent. He was sure he wanted no visitors and no doctors though.

Nothing seemed to work though leaving me disheartened and exhausted. It had to be more than a simple fever.

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