The Revenant:Book 2

Paralyzed

TITANNIA

Nova never ate for the past six days that he'd been here. He sat alone inside his room. Occasionally I would peak in to see if he was okay,only to find him curled into a ball, bloody tears streaming down his cheeks.

At times he would keep everyone awake, screaming out into the night air. He would yell out, voice ripe with anguish and rage until he lost his voice.

There were times when I was scared he would tear his vocal chords.

I never asked why, I never felt like it was my place to know.

I kept quiet, only checking in every morning to see if he was still okay, still alive.

"Nova?" I'd call out to him.

No answer. In the darkness of the cave where almost no sunlight shone, I could barely notice him.

If it weren't for my Revenant eyesight, I would have never seen him sitting in the corner, caressing his right shoulder blade.

"I can't feel it...but I still can."

Nova ran his hands gently along what used to be his right arm. The damage from the fall had taken its toll, and unfortunately Gran was too late to save all of him. Nova's right arm had been torn off, barely clinging to his shoulder by a thin piece of meat.

In the end, no matter how much Gran tried, she couldn't heal him and Nova was left with only one arm.

"What do you want?"

"I came to check in on you."

"I'm fine. Leave."

Okay asshole.

I turned to leave. I was never one to take anyone's shit but this time...something was different. As I turned to leave, I found myself stuck. Paralyzed in that one spot, unable to move a single muscle in my body.

Don't go...

A voice rang in my head.

Don't leave...

My own.

I turned back toward Nova; and  planting my feet firm,I took a breath.

"No."

Nova's head shot up and slowly turned toward me. "Excuse me?"

"I said...No. I'm going to stand right here and keep an eye on you."

Nova rose from where he sat, and despite him being far younger than I was, his stride set a fear in my chest.

It didn't last long though. A couple seconds later and Nova was plummeting to the floor, trying to keep himself up with one piece of spaghetti for an arm.

"You're in no condition to go anywhere still. You need rest-"

"I NEED THAT FUCKERS HEAD ON A PLATTER! HE KILLED MY MOTHER!" Nova cried, slamming his fist into the ground.

Rather than break his knuckles, the earth began to form small craters around his blows.

Nova stopped after the third strike, his hand bloody.

I felt a pang shoot through my body, slamming into my chest.

His mother was killed?

I knelt beside him,helping Nova to his feet.

"I don't need your help"

"You keep telling yourself that Hun."

I let him down gently onto the bed slab. His breath was heavy, as if the walk alone had sapped all of the strength from his body.

"You can barely walk two steps without keeling over, barely breathe..." I folded my arms, smirking. "I'm beginning to wonder if the tales of the 'oh so mighty Empires Grim Reaper' are just exaggerated peasant tales."

"Ha fucking ha."

I let out a chuckle.

"So you do have a sense of humour!"

Nova trailed off, his hand moving toward his chest. A new scar sat above his heart.

"You're lucky. Gran thought you wouldn't survive. That arrow struck true, pierced right through your heart and aorta. Any normal human would have died. Gran said your healing system kicked into overdrive. Saved your life. Whoever shot you had incredible skill."

I saw it. For a brief second, I saw the lines of his lips form a smile, only to vanish as quickly as it had shown, replaced by rage.

"Yeah. She did."

She?

"How long will my recovery take?"

"Any normal revenant would have healed by now-"

"I know idiot, I meant for me."

"Don't be such an asshole!"

Nova didn't seem to have any plans to take back what he said.

I let out a sigh, shaking my head in despair.

"Give or take, a few weeks. But that's with rest."

"I can't rest! I need to get myself mobile-"

"You need to get yourself healed." I said, pushing Nova down onto his back. "And that means staying in bed!"

I walked out of the room, while Nova continued to curse behind me.

"I'm going to get out of this bed!"

"No you're not!"

What a strange guy.