Love is Magic, and Magic is Love

Scars and Spaceships

Behind my back I can feel the heart of Etheria crackling with energy, threatening to explode at any moment. But it doesn't matter. All that matters to me in this very moment is the feel of Adora's lips pressed against mine, filling me with a warmth I didn't even know was possible.

I can't believe I finally told her how I feel , I think, and that she loves me too . She'll pull through this. I know she will. She'll turn into She-Ra, we'll survive this, and be together forever from now on...

Adora's fingers dig into my arms, gripping desperately.

Something's wrong...

Her head falls backward, and my lips feel cold air at the loss.

"Adora?" I ask, shaking her shoulders, fresh tears forming at my cheeks.

Adora gasps. "Catra, I'm... sorry. I couldn't..."

This isn't how it's supposed to be!

Her eyes roll back in their sockets and she sighs. Her chest rises once more, then falls still.

This isn't right! It isn't!

Adora falls completely limp in my arms, and a cold dread chills my heart.

"Adora!"

I place my ear to her chest, frantically listening. There's nothing... not a single beat of her heart. It's the most horrifying thing I've ever not heard.

"ADORA! NO!" I scream, clinging to her lifeless form, sobbing violently, my chest heaving so much that I struggle to breathe.

This can't be happening...

it can't be ...

... not when we were so close...

The heart explodes behind us, and I don't even care that I'm about to die.

--

I gasp for air and jump away from the explosion on instinct, landing on the floor and rolling a few times before I stop on all fours, panting, my eyes frantically scanning around for Adora's body. My mind feels foggy but I quickly realise that the floor is soft beneath my fingertips... soft and pink. Not cold and hard. A dream? PLEASE let it be a dream, I think, clawing my nails into the carpet, my heart pounding in my ears.

"Catra!" Adora calls out my name, and hearing her voice makes my heart almost shatter. She leaps towards me, and I throw my arms around her.

"Adora," I choke out her name while nuzzling my face into her neck, her skin turning damp from my tears.

"It's okay," she says, gently rocking me in her arms. "It's okay. I'm here. We're safe."

I flatten my ear against her neck, finding the steady rhythm of her pulse.

da-dum...

da-dum...

I inhale a deep breath through my nose, taking in Adora's familiar scent, smelling the salt of her recent sleep, and that subtle hint of vanilla which could only ever belong to her.

"Adora, I... " the nightmare flickers in my mind again. Adora's face, how it looked when she just gave in, and how horrifying it was to not be able to hear her heartbeat. "Damn it," I groan, leaning back and putting my fists against her chest, tugging at her nightgown. "I just want it to stop , okay? I just want to stop feeling like I'm going to lose you every two seconds, especially now, especially now that we-"