Danny stayed in the little hospital room Drea was resting in. He sat in the dark in one of the chairs next to her bed with his arms crossed. He was exhausted and kept nodding off by accident. He’d used up so much power breaking down the force field, then had found Drea knocked out on the ground with Corey, one of the top palace guards. He had been dead when Danny and the others showed up, with Drea just barely alive next to him.
He couldn’t leave her, so Danny used the rest of his aura to heal her best he could until help arrived, and had been visiting her for a few days. When he saw her, his breath flew out of his chest. Her blood was pooled around her and she was completely still, lying next to Corey. He was scared that she was dead.
Now it had been about three days since then, and she still hadn’t woken. Without him even realizing it, Toni stepped into the room and opened the curtains behind them, letting in the light. Danny squinted and turned around. Once again it was somehow a beautiful day, despite all the pain there was.
“Why don’t you relax Daniel? You’ve been here for a few hours now.” Toni seemed adamant this time, though she’d seemed adamant the past three times.
“She hasn’t woken up yet,” was all he said.
Toni came up next to him and sat on the edge of Drea’s bed. “Nor will she if you keep waiting here for her. I know you’re worried, but you’ve got to rest. She’s stabilized, but needs time to heal from all the hits she took.”
Danny knew she was right, but he didn’t want to listen. He only wanted to see Drea well and awake again. Toni seemed to realize this, but got up anyway and grabbed his arm. “Come on. You’re coming back with me.”
She forced him up and pulled him out, but he didn’t fight much, he was exhausted. His heart was already yearning to be back in that room, waiting for her. He wondered at what point he had actually fallen in love with her.
* * * * *
Drea kept sliding in and out of consciousness, but she was never able to wake up fully. Her dreams were filled with sorrow and pain, with the faces of the dead guard and of her brother flashing before her eyes, pulling her back into the darkness. She felt like she was suffocating, and couldn’t sleep restfully no matter how hard she tried.
It seemed to take forever, but Drea finally opened her eyes, only to feel the pain rush back to her. Her whole body ached. The only she could do was look around. She was in the same place she had been in when she first arrived in Koracan. It reminded her of a hospital, but there were no IVs or wires; it was just the bed, a small table and some windows.
She turned her head to see out the windows. It was a sunny day, the buildings winking in the sun. Drea turned back and tried to move. Her legs were stiff from underuse, and the rest of her body protested her attempt at movement.
She felt numb as she worked her way into a sitting position. She could still see the guard’s face haunting her in her mind, but no more tears came. All she felt was guilt. Guilt that she couldn’t kill the Lori herself, guilt that she’d gotten distracted, guilt that he’d given his life just for her. She wasn’t important enough for someone to lose their life over her.
Drea’s heart ached and she didn’t know what to do. She knew that if she didn’t do something, more people would be dying for her sake, and that was the last thing she wanted. More Lori would continue to come, and if she couldn’t protect herself, she had no doubt someone else would. She was the key to Alka now; she was the Weaponsmaster.
I can’t let more people die for me, she thought. I won’t let more people give up their lives. She repeated it like a mantra, but in the back of her mind, she knew there was only one thing she could do if she wanted to keep these people safe. The idea scared her, and she knew it would never work with her new responsibilities. Her only goal now was to keep these people safe, but she didn’t know how to do that without compromising everything she and everyone else had worked for.
Over the next few hours, Drea worked on standing up and walking around. She was determined to get out of the hospital quickly, even though she knew they’d never let her leave willingly.
After a while, she was walking almost normally again; she would’ve been moving fine if not for the soreness and scratches that overwhelmed her body. Her chest was completely covered in bandages while her head had a few wrapped around it like a headband. Both kept throbbing, but Drea wasn’t about to let them stop her.
That was until her vision flickered and she fell forward onto her face. She wasn’t sure what had happened, but she remembered seeing something important in her mind, she just couldn’t remember what it was.
Her chest began to ache as she tried to get up. All the pain returned to her body in a rush, immobilizing her. Drea got up far enough to lean against one of the legs of the bed, where she remained for some time, trying to muster up the strength to get up to the bed.
She tried to stand a few times, but it seemed impossible. She kept falling back down, her chest heaving and her body shaking with the effort. She was just too weak, and that bothered her. That fight drained her strength, leaving her helpless.
After about an hour, she gave up and rested against the pole, waiting for someone to come in. Her thoughts were a tornado. Drea wanted to do something to help, to actually be the Weaponsmaster, but she could do nothing. Having great power made her a prisoner, for her life couldn’t be risked, meaning that everyone had to risk their lives for her.
The rattling of the doorknob knocked Drea out of her thoughts. Finally, she thought with a sense of relief. It definitely wasn’t comfortable sitting on the hard floor leaning on a bed pole. The door cracked open and Drea could hear voices, followed by Danny and Toni. They stopped in their tracks when they saw her on the floor.
Drea felt her whole face go red as she said, “Help,” weakly. The two of them looked at each other before Danny knelt next to her and picked her up in his arms the way he had so long ago. He lifted her gently, his soft hands spreading warmth into her body. She knew she was still red as he placed her on the bed and she readjusted herself to a sitting position.
She hadn’t noticed it before, but Danny was looking incredibly tired and worn out. She knew he healed her, though it looked like he hadn’t even slept recently.
“Are you alright?” she asked. “You look exhausted.”
Danny smiled a little and responded, “You’re the one who should be answering that question. You almost died and you’ve been out three days and you’re already trying to walk?”
The tone of his voice was playful, but at the mention of her almost death and time spent asleep, Drea didn’t feel so good anymore. “I almost died?” Her voice was nothing more than a whisper and she knew she went pale.
Danny’s eyes narrowed as he sighed. Toni touched him by the shoulder and walked out the door solemnly, leaving the two of them alone. Danny sat on the edge of her bed and looked into her eyes. “Yes,” he hesitated, “You were hurt very badly Andrea. It took a while to heal you. What happened?”
Drea took a few minutes to explain how she woke to feel the aura, found out about the force field, and killed off the eight Lori. She choked a little bit when she mentioned the guard, who Danny identified as Corey, and how he’d died in her arms. Her heart immediately sank as she tried to stop the tears from coming again.
Danny listened intently throughout the whole story, waiting patiently for her to finish.
It was quiet for sometime after until he spoke, “It’s not your fault Andrea,” he said gently. “Corey died protecting you. He died at peace.”
“You don’t get it!” yelled Drea, tears beginning to flow slowly down her cheeks. She couldn’t take his calm, cool demeanor, not when she was feeling so guilty about all of it.
“That man, Corey, he gave his life for his job, for a weak little girl that he was assigned to protect at all costs. I’m not worth someone else’s life Danny. I’m just not worth it….” She looked up at him with blurry eyes before she placed her head in her hands and wept.
Danny hesitated and sat further on her bed. He lifted her head and reached up to her face to wipe her tears off slowly. That same spine chilling feeling was sent down her back as she blushed and averted her eyes. Warmth spread through her, making her feel excited and nervous all at once. “Andrea trust me, I understand more than you think. I know it’s difficult, but if we let our emotions get in the way, we’d never be strong enough to face our enemies. It’s unfortunate, but true. And you are strong Andrea, you just have to believe it now.” He stopped for a moment, staring straight into her eyes with his soft, yet piercing green ones. “And you are worth a life. You’re worth so much more than you think.”
Drea smiled as she attempted to release the tension, wiping her tears away with a little laugh. Then she remembered one last thing: “I have to tell his family something. I have to let them know what happened.”
Danny’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Are you sure? His wife and little girl are still very broken up about his death.”
“I have to,” said Drea, as she looked back into his eyes. She needed to tell them no matter how bad it made her feel.
He hesitated then said, “Very well.”