My eyes meticulously roamed the shelves of books in the library. I tried desperately not to worry as I waited for Rowan to get back with Terra. My nerves were at an all-time high—which didn't happen often, so I wasn't sure what to do with this weird energy.
The only solace I had was that I could still feel her mental signature softly floating in the back of my mind, like it always did. That, at the very least, told me she was still alive. Quickly, I glanced into Luke's mind. Luckily, I had been able to create a mental link without need for eye-contact because of what he was.
I winced. He was miserable, and as much as I didn't like the guy, I felt bad for him. I had been there. I tensed as he walked towards the sphere I had sent for Terra. That sphere was the door to the portal that Rowan and his men had used to get from here to the human world.
If he picked it up—because of what he was—he would be able to actually see what was on the other side, which would obviously be problematic, to say the least. However, he probably wouldn't be paying any attention to that. Not that he would even know what to do with a portal anyways.
I took a quick note to influence the memories of Terra in every single person who came in contact with her over the years. As far as they knew, she would have moved away for an early admission to a great college. It was easier to deal with any loose strings that way.
Minutes after I had done the altering, I snapped my gaze towards the door, as loud, rushed footfalls sounded through the hall. I held a breath as Rowan ran into the library. Sweat was dripping down his forehead, and his breathing was irregular and heavy. Something was very wrong. I grew frantic.
Where was she?
Why wasn't he with her?
"Rowan, what's wrong? Where is she?" I asked, feeling the bubbling worry escalating to a boil as it slowly started to overtake me. I knew that taking Terra through the portal was dangerous—I knew that. But in all of the simulations we ran with the new precautions that had been put in place, she came out okay. She always came out okay. I clenched my fists to calm my shaking hands.
She had to be okay.
My brows furrowed. To put it lightly, Rowan looked awful. Something definitely wasn't right. He quickly gestured for me to follow him, so I did. We quickly started running as fast as Rowan was able towards the east wing of the castle. My chest tightened.
Only three major rooms were in the east wing. He was either taking me to the kitchen, Reiko's laboratory, or the emergency care station. If Terra was in the emergency care station, then...I frowned, shaking my head in an attempt to get rid of the thoughts. I searched my mindscape frantically for the ever-present flicker that told me she was alive.
I let out a breath, a fraction of the weight on my shoulders lifting. It was very faint.
But it was there.
"Rowan, what's happening?" I asked, firmer this time, in hopes that he would answer me. He cleared his throat roughly.
"We had to rush our transfer between worlds—that stupid Anatiké was sitting outside her house waiting for her to come back out. When the portal opened, he saw the light, then us, and came running." He said, trying to regain his composure, "We had no choice but to force the portal open and closed." He finished, defeated and out of breath. Oh. That was serious.
Opening and closing a portal was dangerous enough—being in the dead space at all was dangerous enough—but forcing a portal open was deadly. It was a miracle they had survived at all. Doing that was like attempting to land on your feet alive after jumping off a six story building. It also explained why Rowan was so tired. Forcing a portal to open and close took a lot of effort, not to mention guts; I would have thank him profusely later.
But, that wasn't the point right now. If Rowan was worn out after this, I felt bile rise in my throat as I wondered what state Terra was in. I looked over at Rowan, who was very clearly struggling to get his voice to work properly. For good reason, too.
However, I needed to know what had happened. I sent a glance to Rowan, asking for permission. He seemed to already know what I was going to do, because he gave me a nod of approval. I grabbed hold of his shoulder so he could guide me as I worked through his mind.
Focusing the brunt of my thought process on hacking his, I was momentarily relieved that it wouldn't take much effort to enter. He had just left the lock open, and I was able to effortlessly enter his mind. Whisking through his memories, I found what I needed, and held my breath.
Please, please, be okay.
I watched as he entered her room, lifting her up carefully. Then I saw Luke start running towards to house from the window, and all chaos broke loose.
Rowan and the others pushed their physical capabilities to the limit as they forced the portal back open before it closed. Then Rowan—with Terra—ran through, and the others followed.
But before they could try to cross the dead space, they had to somehow get the portal closed faster than was possible. Rowan handed an unconscious Terra to the second guard that accompanied him, wrenching the portal closed with a pained cry.
After nearly losing consciousness, Rowan and the others quickly began to run to the exit portal before it closed, effectively trapping them in between realms. I shuddered. If that had been the case, all four of them would have died, no questions asked. The shadow-steps would have eaten them alive.
The dead space was the only pathway in between realms, and it was incredibly dangerous. The very atmosphere of the dead space itself was toxic to all living beings if engulfed in it long enough.
In preparation for traversing the dangerous pathway, we'd exposed Terra to our air. The air from Alreines was much denser than from Earth. The goal was that she would be exposed to just enough of it that she'd lose consciousness, and therefore breathe less in hopes of her not inhaling as much of the toxin.
So far, she seemed to be doing okay—but it was gravely affecting the others.
The shadow-steps—mysterious things made of shadows and darkness that resided in the dead space—they started to rustle excitedly in the distance. They were growing restless. Hungry.
That was not a good sign. They needed to get out of there, fast.
I felt Rowan's panic as one of the men cried out, losing his grip on Terra as her body and limbs started twitching unnaturally. I blanched.
She was seizing.
Even though she had been unconscious, Terra had been under the influence of the atmosphere for too long. Her nose started bleeding, and her eyes flickered open, only the whites visible as they rolled back in her head.
She was dying. This was exactly what Rowan had been warning me about. The chances that it would have actually happened were slim to none, but it had. She'd been exposed to the dead space's atmosphere for long enough that the synapses in her brain were misfiring, and her organs beginning to shut themselves down, one by one.
Rowan caught her falling form, holding her firmly to him, running as fast as he was capable out of the portal, and into the castle to the emergency care station, leaving the others to close the exit off. He hastily explained to the nurse what had happened, and before I knew it, they were hooking Terra up to a med-scanner, sticking her with the various electrodes and sensors, and injecting a serum into her shoulder.
I snapped my mind from Rowan's, narrowly escaping his mind with my sanity. The second I was out, I bolted as fast as I could to the ECS.
I arrived in a blind panic, my heart thudding in my ears as I asked where Terra was. Rowan followed in shortly after, the nurse on duty rushing up to him to support his weight as he slumped over. I quickly went over to help, and she brought us to Terra's room, helping Rowan to the second bed.
I stood frozen in the doorway, studying the med-scanner for her vitals—the breath I unconsciously held rushing from my lungs. She had a heartbeat. She was breathing. She was alive. I looked over her unconscious form, my heart beating about a thousand miles a minute.
She looked rough, like she was barely clinging to life. She was no longer in her old clothes, but in an uncomfortable looking mint hospital gown. I sighed, taking in the various colored patches and sensors adorning her frail looking body. I watched the med scanner as the booster-shot of sorts they'd given her earlier worked it's way through her system.
The medicine she'd been given was made from Napenuevan stem cells. As Reiko explained to me, the cells would modify her own to help her system adjust to our atmosphere. It was a lot cleaner and more concentrated than the atmosphere on earth, so being exposed to its purity without preparation would be hazardous.
I glanced at her vitals floating steadily in the air, and felt relief flood me. It seemed as an added bonus, the cells seemed to be helping her organs heal from whatever had happened to her in the dead space.
"Thank goodness." I said quietly, looking back down at her. The tension slowly started to leave my body as I took in her presence. She was finally here.
I smiled, leaning down to gently move a wayward strand of her long, fiery hair. I let my fingers softly run though it until it fell, bringing the back of my hand to slide carefully down the smooth slope of her freckled cheek.
There were many points in the last thirteen years where I didn't know if this day would ever come, but here it was. I would finally be able to really get to know her, to talk with her in person! I held fast to the hope that she would want to get to know me, too.
I glanced over at Rowan, who was also being hooked up to a med-scanner. His condition was thankfully far less critical than Terra's. He'd inhaled too much of the atmosphere of the dead space, and had a minor case of toxicity poisoning; whereas Terra had somehow been overdosed with it, needing a full cleansing and detoxification.
Rowan met my gaze with his, and my eyes dulled at the sight of him. He really didn't look too good.
"How're you holding up?" I winced at the paleness of his usually darkly tanned skin, and he flashed me a weak smile.
"I'm alright. I'm half Vaantic, remember? I'll be up on my feet in an hour or less, I'm sure." He said, triggering a fit of hacking that sounded suspiciously like he was coughing up a lung. After a nurse had come to check up on him, she administered a nasal inhalant to stop the coughing, and he let his head fall heavily onto his pillow, closing his eyes.
"You're also half human, Rowan. I think you forget that sometimes," I sighed. "Get some rest, what good is a bodyguard that can't talk without coughing?" I'd said the last part jokingly, but the rest was far from it. He pushed out a weak chuckle.
"Will do, bossman." Then he was silent.
I turned back to Terra just in time to see her body move, her hand shooting up to clutch something at her collarbone. Leaning in, I gently removed her hand from the item around her neck, and frowned. A small heart shaped pendant rested against her chest. I clicked my tongue with annoyance. I had a feeling I knew exactly who it was from.
Letting out a long breath, I stepped away from Terra to pull up a chair. While I was sitting here, I figured I should at least do something productive. So, I sent for one of the castle attendants to bring me the paperwork from my office. Clearly, any distraction at this point was a welcome one.
Sooner than I'd have liked, the attendant rushed in, handing me the small translucent device. I thanked the attendant, my face pinching in displeasure as the screen came to life in my hands; four stacks of fully formed, three dimensional paperwork quickly materializing up and out into the space around me. I huffed, raking fingers through my inky hair. They'd added a significant amount of work to the pile since earlier in the day. Fantastic.
Heads up, this chapter had to be split into two parts, because it was SO DANG LONG.
Sometimes I just get into a groove, and kinda forget that 6000 words is too much for one chapter. 😰😰😰
So. Yeaaaaah.
If it seems like it just kinda stops in the middle of nothing...That's because it does. 😂
Buuuuuuuuut, good news~~
IT'S A DAILY DOUBLE CHAPTER DAY! *Throws Confetti* 🎉🎉🎉
Lol. Anyways. As always, thanks for reading, and a special thank you to everyone who has voted, commented, and added CoML to their reading lists!
See ya in a hot minute!
-Lady Wazzy