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“I—I need to check on Olivia,” I say, my chest deflating a fraction at the confession.
“Is she okay?” His brow furrows, and the color drains from his face as he frantically searches for her.
“She’s safe,” I say hurriedly. “But I’m not sure she’s coping well with everything that happened, and everything going on now.”
He frowns as he watches her, but relaxes slightly. She moves on to the next patient, her attention split between healing and watching the last stretcher being carried away.
“Sometimes I forget that she isn’t used to this, that I tried to shield her from the pain and suffering in the world.” His shoulders slump, his usual mask fracturing in this moment. “Thank you for looking out for her, and … for taking that blade for Octavia.”
“I didn’t do it for you.” The words slip from my lips, an automatic reaction from the millennia we’ve spent at each other’s throats, yet the words lack their usual bite.
“Trust me, I know that.” He chuckles, shaking his head. “Despite everything that’s happened in the past, you’ve risen above it. You’ve proven me wrong, and I’m grateful for that.”
“I guess you’re not so bad yourself.” I sigh begrudgingly. “Can you coordinate with my generals while I’m gone?”
Osias’ eyes widen, but he nods. “Of course.”
I clap a hand on his shoulder and give him a nod of appreciation. It might not be much, but it’s a hell of a lot better than we used to be. A few months ago, I would’ve never trusted Osias to command my generals out of fear of him taking that power from me, but now, I understand him, as crazy as that sounds.
“Kyros, can you spare Olivia right now?”I project as I stride towards them. Guardians and demigods still race around the clearing, but it isn’t as chaotic as before.
Kyros’ head pops up from where he was hunched over a guardian, his brows furrowed as he searches around him, so lost in his healing I bet he barely knew what was going on.
“Sure. There aren’t too many patients left, and all the serious injuries have been taken care of,”Kyros projects back before he focuses back on the injury.
“Little mate,” I breathe as I reach Olivia’s side and gently rub her shoulders.
She looses a small moan at the massage before remembering herself, her cheeks flushing red as she glances down at the guardian. “You’re all healed up. Just make sure to get some rest.”
“Thank you,” the female guardian says, clasping Olivia’s hand. Exhaustion quickly takes its hold though, and her hand slips back down to the cot, her eyes shuttering as she slips into a deep slumber.
“Mateo,” Olivia hisses, turning to face me. She stands and pushes me away, nervously glancing back at the guardian to make sure she hasn’t woken. “What are you doing?”
“I need to talk to you … in private.” I grin, wrapping my arm around her waist as I lead her up into the dense line of trees.
“Can’t it wait? I have more injured to—”
“No, it can’t wait. Plus, Kyros already told me he can take care of the rest.”
Reluctantly, she lets me lead her away with a sigh of resignation and a final glance over her shoulder at the camp. We head deeper into the forest, brush cracking under our boots with each step we take. The sounds of the soldiers and messengers fade into a mere murmur, the crunch of leaves and twigs echoing over it. The orb light from the clearing is a distant twinkle now, as tiny as the stars dotting the skies.
“I can’t wait to take you to other worlds,” I breathe, finally coming to a stop when I’m sure we won’t be seen or overheard.
She frowns and pulls away from my touch to lean back against the rough bark of a towering maple tree, looking back at where we came as though she’s about to argue. I close the distance between us, caging her in, distracting her from the reality we just left behind.
Trailing my fingers over her cheek, I brush back a wisp of hair behind her ear. She leans into the touch, her sea-green eyes flicking up to meet my own, a mix of pain and longing swirling in their depths.
“Sometimes I forget there’ll be a time when we aren’t having to fight for our lives every other week.” She places her hand over my chest. “What world were you thinking of when you looked up at the stars?”
“I was thinking of how small the stars look here.” I smile, swiping my thumb over her bottom lip, wishing I could brush my own over hers and absorb every ache from her soul. “There’s a world where it looks like the stars are right beside you, but no matter how far you go, you can never touch them.”
“That sounds beautiful,” she breathes, looking up at the stars above. “Even though it might not be as breathtaking, I want to show you the human world, show you where I grew up, and I want to see your home, our new home in Ethereal.”
“We have all the time in the world, little mate. We can see anything and everything you desire.”
“Yeah.” She sighs, a wistful smile curling on her lips, but her eyes shine with unshed tears. “We just have to make it through this fight.”
“We will,” I assure her, wiping my thumb below her eye and catching the tear before it falls. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
