Chapter Eighteen
I woke up to the feeling of someone lightly shaking my shoulder.
I wanted to protest against the touch, refuse to open my eyes, but the shaking was insistent.
“Aria?” a voice called to me.
It was familiar and warm. It sounded like home.
I managed to open my eyes a bit, fighting against the bright artificial light that assaulted me as I did so. But after several seconds of adjusting, I managed to make out the face of my mother.
“Aria?” she called again.
“I‘m alive…?” I said, my throat dry and sore.
She quickly brought some water to my lips and I began to sip on it, enjoying the refreshing feeling that came with it.
“How are you feeling?” she asked as she began to look over my body, making several notes in a chart by the bed.
How was I feeling? I was sure I had died again. I was in the Abyss, I saw the memory. It was just like how i t had felt last time.
…So, how was I feeling?
I felt confused by the entire situation right now.
“I should be dead,” I replied.
She instantly turned to look at me, a little shocked by my blunt response.
“Don‘t say such an awful thing,” my mother said, her eyes full of concern. “You‘ve fully recovered, there‘s n o need to say something like that.”
Did this mean I was never in the Abyss? Had it just been a nightmare the entire time?
My mother looked like she wanted to say something else, but she was debating internally.
“You know…as a doctor, I‘m happy to see that you‘ve healed so well, but…as a mother, I want to scold you for stupidly running into danger like you did. What were you thinking, Aria?”
| already realised it was dumb the second I came face–to–face with the sandy wolf. She didn‘t really need t o scold me further. On the other hand though, if I hadn‘t been there then there was a good chance Cai would have died fighting off all four wolves, or Myra would have been killed.
life to him for saving me. I was sure I was only still alive because of the effort he
bleeding, not to mention how he‘d carried me through
remembered then that Cai had been
okay?”
face changed to one of concern
day he was able to walk around again. I‘ve instructed for him to take it easy over the
was going to be
Chapter Eighteet
you say ‘day‘? How long
been unconscious for three
was uncertain when
to discuss,” she said. “I‘ve been trying hard to come up with other explanations for it but I‘m at a loss. The
What could be so serious that it would make the
“...What is it?”
body…
I‘m sure it would have. What
is that possible? I haven‘t
sort of marking,”
that. I was way too young to be going around with a mate‘s marko n me.
seem to have been marked on your back… with
And, internally, I cringed.
own fate. She seemed
me was true, then it would appear the Goddess had now marked me as her own. Any plans to run
know what
one had seen the Goddess‘ mark in over a millennium and even then, the accounts were iffy
at her. My life was about
know why
All the
lie to her, but I also didn‘t want to break her heart by telling her my story either. I wanted things to be normal between us. I wanted her to care for me in the same way she had in the past. If she knew I was actually twenty–four, would she be frightened by
cheek and shrugged my
but, thankfully, didn‘t push the
“You‘ve physically healed fine, but I was worried about your mental state given the coma you were in. Do
about it for a few moments. Did I want to meet with him?
Chapter Eighteen
I felt completely fine other
with him,”
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