CHAPTER 28
Matthew
The battle was like every other battle I’d ever taken part in. Loud, bloody, chaotic, unpleasant.
My horse bolted halfway through.
I was subconsciously keeping an eye on Theo, just to make sure that he was alright- he was, of course, but it was never a certainty in these situations.I only lost sight of him whenStryker and Jack appeared before me; Jack had a grimace plastered onto his face, Stryker looked a mix of worried and frustrated.
“He’s…got a fucking migraine.” He hissed as I slashed at a Stadal soldier who was getting too close to us. I spun back round towards them in disbelief “and you decided tofight?I growled at my partner “are you thick?”
Jack glared at me, though it was more of a grimace than anything.
“Need to get him away from here.” Stryker mumbled “I…tell John if he asks, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.” I mumbled, nodding quickly “go.”
That was the last I saw of them.
The battle kept on going- I was stabbing, ducking, lunging- and dusk was falling when it finally ended; Stadal retreated back to the safety of their kingdom’s walls.
The first thing I did was begin yanking my armour off, the second was seeking out Theo.
The anxiety I’d been feeling faded when I finally caught sight of him; he was turning his head around, eyes wide as he surveyed the bodies around him, the blood dampening the earth, thesmell pungent in the air. Something was bothering him more than just the scene, I could tell.
He whirled around once more, only to make contact with my chest, slamming right into it and causing me to stagger back a few steps.
He snapped his gaze upwards, relaxing when he clocked on to who it was- giving me the opportunity to analyse him up close, too.
His face was streaked with blood and dirt, much like my own, but he seemed otherwise unharmed.
He was okay. Theo was okay. Theo was here. Thank god he was okay.
“Take that off.” I mumbled, trying to break the silence that had fallen along with the intensity of his stare, fiddling with the metal that covered him.
“You okay? Did you get hurt?” I asked quietly, just to be sure.
Theo shook his head, head turning as he seemed to snap out of his trance and he searched his surroundings once more. I was curious to know what exactly he was looking for. There was nothing but death here.
“Theo-“
His gaze was unfocused, glazed over with what strikingly resembled panic.
Ifrowned, running a hand through Theo’s hair “hey. It’s over. We’re okay.”
Hejust nodded absently.
I rubbed a hand over his chest, rising and falling at a frantic rhythm “Theo. Breathe. Slowly.”
When he didn’t react, I pressed a kiss to his forehead, then his chest, trying to find some way to ground him “Theo.”
Heblinked, sucking in a breath.
“You need to relax. You're gonna give yourself a heart attack.”
“I won’t.”
“Deep breath for me?”
