His hand rested on air, fingers spread.Oily smoke spilled at his feet.But Antonio could only see Declan, limp in the other fae’s hold.
To hell with “don’t touch,” Antonio was already moving as Calloway grabbed Declan’s shadowy attacker.Pulled him into nothingness.The both of them gone in a breath.
Declan crumpled to the ground.A puppet with cut strings.Deep furrows cut into pale skin, blood on dead grass that had so recently been beautiful.Antonio forgot all about Calloway, bolting to Declan’s side and dropping to his knees.
He looked so small.A broken bird and no more than that.Blood, too much blood, and that fucking smoke had been eating at his skin.
“No.No no no.Don't do this to me, Murderpunk.”He pulled Declan into his arms, clung to him.“I can't fix this.You know I can't fix this.Jesus Christ.Please, Declan.Wake the fuck up.”
Tears, wet and hot, streamed down his face as he cradled the man to his chest.Powerless.In Faerie, he was so fucking powerless.Couldn't even call an ambulance or follow a fucking road.
A stirring, in their bond.A sense of reaching, of guilt and stubbornness and pain.Lilacs and smoke.A promise written in ink.And kept.
Declan breathed.
“Felt you, mo chuisle,” Declan’s said in a thready whisper.His eyes opened, pale blue slits staring up at Antonio.“Woke the fuck up.”
“Yeah.Yeah, you did.”Antonio leaned in, brushed his lips over the sluagh’s forehead.“‘Course you did.Knew you wouldn’t leave me.Need you to–” Fuck, he didn’t know.Didn’t know how any of it worked.But he knew that wounds like Declan’s usually took more than a little personal magic.“Call someone.Florian.Or open the way, and I’ll carry you home.You do the magic shit, I’ll do the rest, alright?Got you.I’ve got you.”
He was babbling.Still crying.He didn’t care.
Declan shifted in his arms, then grunted in pain and went still again, breathing shallow and strained.
Breathing.He was breathing.
“Way open’s easiest,” he whispered, eyes falling closed again.“Not going to leave you.Got me.All of me.’m sorry.Didn’t expect it.Shouldn’t’ve had my guard down.”
“Bullshit,” Antonio answered.“You don't get to apologize for some asshole jumping you.Still alive, right?Still with me.Doing more than fine.”
Yeah, fine.With the thrum of the bond between them fading with each of Declan’s shallow breaths.
Not happening.Not fucking happening.
Declan’s fingers twitched in the air, his next breath unsteadier still.A door, where no door had been before.Thank Christ.
Antonio stood, Declan in his arms.Bird light and broken, blood soaking Antonio's shirt.They'd get through this.Had to get through this.The two of them too damn stubborn to accept the alternative.He'd just found Declan.No way he was letting him go.
“Just keep breathing, Murderpunk.Gonna get you home.”
“Idon’tbelievethat’shelping either of you.”
Antonio was well on his way to wearing a furrow in the hall outside Declan’s room when Florian’s dry words cut into his pacing.For once, Antonio was too distracted to startle at the wisp’s arrival.Or maybe that was the memory of Calloway, backing down.
Whatever the reason, Antonio stared at the man, blank with worry.“They’ve been in there ages.”
“Sluagh are antithetical to healing magic.”And Florian must have seen the flash of fear in Antonio’s eyes because he continued, “Aisling called the best.Declan will recover.But it will take time.Pacing won’t make it go faster.”
“If you want me to fuck off and go to my room, just say so.”
“No, I…” Florian sighed, looking more put upon than usual.“I know you dislike being without Declan.I thought, perhaps, you might wish to wait in your own realm.”
“You want me to leave the fuckingworldwhile Declan’s bleeding out?”
“He will befine.And he would wish you to be comfortable.I’ll fetch you as soon as the healer leaves.You can be sure he’d go for my throat if I didn’t.”
Was he a shitty bond for considering it?A shit person for not breaking down the door and insisting on holding Declan’s hand?Just, he didn’t want to be in the way.And he wasn’t family.Wasn’t even fae.Nothing he could do for Declan except, yeah, pace in the hallway.
Besides, he could reallyreallyuse a friendly voice right about now.
