I grimaced and dropped onto the bed, lazily pulling on some loungewear.Numbwas the only word to describe how I felt. My magic had saved Sawyer, but knowing that I just created an uproar in the balance of nature terrified me.
Life and death mustalwaysbalance each other out.Especiallywhen manipulated with.
Sebastian approached me, brushing his knuckles along the nape of my neck. “Are you okay?”
“Sure.”
“Maeve…Tell me the truth.”
“What do you think? My best friend almost just died, and he was talking to me the same way the Draemornian had back in the interrogation room. Then I disrupted the balance of life and death to save him, and now I’m too scared to even go see him because?—”
Sebastian's eyebrows lowered. “Because why?”
“I don’t want to relive what happened back there quite yet. And if I go see him, all I’ll see is him dying in my arms. And I can’t handle that again right now. I just can't.” My voice broke at the end, cracking as my eyes were swallowed by tears.
Sebastian pulled me into his arms, wrapping them snugly around me. “You don’t have to go right now. He’s not awake, anyway. Why don't you try to rest? You can visit in the morning if you're feeling up to it.”
“Yeah,” I squeaked out, but I wouldn't be here in the morning.
“Seb? Are you in there?” Azain's voice followed his knock.
“It's open,” Sebastian called back.
Azain, Kohen, and Kade sauntered into our room, all of them looking beyond defeated.
“Where’s Pia?” I asked Kohen directly, noting her unusual absence.
“Showering, She just finished with Sawyer. I think she's going to try and rest after.”
“Good thing you two were out there,” Azain said, casually dropping into the armchair as if he owned it.
“What were you guys doing out there that late anyway?” Kade questioned.
Sebastian and I hesitated, and our brief glance towards each other was enough of a response.
“Oh, come on,” Kohen scoffed, genuinely shocked. “In the courtyard?Seriously?”
“You have a bedroom!” Kade bellowed, splaying his hands by his head. “Is there anywhere you two haven’t fucked?”
My cheeks burned.
“Haven’t been in your room yet, Lyrise,” Sebastian shot back.
“We went out there to get high,” I added in defense, not that it made our situation much better. “What happened after that is no one's business.”
Kade, disgusted, hung his head and scoffed.
“I know the rest of Mealioria's soldiers won’t be here for a few days, but I think we need to do something about this.Now.They know where we are and there will be more. We can’t keep dancing around the problem. We need to act.” My tone was a stern threat to not argue with.
“What are you suggesting we do then? Pack up and leave now?” Azain inquired. “No offense, but you still need the rest of Mealioria’s soldiers, or you are just as screwed as you were before.”
“That battle was intense with what we had, and it's only going to be worse in Draemor,” Kohen added, Kade agreeing with a low grumble.
“No. We're slightly less screwed,” I countered.
Sebastian swiped a hand down his jaw. “We could entertain the idea of leaving in the morning?” he suggested with a degree of apprehension.
Kade seemingly felt like he could make the decision for us. “No. We can hold out a few days for the rest of the soldiers to show up. Should more Hykahs show up, we know how to kill them and we know that we can. We will be much better waiting off to have a full army before we attack Draemor.”
