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As the sensation returned to my legs and upper body, I sat, urgently slapping my legs to recover faster. I glanced at Kaizen, now bathed in the creature's dark blood, his cloak now tattered as the monster squirmed chaotically under his hold and charged straight for me.

Kaizen's amber eyes burned with vibrancy through the dark blood smeared across his face as he drove the sword deeper, putting his full weight into the thrust. The Breva let out a guttural shriek, its mouth gaping wide, and it slammed its bodyinto the unforgiving stone wall with bone-crushing force. The impact drove Kaizen into the wall, piercing the sword through the creature more. Kaizen swiftly leaped off its trunk, driving the sword up its writhing body and through its skull, raining us with its blood and building a cacophony of nightmarish sounds. Its body slumped in a pool of its own blood, cut in two from the waist up.

The stench of copper hung heavy in the air, mingling with a sickening rancid odor that threatened to overwhelm my senses. I retched violently, emptying the contents of my stomach until I was left dry heaving, my body wracked with involuntary convulsions. Gasping for air as Kaizen approached, his eyes ablaze with an enraged fury that pierced even through the darkness.

His teeth were bared in a feral snarl and his eyes blazed with such intense rage that it seemed he might strike me down. Yet, despite the murderous fury reflected in his gaze, he lifted me effortlessly and cradled me in his powerful arms. As he held me tightly against him, his bloodied body trembled with a sudden, profound sense of relief that seemed to flow through him, mingling with adrenaline and a worrying sense of dread of what could have been.

With each step, the world around me became a blur, the pounding of my heart drowning out all other sounds except Kaizen's beating heart. As he carried me away from the scene of horror, I counted each comforting beat, trying to center my thoughts away from such raw and tangible fear.

"Don't let it win," Kaizen whispered urgently into my ear, his voice trembling with desperation as the darkness closed in, threatening to consume me. "Stay with me. Fight it." The weight of the void pressed in, too overwhelming and heavy for me to resist. I surrendered to its cold embrace, slipping intounconsciousness as Kaizen's desperate pleas faded into distant echoes.

28

The shock of freezing water splashing against my face startled me awake. My head bobbed to the side before I jolted upright. My limbs tingled intensely as I regained consciousness. I coughed up the water, hissing in discomfort as I tried to steady myself, feeling solid hands gripping my arm to support me.

Brushing my wet hair out of my eyes, I saw Calum standing before me, his features etched with worry. Beside him was Aoife, her face mirroring Calum's concern. As the fog of confusion lifted, I realized I was back in my room, fully clothed in the clawfoot tub, soaked with freezing water and black blood that smeared the entire front of my body.

Cal's golden eyes frantically scanned mine before he pulled me into a tight embrace, soiling his cream tunic and blue vest.

"You idiot. Stay put, that's all you had to do," Calum cried into my hair before placing a gentle kiss on my hairline.

"I'm…fine," I lied, pulling away before Aoife tightly embraced me. The two of them were now dampened with the black blood.

"Sir Alder said you fell into mud as you passed out! Are you still having those episodes?" Aoife's voice trembled with fear,and my heart ached with love at the sight of her concern. Tears slid down my cheeks, cleaning my face as they fell. She cupped my cheek, and Calum's eyes bore into me, knowing it was all a lie.

"Calum, tell your uncle she is awake. We need to hurry," Aoife urged, shooing Cal out of the bathing room and closing the door behind him.

I couldn't stop the tears as they continued to fall harder and more profoundly, remembering all of it.

I embraced Aoife again with every fiber of my being, her gentle hand caressing my wet hair as she wept with me.

"I missed you, my dear," Aoife said, pulling me back and looking deep into my eyes. She cocked her head as a wave of confusion washed over her eyes. "Your…eyes," she muttered but quickly shook it off as she helped me out of the tub and turned on the water.

"We must hurry now; the feast is less than an hour. Take off your clothes and wash quickly," she pleaded, pausing to look at me with endearment in her brown eyes. "And wash twice, Eliah, you smell," she teased, opening the door. "I need to let the team know you're okay; I'll be back in a moment." She gave me a final smile before closing the door, her footsteps fading over the plush carpet.

I quickly peeled off my clothes and threw them into a pile in the porcelain sink. Sliding into the warm water, I let it melt away the cold and began scrubbing every inch of my body vigorously. I soaped my hair and body three times, still feeling the sticky blood coating me, still seeing the rank flesh of the Breva being slit in two.

Inhaling deeply, I begged the fear to drain from me but couldn't push away the oily feeling of the mindscraping, unsure how it paralyzed me.

I splashed my face, palming my eyes to calm my breathing.

I'm okay.

Becauseof Kaizen.

I exhaled as I stepped out of the tub and wrapped myself in a clean towel, beginning to dry my hair. Aoife's soft knock came at the door, and she opened it, exposing her smiling face. She took me over to the partition, allowing me to change into my underthings before pulling out the gorgeous gown Jesri had bought me for Spring Harvest.

"He demanded you wear it in front of the king," Aoife said with sad eyes.

"No," I snapped more harshly than I intended. "I'll wear my own gown."

Aoife's eyes gleamed with understanding as she helped me into a stunning, silky gold gown Levon had bought me. It hung low on my back, supported only by thin straps at my shoulders. The fabric cascaded down in a creamy, shimmering waterfall, making me feel beautiful despite the lingering phantom stickiness of the Breva's blood on my skin.

Aoife gave me a heartfelt smile. "You look different. Free," she remarked, squeezing my shoulders before leading me to the vanity.

"I'm so happy you're here. Life has been…different and dull without you," I lamented, genuinely grateful she was with me.

"I don't know if 'dull' is the right word," she teased, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Seems like you've been on quite an adventure."