Page 7

Coen

I saw it. I watched the whole thing. Getting up I leave the room as quietly as I can, walking causally even though it’s fucking killing me. I have to get to Neith. She is going to be in a full fucking panic at the moment.

As I step outside the door, I feel a familiar knock on my mind, one that I haven’t felt for years.

“Dimitri,” I say as I open the door to my mind and allow him in.

A risky move, but my instincts are telling me that it’s okay. I carry on walking, I want to run, but I can’t risk it, not yet. I can’t risk Kylen seeing me and ordering me to tell him where I’m going and why.

“You need to find her,” Dimitri says immediately, the panic in his voice making me pause.

That sounds like the old Dimitri.

“Look, I don’t have time to fuck around, have you been controlled the whole time?” I ask him bluntly.

“Yes, you?” Dimitri replies, sounding surprised that I have put two and two together.

“Yes, like recognizes like brother,” I reply, as I round the corner and finally start to run. The route to her room is seared into my mind.

“I’m going to kill the cunt that pulled her into the Choosing,” Dimitri growls, “I was going to anyway, but now I'm going to make it slow and painful.”

“He’s mine,” I reply bluntly.

Dimitri proves that he is back to the brother and best friend that I remember as he doesn’t even hesitate to reply, “Understood. If you need help disposing of him, just ask.”

My smile is sharp. “Thank you, as always. I’m nearly there.”

“She’s not going to be in good shape,” Dimitri warns.

I growl, “I know. It was too realistic, I couldn’t even find something that wasn’t exactly how it was, and I wasn’t looking at the room through panic. I have no idea how she managed to pull herself out of the panic enough to escape.”

“It’s Neith, she has always been the strongest of us,” Dimitri replies simply.

I grunt in agreement. “Can you hear what’s going on here?”

“Yes,” Dimitri replies.

“Good. I’m here. I have a feeling it’s going to take both of us.”

“Me too.”

Thank fuck that the castle recognizes me, because it opens the doors immediately. The guys all turn to me, panic, fear, anger, and tears on all of their faces as they drop into defensive stances.

As soon as they see me, they straighten back up.

“We can’t help her,” Evander says with anguish.

River clears his throat, “She can’t hear us. She’s too far into her memories.”

I nod, but I don’t bother replying, there’s no time.

Striding through them, what I see, while not unexpected, still breaks my heart.

She’s ready for a fight, her swords in her hands, her eyes full of panic and flitting around the room as she sees things that aren’t there.

Tears stream down her face, and blood drips onto the floor from her wrists, ankles, and the wound she got when she dived through the door.

“Shit,” Dimitri curses violently. “She’s far worse than I thought.”

I grunt and carry on moving forward, all of my focus on Neith.

“Careful, man, she’s swung the swords at everyone who steps close enough,” Doc warns, his voice sounding broken.

I hear him, but I don’t care. From experience, the only way to get through to Neith when she’s in this condition is to hold her and speak to her.

Fortunately, I’m used to pain, I always have been, but especially now.

I stride closer, and she screams and starts swinging.

I feel the swords as they slice me, but I don’t feel the pain. She is all that matters.

Even with my dragon bound, I’m still quicker than she is, and within moments, I have my arms wrapped around her.

“Asael, she’s safe, I promise,” I growl to the swords as Neith struggles in my arms.

I have no idea if he will listen to me, he’s not my enchanted sword, but this will be a lot easier if he disappears right now.

“Asael?” Dimitri questions his voice, strained.

“Enchanted sword,” I reply.

It surprises me when Asael listens and disappears from her hands. Unfortunately, her sword's disappearance makes her panic heighten, and she starts to swing for me using her fists instead.

“Neith, Love,” I try, keeping my voice calm, and hoping that the sound of it will bring her out of her panic, but it’s no good, she’s too far past hearing me.

“We’re going to need to sing, it’s the only thing that has ever worked to calm her down when she’s gotten this bad, and it only ever works when it’s both of us,” I growl to Dimitri.

“Like old times, my voice will come out with yours, and it will sound like we’re both singing together,” Dimitri reminds me unnecessarily. “Are you sure me singing is going to help her?”

“It only ever worked with the two of us singing, brother,” I remind him.

“Okay.”

As I open my mouth to sing Neith’s lullaby, Dimitri’s deep baritone voice sings alongside mine, and I am sure that the guys are going to have questions. It’s obvious that it’s not just my voice. I really couldn’t give a fuck though, the effect it has on Neith is immediate as she stills.

She’s still lost in her mind, but she’s not fighting me anymore. The fists that were hitting me wherever they could moments ago, move to my chest as her fists clench in my shirt tightly. We don’t stop singing, she’s not ready yet.

Finally, she looks up at me.

Her eyes are still unseeing, “Coen, Dimi,” she says with such profound relief that it has a lump forming in my throat as I pull her closer.

“Fuck,” Dimi’s heartbroken voice whispers through my mind.

Her voice rises with panic again, as her fists clench harder in my shirt, “Don’t let him get me.”

“I’ve got you, Love,” I reply, and then go through what I usually do in this situation. “He’s dead, remember, Love? Dimitri and I tore him to pieces, do you remember? You watched us. He paid, we made sure he paid, and he can never hurt you again.”

She smiles, looking so much more vulnerable, “You did. I remember. Dimi made him hurt extra, just for me.”

“Oh god,” Dimitri whispers. “How can she still speak like that about me, like I deserve it?”

“It’s Neith, she loves you,” I reply. Bluntly adding, “Neith in this state remembers who you were, not who you have been the last few years.”

Of course, Neith being Neith proves me wrong immediately, without even having heard my thoughts.

She frowns, bringing my attention back to her, “Dimitri’s a dick now, but my Dimi, he saved me. You both did. I miss my Dimi.”

The heartbreak in her voice undoes me and completely destroys Dimitri. His breath hitches as he chokes on the emotion that she’s just invoked in him. She still cares and that will be a fucking sucker punch to his fucking soul.

“Dimitri,” I growl, gaining his attention. “I’ve got her, and I will help you, I fucking promise. But right now, I need to concentrate on our Neith.”

“Keep her safe, brother,” Dimitri immediately replies.

“Always,” I promise. “It’s good to have you back, brother.”

With that, my mind is suddenly my own again.

My eyes refocus on Neith, and I see her smile softly, her eyes drifting closed before she sleepily opens them again.

Thank fuck the worst is over, she’s out of her memories, but not quite back to the present.

“Bye, Dimi,” she mutters, barely above a whisper.

I grin, “You sneaky little Love.”

She lazily shrugs, the smile stretching slightly, “I’m tired.”

I hold her weight as she drifts into a healing sleep. Lifting her up, I stride over to the bed and carefully place her on top. Covering her with her covers and making sure that her booted feet are on the towel that she’s got there. She would kill me if I didn’t.

Bending over, I gently kiss her forehead, “Sweet dreams, Love.”

“Love you, Coen,” she whispers sleepily.

My eyes fill with tears, this was always the only time when she would say the words, but the fact she has now, even though she is aware of the here and now again, means so much fucking more.

“I love you too, Neith,” I reply quietly.

I watch her for a few moments, my back to the guys as I make sure that she really is in a healing sleep and not about to spiral into another panic attack, like she has done occasionally in the past.

I want nothing more than to climb into bed with her, as Dimitri and I always have done after she has had a panic attack.

We’d hold her for as long as she needed us to.

I can’t do that right now though. I need to get back to Kylen before he realizes that I’m gone and questions me.

I cannot allow him to pull Neith’s secrets out of me.

I will die before I allow that to happen.

Finally, I face the guys.

They all look like they’ve been through the ringer, with tear-streaked faces and still extremely tense. It makes me happy, I now know without a single doubt in my mind that they care about Neith in the same way that I do. She’s safe.

“Is she okay?” River asks, his voice soft, his eyes on Neith, and his hands shaking.

I don’t hesitate as I open my arms, just like I always would when River was on the edge. As soon as my mind catches up to my actions, I wince and start to put my arms down. He’s not going to still want comfort from me.

“Oh no, you don’t, you offered the hug. I’m taking it,” River demands, making me smile.

He hugs me tightly, and I return it.

When he steps back, I say, “She’s okay now. Do not leave her alone, I mean it. We always stayed with her when this happened. She might have nightmares, and in case you haven’t figured it out yet, Neith doesn’t like to sleep alone anyway.”

I feel the command tugging at me and growl. “I have to go.”

“You don’t want to, do you?” Raiden asks me, studying me closely.

“If I had a choice, I would never leave her side again,” I surprise myself by being able to answer honestly.

“We’re on it, man,” Ransom says.

I nod as I head toward the door, the command getting stronger.

“It’s her story to tell and it’s fucking horrifying, you only caught a glimpse. Don’t fucking ask her about it,” I order.