Chapter Eighteen
I woke up to the feeling of someone lightly shaking my shoulder.
I wanted to protest against the touch, refuse to open my eyes, but the shaking was insistent.
“Aria?” a voice called to me.
It was familiar and warm. It sounded like home.
I managed to open my eyes a bit, fighting against the bright artificial light that assaulted me as I did so. But after several seconds of adjusting, I managed to make out the face of my mother.
“Aria?” she called again.
“I‘m alive…?” I said, my throat dry and sore.
She quickly brought some water to my lips and I began to sip on it, enjoying the refreshing feeling that came with it.
“How are you feeling?” she asked as she began to look over my body, making several notes in a chart by the bed.
How was I feeling? I was sure I had died again. I was in the Abyss, I saw the memory. It was just like how i t had felt last time.
…So, how was I feeling?
I felt confused by the entire situation right now.
“I should be dead,” I replied.
She instantly turned to look at me, a little shocked by my blunt response.
“Don‘t say such an awful thing,” my mother said, her eyes full of concern. “You‘ve fully recovered, there‘s n o need to say something like that.”
Did this mean I was never in the Abyss? Had it just been a nightmare the entire time?
My mother looked like she wanted to say something else, but she was debating internally.
“You know…as a doctor, I‘m happy to see that you‘ve healed so well, but…as a mother, I want to scold you for stupidly running into danger like you did. What were you thinking, Aria?”
| already realised it was dumb the second I came face–to–face with the sandy wolf. She didn‘t really need t o scold me further. On the other hand though, if I hadn‘t been there then there was a good chance Cai would have died fighting off all four wolves, or Myra would have been killed.
him for saving me. I was sure I was only still alive because of
mention how he‘d carried
with a horrible realisation, I remembered then that Cai had
okay?” I
of concern
able to walk around again. I‘ve instructed for him to take it easy over the next week or
hear he was going to be fine but I was confused
Chapter Eighteet
How long have
been unconscious for
days?! I couldn‘t believe it had been so long already. Time really was uncertain when inside the Abyss.
been trying hard to come up with other explanations
that
“...What is it?”
something on your body… It looks
hit the floor, then I‘m sure it would have. What she was saying was
is that possible? I haven‘t even been close to any
not that sort of
marko n me. Not only that, but sure Aleric would have had a field day using it against me
seem to have been marked on your back…
And, internally, I cringed.
the Goddess. So much for letting me choose my own fate. She
was true, then it would appear the Goddess had now marked me as her
what that
virtually unheard of and wouldn‘t expect a fourteen year old to know. No one had seen the Goddess‘ mark in over a millennium and even then, the accounts were iffy at best. I learnt about it very vaguely during my Luna studies and knew the ramifications it held. However, it was basically considered a myth
my head at her. My life was about to become infinitely more
why you were
the worry in her voice and couldn‘t imagine what she must have gone through finding this out. All the ranked members and elders would be pressuring my parents for information whilst
her heart by telling her my story either. I wanted things to be normal between us. I wanted her to care for me in the same way she had in the past. If she knew I was actually twenty–four, would she
of my cheek and shrugged my shoulder, not knowing what to
thankfully, didn‘t push the topic
as possible to urgently discuss the attack,” she said. “You‘ve physically healed fine, but I was worried about your mental
few moments. Did I want to meet with him? Not particularly. But I
Chapter Eighteen
that I would need to do eventually. I felt completely fine other than the shock and stress that came from the
meet with him,”
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