Fathom(50)

“Because you’ve grown much stronger. As The Link, no one should be able to harm you. Thayde will still feel your pain and emotions, but you won’t feel his physical pain anymore.”

Aletheia paused. She seemed to be considering what she should say next.

“You have got to kill Limus to end this.”

“I can’t.” I shook my head.

“If you don’t, Thayde’s going to die,” Lars added, standing next to Aletheia.

“There has to be another way,” I argued.

“There isn’t.” She stood and Lars put his arm around her waist.

“You should listen to her. She knows quite a bit,” he said. “The way I see it, you have two choices: kill Limus and save Thayde or allow Limus to live and let your husband die. Not only will he just die, he’ll die in absolute agony.” He looked deep into Aletheia’s eyes. “If it were up to me, I’d make the jerk reverse it and then kill him.”

“We don’t even know if killing Limus will stop The Shadow,” I argued. “He doesn’t even remember doing it. How is he supposed to reverse something he doesn’t remember?”

Lars shook his head. “It’s just a chance I’d have to take.”

“It’s not one I’m willing to take.” I stalked back into the house and Mom met me on the stairs. She held up a hand, stopping me momentarily.

“It’s very important you keep your emotions in check. I’m going to try to contact Tammer to see where you need to join him and take care of Limus. It may be that you’ll have to leap again.” She walked past me, pausing briefly. “Morgandy, be very careful with Thayde, honey. This is the first time in his life that he’s been frail. It’s very new to him. The Judgment was an inconvenience for him, but this is different. He’s dying.”

I climbed the steps slowly. This was way over my head. When I entered the room, I swear Thayde looked worse. He lay in his bed on his back; his tank top had been pulled off for Mom to allow her powers to push completely into him. Scars littered his grey skin. His hip bones protruded through his pants and the skin was sunken around his ribs. He was way too thin.

His head was turned to the side and he was staring at my bed. When I moved toward him, he focused his gaze on me.

“I’m so sorry,” I apologized, kneeling at the edge of the bed. “I didn’t know.”

He nodded.

“Can I hold you?”

When he smiled, I slipped into the bed with him, and he nestled into my arms. I kissed his face as I stroked his hair back from his forehead. He still smelled wonderful and I didn’t resist the urge to kiss every inch of his face and hold him as close to me as I could. By the time I was finished, he was asleep. The love I felt for him was so powerful, I could feel it welling up within me. The moment I realized it was there, it burst from me, surrounding us in a warm glow. The energy bathed the entire room in its power, making me sleepy and I relaxed into Thayde’s pillows closing my eyes.

I woke to Thayde watching me. He lay on his arm on his side, facing me. His grey eyes lit up when he realized I was awake.

“You’re so beautiful when you sleep.” He said.

I reached forward and kissed him. He ran his hand down my arm, letting it come to a rest on my waist. “I wish I could take you away from here. Maybe go on our honeymoon.”

Pulling myself in close to him, I ran my hand over his chest. “I’m just so happy you’re alive and here. I think we’re very lucky.” My voice cracked with the last sentence and Thayde kissed my forehead tenderly. I raised my chin, taking his gaunt face in my hands.

“I don’t want to live without you.”

A quick smile danced on his lips before he frowned. “You have to, Morgan.”

“No!” I exclaimed, “I’ll find a way.”

Instead of answering, he kissed me. As I kissed him back, I felt the urgency to be with him again. What if I couldn’t find a way to save him? What if this was one of the last times I’d be with Thayde? My heart leapt in fear and Thayde suddenly stiffened in pain.

“Oh God, Morgan, don’t!” He cried. It was shocking to see such an intense reaction happen so quickly. Before I really panicked, I forced myself to calm down and clear my mind. A few moments after my emotions were in check, I watched his body relax.

“This cording thing’s a real pain in the butt, isn’t it?” I joked, attempting to lighten the mood. It worked. This time, his smile stayed.

“Only when one of us is sick,” he agreed.

We cuddled in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again.

“You want to ask me something. What is it?”