SURVIVE (THRIVE: Book Two)

Chapter 85- Returning the Favor

 "It's been long enough, the bleeding should have stopped by now." I hear Kai say nervously as I start to wake up, and I feel his hands on my arm carefully unwrapping the bandage.

"Does she need stitches?" I hear Desire ask nervously.

"No, it looks okay, reduced to a minor scratch," Kai explains, taking a damp cloth and wiping it clean.

"I still don't understand why she did this to herself," Magnus states agitatedly from across the room "What made her think he would sacrifice himself just to save her?"

"It's complicated..." Desire sighs hesitantly.

"Then uncomplicate it," Magnus demands "What the hell happened in that bunker the past few days because you two fucking seem like you're hiding something important,"

"Magnus, this is between Breeze and the demon downstairs, she can choose to talk to you if she wants to. Calm the fuck down." Desire hisses defensively.

"Scarlett," Kai shouts, "He's scared, leave him alone."

"That's enough, all of you." I groan, rolling my shoulders and stretching my legs as I look around, realizing that we're in Desire's room. "I'm fine, I'm alive, and it sounds like everything turned out fine," I mutter sarcastically, rolling my eyes as I sit up.

"Thank god," Kai says as he reaches over and hugs me "You took one hell of a gamble down there, you know that?"

"Save the lecture," Desire states, and I notice her lower forearms have been bandaged. "How do you feel?"

"A lot better," I explain hopefully as Magnus comes to hug me tightly "I think what I did helped clear the blood I drank out of my system, I feel like my brain is back to normal."

"They explained that part to me at least," Magnus sighs "Just drinking his blood put you under some sort of mind control?"

"Yes and no," I sigh, examining my wrist; you can barely tell how deeply I had been cut "I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm ready to talk about it yet."

"It's okay," he says sympathetically "I'm just glad you're safe."

"Speaking of which," I begin "What all did I miss? It looks like you took my advice." I explain.

"You were smart, once I melted the chains, I freed Kai and we started sneaking around trying to find you." Desire explains.

"Before we could, the palace guard showed up. Luckily, Magnus and the others knew where we were going and were concerned when we never came back." Kai explains in relief "Once we met up with them, Desire let loose and we made short work of their guards. Nixi went one-on-one against Gaia before she collapsed part of the bunker and escaped, and your dad snuck through after hearing word about where Lucius was going to come to find you."

"Goddamn," I sigh, trying to put it all together in my mind "I heard that Atlas was killed. Is that true?"

"In a shocking twist, no pun intended," Roxie chuckles "Nixi managed to take him down right before we entered the bunker, remember how the tremors stopped?" she explains.

"Apparently, she pinned him down well enough that Aurora was able to get into his mind and eradicate his soul pretty quickly." Magnus explains "At least that's what I heard."

"What about our side, is everyone okay?" I ask worriedly.

"Everyone is still alive despite a few minor injuries. Unfortunately, the amount of civilian casualties hasn't been low. Everyone who has been displaced has been relocated to the intact parts of town for the time being, but a third of the city has been obliterated." Kai explains, taking a deep breath "Along with that, we still have Ember to deal with. She's in custody, and Roxie, Aurora, and Nixi have entered her mind and are taking her on as we speak."

"What?" I shout, quickly standing up "You didn't think to mention that until now?"

"Easy Breezy," Desire says, holding her hands out and waving them down "They've got this, try to relax," she explains.

"What about Lucius?" I ask frantically "Just a little bit ago, you said he was still downstairs. What's going on?"

"They were going to get to him first, but he's gone into some sort of meditative state and is somehow blocking anyone from getting into his mind." Kai explains, concerned "I'm not surprised, he's a lot smarter than Cleo and Atlas when it comes to the Gate."

"Did you try?" I ask nervously, and Kai sighs and pokes the blister across his forehead.

"I tried, but I'm practically useless in that arena for the time being," he explains defeatedly, suddenly coming to a realization as he looks at my face "But..."

"Hell no," Magnus argues, standing in front of me "She's done with that bastard, let the priestess figure this one out."

"I'm not saying whether she should or shouldn't, but I think she can speak for herself." Desire scoffs, peeking around him "Breeze, what are you thinking?" she asks, and I feel a chill reverberate down my spine.

"He's only here because he chose to sacrifice his freedom to save my life, he knew what they would try to do once he got here. Regardless of how it happens, I think he knows that there's no way he's going to walk out of this alive." I explain, looking around at the others.

"What are you saying?" Magnus asks skeptically "That he's going to accept his death?"

"Yes, but maybe only on his own terms." I state, pondering the thought "He won't let them in because he doesn't want them to be the ones to end it, but Kai makes a good point; I bet if I tried, he would let me in."

"...he wants you to be the one to kill him?" Desire asks, shuttering at the thought.

"Maybe," I think for a moment, "When I was in the compound, I overheard him and Gaia talking, and lord knows a lot of baggage got spilled out in just a short conversation. But one of the things mentioned was that something about his feelings for me, however misguided, brought a part of his humanity back. Since he figured that out, his demeanor has changed, he actually appeared weak at times, even cried in front of me once." I explain carefully.

"Okay..." Magnus says uncomfortably. "What does that have to do with this?"

"You think rekindling old feelings inside himself has made him regret what he's become enough to want to die?" Kai asks curiously "In all of the time I've known him, he's always been cold and calculated. I've hardly seen any aspects of his personality that weren't entirely self-indulgent, so it's hard to imagine him any other way." he explains.

"He's only loved one other person in his life, considering who it was, it's easy to see how that ending turned him into someone so detached," I sigh.

"Wait, did he tell you what happened back then?" Kai asks inquisitively "Everyone knew but would never tell me for some reason."

"It was Gaia," I state plainly, and Kai's jaw drops to the floor.

"They were a thing?" he shouts in shock "What the fuck!"

"Apparently, but I guess Gaia broke things off when he developed the bloodlust problem and he hasn't loved anyone else ever since, and from the look of it, neither has she." I shrug, looking toward the door "But what really matters from that conversation is the fact that he told her that he started to feel like his old self again thanks to me, and I think... I think what he wants is to see me one last time before he brings this sad story to an end."