SURVIVE (THRIVE: Book Two)

Chapter 99- Healing

 The smell of the salty sea air has faded away as I feel my spirit return to reality, and my heart breaks when I can no longer feel her soul. She was right, this needed to end, and this was no time to mourn the dead. At least, not until the war is finally over.

"Careful!" Desire stutters nervously, and I suddenly feel something sharp piercing the top of my head.

"Please, try to relax; I know what I'm doing." I hear an unfamiliar girl's voice say calmly as I sense what feels like a needle in my forehead.

"What's happening?" I ask as I slowly open my eyes, and Kai quickly pushes down on my forehead.

"Don't move, Rowena's almost done stitching up your forehead," Kai states bluntly, holding my head in place.

"I won't, sheesh." I sigh, crossing my eyes to look up, but all I can see is their arms "You really thought now was a good time for this?" I ask skeptically.

"Your Highness, if you could see how much blood is in your hair, you might be thanking me," she states as I feel her tug on the thread, pulling out a small blade, cutting the end, and tying it off.

"That bad, huh?" I ask as she starts to scoot backward, and I carefully try to sit up, but the room is spinning. As soon as I'm upright, I feel my nose start to bleed. Irritated, I glance down as it runs down my chin and drips on my chest.

"How the hell can you stay awake after bleeding this much?" Desire asks as she takes a rag and dabs the black blood from my chest, holding it up to my nose.

"If you don't mind me saying it, I would be more concerned about it being black." Rowena chuckles as she cleans the blood from her hands "I know it's none of my business, but you seem like you heal far more quickly than most." she explains curiously.

"Side effects of having a darkened soul I guess," I state, taking the rag from Desire and wiping under my nose "You're one of the new trainees, right?" I ask as I look around the room. While I was out, more workers had come in to help. A few healers are patching up my mother and Aurora while my father, Eli, and Jasper are finishing clearing the debris.

"Easy to tell?" she sighs as she cleans up her tools "I only started two months ago, and things have been..."

"You don't need to tell us, I think we already know." Kai laughs morbidly "Are you doing okay?" he asks worriedly, and she seems thrown off by the question.

"Oh, um," she trembles "Honestly, it's been overwhelming as hell. I wanted to help people, but this..." she sighs as she looks out the destroyed hall into the rain "...this isn't what I was expecting when I came here."

"Same," Kai sighs "It just started feeling like home, and now look at it."

"It's just a building," I state as I check my nose, which has finally stopped bleeding "It's the people here that matter more than anything."

"I suppose you're right," Desire asks curiously, then seems depressed as she starts to process the thought "How was Nixi doing when you spoke to her?" she asks solemnly.

"To be honest with you, she knew what was coming and had already accepted it. We talked for a little while about the philosophy of our lives and the inevitable things we face, and in the end, she only had one major concern." I sigh.

"What was it?" Kai asks, concerned.

"Rynn." Desire states, her lips starting to quiver "I wonder how she's going to take the news."

"I don't know, but I'm afraid this all might be too much for her." I sigh, looking over at the group that was digging. Suddenly, my heart stops as I watch them pull Nixi's lifeless body from the rubble.

"Safe travels, mistress Eliana," Rowena whispers as she bows her head.

"Safe travels," Kai and Desire say respectfully as they watch my father and Eli lay her beside our grandmother. Aurora seems to be done getting her leg patched up and makes her way over with Roxie, performing a prayer as they start to gather around. Within one day, they lost their mother and younger sister.

"What the fuck are we going to do if Calista doesn't find Gaia?" Desire asks desperately, holding back tears.

"It doesn't matter," Kai sighs "Gaia knows exactly where to find us."

The cleanup efforts continue for another few hours, and no one will let me help. Considering the fact that I get nauseous every time I stand, I can't exactly argue their decision, but I feel completely useless nonetheless. Eli and Jasper lead two separate teams of guards on a rescue mission for anyone still trapped in the mess that had been created, and the healers are doing their best to keep up with the injured. As for the dead, the number just seems to continue to rise. A large portion of the front hall near where we were trapped along with the servant's quarters were completely buried, and they have yet to find any survivors. As the efforts continue, my parents, Kai, Aurora, and I have gathered in the sanctuary.

"If her last wish was to make sure that Rynn would have the best life possible, I think that the most logical thing is for you to take care of her," Aurora states bluntly, pointing at my parents, and I can see the shock as soon as it hits their faces.

"Wow, try not to be so eager about it," I say sarcastically as I slouch down in a pew.

"Are you against it?" Aurora asks in confusion "I honestly thought you two would like the idea."

"It's not that," my mother says as she takes a seat beside me "I just wasn't expecting us to make a decision about her so soon," she explains hesitantly.

"Do you think that's what Elli would have wanted?" my father asks curiously as he paces back and forth in front of the altar.

"I honestly think it's a great idea," Kai speaks up from the back of the room, where he had been lying down in another pew "Think about it this way, you missed out on raising your own daughter this time, did you really think that meant you got to take a break from parenting?" he asks, sitting up and looking over the benches at them.

"I'm not saying that that was why I was hesitating-" my father tries to explain.

"I personally think it's a great idea," I state bluntly, twiddling my thumbs "You're both still in your early twenties, not to mention you're actually together right now..." I explain, suddenly realizing what I just said, and looking at Aurora nervously.

"No, no, you make a good point. My wife is gone, so is Eli's, and so is Roxie's husband. Nanea and Brendan have their hands full as it is, and as rough as that is, I fear they may need a bigger house once this situation is over." she sighs as she looks back at my parents "Joey had a single mom, and as great a job as Eliana did that lifetime, I think having two parental figures might be beneficial to her, especially after going through so much bullshit this young."

"Oh god," Kai exclaims worriedly "I can't even imagine how traumatic this has to be for her already, and she doesn't even know about what happened to Nixi yet." he sighs.

"That's what I'm getting at, she's going to need you guys," Aurora explains hopefully.

"Alright," my father states, looking up at the boarded-up window as he approaches my mom and me, reaching for her hand "I would do anything for my sister, and that includes protecting my niece at all costs." he smiles, and I see my mom gazing into his eyes with hope.

"We'll do it." my mom smiles, and I see a tear roll down her cheek. As I glance back at Kai, I see that he seems bittersweet about this, and it's not hard to tell why. He may be here now, but he's never truly known how it feels to be loved like this. My only hope is that someday he will.