Discordant Note | TBATE

Chapter 93: To Leave a Lover

Darrin Ordin

Time slowed around me as I watched Dima's body crack to the side. She didn't even make a noise as she flew, unable to scream or cry out in horror. I felt I must have been dreaming; my former lover's body twisting at unnatural angles in the air.

I watched with a sense of distant detachment. This can't be real, I thought, the clashing of steel, rocking of water, and cries of battle fading to nothingness around me. This is a nightmare. I'll wake up in a moment, safe in my estate. Yes, this is a dream.

Dima's body tumbled across the metal plating beneath us, leaving a messy streak of crimson blood. She fell still, her face staring up at the sky.

Everything seemed to condense back in on itself. A guttural cry tore itself from my throat as I dug my fingers into the metal around me. I wrenched myself forward, unable to feel the pain in my mangled leg as I hauled myself toward my lover.

I finally made it to Dima, heaving for breath and feeling a frantic tugging in my gut. "Dima," I tried to say. My lips moved, but they failed to make any sound. "You're going to be okay," I lied, grasping onto her arm.

Dima coughed weakly, not turning to look at me. There was a haze in her eyes that terrified me. Her back was twisted in a strange direction, making me feel nauseous inside.

"Darry?" she said, still staring at the sky.

"I'm here," I said, trying to hold back a sob. A puddle of blood was slowly forming around her body, but no matter where I looked, I couldn't find the source. "We're going to get out of here. You're going to tell me about what went wrong, yeah?"

"I can't– I can't feel," Dima forced out, tears gathering at the edges of her eyes. Her breath stuttered.

"We can–"

"I need to," Dima started, almost forcing the words out, "Need to tell you."

"What?" I asked, feeling lost. My eyes tracked to the slowly growing pool of blood under my former lover. Tears finally began to flow down my cheeks. I grit my teeth, cursing my weakness. I couldn't even stand.

From the corner of my perception, I noticed the Frost twins, alongside Sevren Denoir, launching themselves at the flesh colossus. Dima and I were alone in puddles of our own blood, left to slowly wither away.

Dima whispered something, blood streaming from her lips. It was the first sentence she'd said that sounded clear and resolute. It seemed to echo over the battlefield, quelling every other sound.

I felt my breath hitch as I processed the words. I froze, my thoughts spiraling out of control. What did she mean?

"We— we have a daughter," Dima repeated, forcing the words through bubbling blood.

I wanted to shrivel up; curl into a ball and block out the light. Dima's words seemed to skip a beat in my head. I knew what each syllable meant individually. Knew the meaning they intended to convey once strung together. But the end result still didn't make sense.

"After we spoke," Dima said, tears glistening through the red crimson around her, "I– I found out after that. I was pregnant. But you'd just told me you would give up everything to tend to me."

Dima coughed, something between a sob and a rattling death drum. Her blonde hair, once so luscious, was burned and torn at the edges. It soaked up the blood like a sponge.

I reached my hands out, clutching at Dima's arm. It was limp in my grip. She didn't even seem to notice.

"I couldn't do that to you," she said weakly. "You would give up the tombs. Give up fighting. I knew that... if you knew, you'd stop antagonizing all those highbloods. Stop helping people."