{"id":3381,"date":"2017-10-16T00:00:25","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T04:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3381"},"modified":"2017-10-15T21:09:25","modified_gmt":"2017-10-16T01:09:25","slug":"twenty-four-02-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3381","title":{"rendered":"Twenty-four – 02"},"content":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Thom’s point of view.]<\/em><\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t sure if he slept or how much time had passed when he clawed his way back to the surface of the blackness that had swallowed him whole. Marin\u2019s voice was nearby, speaking in hushed tones, as if she didn\u2019t want to disturb him. He could hear another voice, more distant, hurried, rushed\u2014familiar, but too quiet for him to fully recognize.<\/p>\n

Thom shifted in the bed, sucking in a breath as a sharp pain stabbed through four distinct points in each shoulder\u2014three in back, one in front. \u201cHell,\u201d he rasped, then coughed. It felt like he\u2019d swallowed an electric sander while the damned thing was still turned on. \u201cMar?\u201d<\/p>\n

The voices stopped for a moment and he heard the scrape of her boot against the floor. \u201cI\u2019m here,\u201d she said, steps echoing softly. \u201cDid we wake you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he murmured, cracking one eye open, then the other. It was dim and the light still hurt his eyes, but it was bearable. \u201cNo, you didn\u2019t. That was all me. How long have I been out?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the last time you were awake? About four hours. It\u2019s midday.\u201d<\/p>\n

At least it helped.<\/em> \u201cAnd since the fighting?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than twelve,\u201d Marin said softly. Her fingers were cool against his face as she ran them along his cheek and jaw. \u201cFeeling any better?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHurts like hell,\u201d he muttered, then coughed a little, squeezing his eyes shut for a few seconds. \u201cHead\u2019s pounding. Everything hurts. Twelve hours?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMore,\u201d she whispered, then pressed another kiss to his forehead. \u201cBut we won, and that\u2019s what matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d he murmured. \u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you want me to go?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Kellin. That startled him, but he wasn\u2019t certain why. He cracked an eye open again, peering at her in the dim. She was ghost-pale, standing near the door. His guts twisted. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong, Kel?\u201d he asked. He saw Marin wince out of the corner of his eye.<\/p>\n

That didn\u2019t help the sick feeling that had settled in the pit of his stomach.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nothing,\u201d Kellin lied, shaking her head quickly.<\/p>\n

Thom cursed under his breath, trying to push himself up onto his elbows. His shoulders screamed and he bit back another curse, shaking as he let Marin push him down as if he had no strength left at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop,\u201d she said firmly. \u201cStay down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWill one of you two please tell me what the hell is going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kellin sucked in a breath. \u201cJust something Phelan said. That\u2019s all. Don\u2019t worry about it. I\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

She turned quickly and jerked the door open, clearly intending to go whether he wanted her to or not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Thom’s point of view.] He wasn\u2019t sure if he slept or how much time had passed when he clawed his way back to the surface of the blackness that had swallowed him whole. Marin\u2019s voice was … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[240,273,14],"tags":[150,171,170,19,152,149,148,168,147,165,158,146],"class_list":["post-3381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-6","category-chapter-24-book-6","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-kellin","tag-marin-astoris","tag-original-fiction","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-thom-ambrose","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-Sx","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3381"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3382,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3381\/revisions\/3382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}