{"id":3610,"date":"2018-05-30T00:00:53","date_gmt":"2018-05-30T04:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3610"},"modified":"2018-05-29T12:31:18","modified_gmt":"2018-05-29T16:31:18","slug":"thirty-nine-01-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3610","title":{"rendered":"Thirty-nine – 01"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

My heart slammed into my throat and my fingers curled around Thom\u2019s against my face. I could almost feel the blood draining from my face as I stared back at him, watched as he wavered on his feet, breathing hard, as pale as I knew I suddenly was. Words came as a croak. \u201cA curse.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded almost convulsively, one hand turning to grasp mine and squeeze. \u201cShe swore on your souls that she would have her vengeance on Brigh\u00edd no matter how long it took.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGet Phelan,\u201d Matt ordered. I didn\u2019t see who he told\u2014it didn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d I said, the word quiet but firm. \u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMar,\u201d Thom breathed.<\/p>\n

I wrapped my arms around him and he made a weak sound of pain, leaning against me. All of his weight settled against me and I was suddenly holding him up, his nose buried in my hair above my ear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t just lie there,\u201d he whispered. He was warm, too warm. The fever was back, was worse. I swallowed hard, trying to force my heart back down into my chest, trying to ward off the growing tightness in my throat. \u201cNot when I\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShh.\u201d I looked at him, seeing bleakness and pain in his eyes, set in dark hollows. I\u2019d known that he\u2019d been dreaming, that the dreams of a long-ago yesterday hadn\u2019t stopped in the weeks since Anhur and Menhit\u2019s attack on our walls, since Cyhyraeth\u2019s attack on me. \u201cStop,\u201d I whispered, the words for him and only him. \u201cThom, it\u2019s okay. It\u2019s okay. But I need you to calm down.\u201d<\/p>\n

The words were a lie, though only partially I did<\/em> need him to calm down, but there was more.<\/p>\n

I need you well. I need you <\/em>whole. Whatever the <\/em>camazotzi did\u2014I need that to heal. I need you by my side and I need to stop being so damn afraid I\u2019m going to lose you.<\/em><\/p>\n

I needed to tell him the truth, needed to tell him what I\u2019d started to see again, started to suspect, but I couldn\u2019t bring myself to do it. Now wasn\u2019t the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cBring him over here, Marin,\u201d Hecate said softly from behind me. \u201cI\u2019ll stay with him. If it\u2019s her\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not.\u201d My voice shook. The denial in and of itself was a lie. I couldn\u2019t know for certain that she wasn\u2019t here, that she wasn\u2019t coming. In my heart of hearts, I knew she\u2019d been the one directing the camazotzi<\/em> after Anhur and Menhit had quit the field that day. Either they had used her army as a diversion or she\u2019d somehow allied with them in the hopes of assaulting me.<\/p>\n

What was I going to do if she hit me again the way she had before? Dread coiled in my belly, forced bile up into my throat. It was a struggle to keep the fear from my face as I pressed a kiss to Thom\u2019s lips and then helped him over to Hecate.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet some blankets,\u201d I said to J.T., my voice quiet. Thom slowly eased down into a sitting position with help from Matt and I, settling next to Hecate, who still held Lin cradled in her arms. My gaze flicked toward her. \u201cYou\u2019ll stay with him? With both of them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d she said, pain flickering in her eyes. \u201cI\u2019m in no state to fight right now, not on the wall or on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

What she left unsaid was something I heard loud and clear, though.<\/p>\n

If we left her here to protect Thom and Lin, she would find a way to keep them safe, no matter what the cost.<\/p>\n

Matt glanced to me. I swallowed hard and crouched to hug her tightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n

\u201cProtecting our family is something you never have to thank me for, Marin,\u201d she whispered back, one arm around my shoulders in a return hug. \u201cGo. Go. It\u2019ll be all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

My eyes stung. \u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause that bitch was never<\/em> a match for you then,\u201d Hecate said as I drew away. Her gaze was steady, her voice quiet. \u201cThere\u2019s no way she\u2019ll be a match for you now, not with everyone you have by your side and everything you know now. Faith and courage, sister. The day will be yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe today. But what about all the ones that come after?<\/em> My lips thinned and I straightened.<\/p>\n

From the direction of the wall came a call, then another. Matt grasped my shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re out of time,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cAye,\u201d I said, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment. \u201cI think you\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steeling myself, I turned and headed for the wall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Marin’s point of view.] My heart slammed into my throat and my fingers curled around Thom\u2019s against my face. I could almost feel the blood draining from my face as I stared back at him, watched … 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":[240,291,14],"tags":[150,171,170,160,152,181,149,148,168,147,165,158,200,146],"class_list":["post-3610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-6","category-chapter-39-book-6","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-j-t-mackenzie","tag-marin-astoris","tag-matthew-astoris","tag-original-fiction","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-thom-ambrose","tag-thomas-merlin-ambrose","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-We","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3610","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=3610"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3611,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3610\/revisions\/3611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}