Elemental Heir | ✔️

Chapter 57

(WARNING: This chapter contains strong sexual content.)

********************

I rocked myself in the frothy washtub, covering my ears with my palms as the screams of torture continued. Water sloshed over the sides, spilling onto the floor.

Oh, gods... Please, make it stop... Please, make it stop... Please, make it stop.... I prayed, begged and pleaded with the gods as I listened to Dristan's agonized cries from down the hallway.

The doctor, the same one who had seen to me when I'd first arrived at the Aviary, was in the bedroom with him, trying to speed the healing process of his ruined back. The doctor wouldn't allow me to stay in the room, so here I was...

It had taken us days to get back to the Aviary.

Three, long, dreadful days.

With our power drained by the night-bane, mine by over-use, none of us could fly. And because of the iron, it took even longer for the others to regain their strength. I knew that night-bane and iron were a weakness of magical beings, but I had severely underestimated just how much they affected our kind, and for how long they did. And when used together... It was detrimental.

The first day, my magic was nonexistent, as were my companions'. We were forced to build a make-shift stretcher out of wood and vines with which to carry Dristan. He had been in and out of consciousness for the entire journey. The rare moments when he was awake, he was in unbearable pain. The rocking motion of the stretcher kept his wounds from closing. The iron lashes had drained him of all of his supernatural strength, which rendered his immune system and pain tolerance nearly useless.

The thorns that Andromeda had used to stitch the worst of his injuries closed had backfired, and in his weakened state, the wounds become infected. The doctor had explained to me that because he had developed the infection while his magic levels were so low, it caused his ability to regain his strength and magic to slow down immensely.

If the doctor did not administer the shots that sped up the healing process, it would take weeks for Dristan to fully recover. With the shots, it would take only twenty four hours. However, the severity of the infection meant that the shots would hurt.

Really hurt.

I shuddered as another scream echoed down the hallway...

By the second day, I had regained enough of my magic that I could carry Dristan on the wind, easing his movement and lessening his pain. But it was the only comfort I was able to offer him. He was so sick, so far gone to the infection and the pain, that even when he was awake he wasn't really conscious. By the third day, the dragons had regained most of their strength and were finally able to shift. From there, we flew back to the Aviary.

I hadn't been sure what to do with Ferrin. On one hand, he'd betrayed us. His actions were the reason that Dristan was in the other room right now, screaming in agony... On the other hand, he had been blackmailed in the worse way imaginable.