~~
Trinity
~~
Those that were in the hall listened to what I had to say. They told me the recounts of the battle that I needed. And that was it. After that address was done, I sent them all on their way. Those that had come from other locations were allowed to leave, I even opened the doors for them. Those that lived here in the castle, or near enough to it, were allowed to go home and get some sleep. The battle was over. The enemy was defeated. There was nothing at all to fear anymore. At least not for them.
I was still more scared than I had ever been in my entire life. I needed to see Reece. I needed to know how he was doing. I needed to know if he was going to make it or not.
I had to wonder if this was how Reece felt in the past. All those times that I was kidnapped, ran toward a fight recklessly, was injured, or whatever else it was that had happened to me. Was this what he felt when he experienced all of those things? If it was, then I don't know how he made it this long. I don't know how the pain and worry didn't overwhelm him right away. How was I supposed to live with this? How was I supposed to survive with the knowledge that Reece, my one and only love, might not make it?
I felt shattered. I was broken, in more ways than one. I felt like I was at a loss, and there was nothing in the world that was going to fix me. Nothing but Reece and his big strong arms around me as he held me against his chest so that I could feel the steady beat of his heart. I needed to have all of that. Nothing else would do. Nothing else would tell me in no uncertain terms that my mate was still alive.
.....
I trudged up to the clinic, to where Reece lay in a state that I didn't know or understand. Was he alive? Was he dead? Was he balancing somewhere in between? I didn't know, and that ignorance of the situation was horrible.
“Trinity?” Riley called out to me when he saw me approaching. He was still covered in Reece's blood from when he helped to carry him away. I knew that any of the men, Riley, Landon and Griffin, could all have carried Reece on their own, but they had wanted to minimize the jostling of his body as they walked. They wanted to keep him still as much as possible so that they didn't hurt him even more. That alone had made my blood run cold, and seeing Riley out here in the hall, still waiting on news about his cousin that he considered a brother, that made things even worse.
“Hey, Riley.” I managed a weak smile that I was sure didn't look at all like a grimace. “H..have you heard anything yet?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I just sent Landon to get cleaned up. I was going to go after him.”
“You can go now, I will check in with Griffin to see how he is doing.” I waved him away but he looked reluctant to go. “It's OK, Riley. I am here now. Just come back when you are done, OK?”
“Alright.” He nodded at me, gave Vincent a meaningful glance, and then ran off. He was going to hurry through this as much as he could. He didn't want to take too much time, he wanted to get back to Reece's side as well.
“Vincent?” I spoke calmly, hoping that my emotions weren't about to betray me.
“Yes, Trinity?” He asked as he stepped next to me.
“I am going in there now. Do you want to come with me?” I was offering him the chance to stay out here, but I really hoped that he would come with me. I didn't want to be alone right now. Not yet anyway.
“I will go with you, Trinity.” He either wanted to protect me, even my emotional state, or he knew that I needed him. Either way, I was eternally grateful to him.
I didn't knock. I didn't announce myself. I just went into the room. Griffin was probably going to get mad, at least until he saw that it was me. Then it was a fifty-fifty chance that he would still get mad at me.
“Dammit, Riley, I told you that I would-.” Griffin started to growl angrily when the door opened, but then he saw that it was me. “Oh, Trinity.” He stopped the anger and spoke sympathetically.
“How is he, Griffin?” I asked as the other man looked back down at Reece. He was still covered in blood as Griffin and Lana were working to close the wounds that he had in his sides and back.
“It's not good, Trinity. The wounds won't close, no matter what I do. I am pouring magic into him as fast as I can, and it's keeping him alive, but the wounds won't close.”
“Why?” I just gave Griffin a steady look as I fought back the burning sensation in my eyes. I didn't want to cry right now. Not yet. I would cry soon. Long, sobbing cries that released all the emotions inside of me, but not yet. I needed to make it through the rest of this night first.
“There is a poison or venom in them, Trinity. The creatures that attacked him have infected him, and he's having a hard time fighting it off.”
“I see.” I tried to sound clinical, but even I heard the crack in my voice as I tried to remain calm. It wasn't working all that well though. “I..is he going to die?” I gave him eyes that I knew had to be swimming with tears in them.
“I don't know. B..but I might need some help from the Goddess. And it might be best to bring the kids in here to see him.”
“Griffin?” I shook my head. “Th..they can't see him like this. It would traumatize them.”
“If he dies, Trinity, it will be their last time to see him alive.” He was speaking forcefully as he poured more magic into the wounds on Reece's back as he held a cloth against his back.
“Fine.” I sighed heavily and felt Vincent's hand on my shoulder.
“I will get them. You stay with Reece. Maybe your magic can do what Griffin's can't. You saved me, remember.” He smiled at me.
“I saved you by becoming the Goddess. This is different. I can't do that again.”
“Maybe, but you are the Goddess, and you have magic that none of us have ever dreamed up.”
“I..I will try.” That was all that I could offer him. And with a nod, he ran from the room. He was going to get the kids and Lila. They needed to see Reece, just in case he didn't make it.
I went to stand near the top of Reece's bed. It was sitting in the middle of the room since Griffin and Lana had needed to move all around him. I knew that he was unconscious, and therefore couldn't hear me, but I wanted to talk to him all the same. I needed to tell him not to leave me.
“Reece?” I whispered his name as I put my hands on his head, one on each side of his face. “I love you, Reece. I love you more than life itself. And if it wasn't for the kids, I would die to save you.” I leaned forward and kissed his head. “Plus, I don't think you would like it if I died all that much. So, come on, Reece, you need to live. You need to fight this.”
I was pouring magic into him as well, just like Griffin and Lana were, but that didn't mean that it was doing anything for him. I didn't know how to heal him. I wasn't a healer like Griffin. My magic had been different. And no matter how much I was trying, I wasn't seeing those wounds closing up.
After several minutes, the door to the room burst open. I knew who this had to be, and I wasn't at all surprised when Zachary was the first one through the door.
“DADDY!” He yelled in shock when he saw him. I watched as all the blood drained from his face at the sight of his father laying there on the bed, bleeding profusely.
“Dad!?” Rika was next, her eyes red and puffy as tears streamed down her cheeks. Behind the two of them Zaley, Zander, Zayden, Reagan, Talia, Ivy, Lila, Grandfather, Mom, and Dad all came rushing into the room. Riley, Landon, and Trevor snuck in sheepishly behind them. They wanted us to have a family moment, but Reece was their family as well, and I waved them into the room. They deserved to be here.
“Daddy, please wake up.” Zaley cried as she ran toward me. She wasn't coming to me exactly though, she ran to Reece and pressed her face against him, not caring at all about the blood that was covering him.
“Please, Daddy, don't die. Stay with us, Daddy.” Zayden sobbed as he walked next to his sister.
All of the kids crowded around Reece then, but it wasn't making that much of a difference yet. He was still bleeding. His wounds wouldn't close. And he was so pale that he already looked like he was a corpse. This was not the way that I wanted to remember the man that I loved so dearly.
