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“Save them.” Those two syllables take a monumental effort to get out.
Her head jerks back. Varin’s surprise is a distant jolt within my chest that mirrors the shock on her face. They struggle to let go, but I hold on to them, refusing to let them fade away.
The Voice recovers quickly. “It will be painful.” She lowers me to the cold stone floor and stands. “I will give you a draught to keep you unconscious until it’s over.”
My eyelids are too heavy to keep open any longer. There’s a pounding, growing louder, resounding in my head. Closer and louder. Voices, familiar and unknown, join in, then replace it.
I can’t make out the words they’re saying. Only that everything is too loud. Too cold. Too heavy. The world shifts, and I am drowning, choking on bitter water.
Varin… please… don’t leave me…
With no other option than to trust everyone around me, I let go. Unfeeling darkness crashes around, pulling me into fathomless depths.
***
The first thing I am aware of is an ache. Deep and unwavering. I want to get away from it and return to the peaceful nothing it is forcefully dragging me from.
But the harder I try to cling to the void, the more I move, the more I stay still, the more insistent the pain becomes.
A groan rises up my throat. The sound burns as it claws its way up my raw and stinging throat. Moments pass, and consciousness reforms, taking hold in my mind and bringing awareness of the world with it.
Blood flowing through my veins. The sound of quiet breathing—mine, surrounded by other, smaller breaths. Snapping and crackling of flames. Warmth. The weight of a blanket.
Something soft and leathery pressed into the space between my neck and shoulder on one side. On the opposite, the smooth, almost metallic slide of scales wrapped around my arm.
I peer through my lashes at first, adjusting to the low light. Though dim, it still makes my eyes ache, as if I have been in the dark a long, long time.
I do not recognize the ceiling above me or the scent of freshly cut wood mingling with the musty air that has permeated each inch of the room. Heavy drapes cover the window, blocking the view and time of day.
Varin?I call down to them. They do not answer, and the space they once resided, where I could sense them, is empty. I am alone in my body, as I’ve been for most of my life. But for the first time… it feels lonely.
When I shift to look at Cherno and Asmod, I am confused by the weight of something else pinning my hair to the pillow. My movements rouse the two demons, their heads popping up in unison.
“You’re awake,” Cherno says, climbing onto my chest. They wrap their wings around my cheek and chin in what I think is a hug.
With a light tug of hair, whatever was pinning me down moves, freeing my head. A tiny black rabbit with ruby eyes flecked with gold comes into view, their limbs moving awkwardly, getting in the way. They tumble down the pillow and roll, landing with a fluffy tail in the air, and back feet dangling over their head.
I bolt upright, sending Cherno tumbling into my lap. An instant headache forms from sitting up too quickly. I press a hand to my temples to quell the pounding inside my skull. Cherno takes to the air and wings their way through the door like a puff of smoke while Asmod unwraps themselves from my arm and slithers after them.
“Wh—” My question is cut off by a coughing fit.
On the night table is a filled cup and a pitcher just out of reach. The water is tepid, but I drink it all down. It eases my parched throat, though not entirely.
Carefully, not wanting to hope, I lean in close to the animal—more fur than body, with tall ears too big for their body. Each paw is tipped in an ashy gray.
“Varin?” I whisper, too afraid to let myself hope. They are a demon—but is this my demon, or the demon of some unknown vampire?
The rabbit takes a single hop closer. Their legs are not quite in sync, and the awkward movement instantly brings a smile to my lips.
“What other demon did you expect?”
And it is Varin’s voice. Hearing them speak, knowing they are alive, brings a wave of emotions crashing within the walls of my chest. Tears well in my eyes. I scoop them up and cradle them against me.
Tiny paws push against my face, back feet tapping against my chest in a halfhearted way of fighting. I am laughing and crying at the same time, unable to express how I feel in any coherent way.
“This is undignified,” they mutter. Varin resists the hug a moment longer, then gives in to it.
I sniffle into their soft fur. “I am so glad you’re all right.”
