~ 50: Under The Weather - Part 5 ~

He carried me and set me down on his single bed, putting all the covers on me as I couldn't move a limb. I had only one thought recurring in my head, which was not of great importance, but without its answer, I wouldn't be satisfied.

I held on to the collar of his shirt lightly before he could leave. He looked at me with puzzled eyes, removing my hand from his shirt and placing it between his.

"Liar," I breathed out. "That wasn't an illusion. Otherwise, you could have changed your eye and even saved the whole lot of us."

"It was an illusion, but an illusion is not one of my powers," he said with a subtle chuckle. "The sword itself is magical and can hide only if paired with its scabbard. The scabbard and the sword remain hidden until I wish it. But the blood disappearing wasn't one. I sent it floating down the drain. And about the evidence, none exists."

He removed the invisible items from his back to prove it. My eyes, which were wide with understanding and awe, lit up his face with a smile. The little lamp beside, the only light source that was switched on, played the beauty on his face.

He gave a soft kiss and said, "I will be back." I understood that he would never hint at where he would be going, even if it was someone he loved with his mighty heart.

'Another question to ask, but not now,' I told myself as I settled my head in the fluffy pillow and dozed off.

I must have been sleeping too deeply, for the only time I woke up was when I was plausibly turning over and my forehead hit something hard. I gave out a muffled groan and pulled the sheets tighter, after which a hand touched my head.

"Are you feeling better now?" he inquired, rubbing my temple gently and pushing away the hairs that had come to settle there. "You are turning colder more than ever."

A cold towel was pressed to my head, and I sighed at the relief it brought along with a little shiver. He tucked more blankets around me, hugging me closer to his bare body. I had his hit hard collar bone while trying to wriggle out of the stuffiness of the blankets.

"Why haven't you slept yet?" I said in a sleepy voice. "You shouldn't be looking after me."

"Is there anyone else who would do so?" he questioned back. "Your friend is ill, except not as severely as you. I got her tucked away beneath the thick sheets and kept a hot flask of soup near her. Who knew that after I would come out of the shower, you would be the next one."

"It's not my fault my cloth was a thinner one. She always likes thicker clothes hugging each inch of her body. And I'm naturally hypothermic. I can't bear the cold weather at all. If I knew of such a forecast, I would have been wearing two or three layers instead of one."

"You idiot," he cursed as he pulled me against him. "Who asked you to go there? I should have just gone and brought you back, without resisting."

"Your marathon was more important. You can't be doing that with me when there's something more important."

"Who cares about the marathon? I know our college won first place, but that happens every year or every other year at least."

I raise my head, roll him over and look at him with my annoyed blue eyes.

"If you didn't play well, people would spout nonsense when you are the best athlete in your relay team. And if you didn't play your best, the school would have lost and that would be a shame. Each player has an integral part in building the whole team. Don't forget that."

We breathed in the other's scents as we held each other. I was reminded of the time I was hugging him and doing everything in my power to bring him back to life. I gave away the necklace to save his life as he had cut himself and sent the surge of power to save mine.

"Was it necessary for you to get that dagger cut yourself as close to the heart as possible without scarring it?" I asked. "How would it have benefitted either of us?"

"I had seen such a vision," he stated. "I had to spill that much blood to fulfil the hefty blood promise. I couldn't place a scar on you, so I paid it with my blood, and thought that would do the trick as nothing else was revealed to me. It's possible that the blood you are throwing up often is to fulfil your side of it.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this, but it was the only way to let my powers transfer to you to save yourself, your friend and the other people suffering from this torment. I could never find the solution as I was manipulated too well in a trap to be let go smoothly."

"How could they have dragged you, a hacker into it?"

"They had stored their information away too carefully. I wouldn't be able to break in until I stole it, but with that being a crime, I didn't. The last thing I wanted was them hunting down someone I cared to bring me to my knees."

Questions continued to whirl in my head. I just washed them away and enjoyed the heat around me. I would have been shivering from top to bottom if I wasn't wrapped like a dumpling.

"You want one right now?" he whispered in the shell of my ear, sending eerie prickles down my spine.

"Can you not peek into my head and thoughts?" I said with a groan. "It's really not fair that I can't see any of yours and you can see everything of mine."

"How about I teach you how to shield them tomorrow? For that, you'll have to sleep well and be healthy."

I groaned again while he laughed. I tucked my head on his shoulder and begged myself to go to sleep without another thought or word. I didn't want a thoughts thief roaming around when my brain was active.