Chương 74: 074

Time"Nikolas!" Dura's shout cut through the air, sharp and ragged, fear lacing it so deeply it echoed in my chest. Nikolas slumped, his eyelids sliding shut as his legs gave out beneath him. I grunted as I caught him, the sudden weight heavier than expected even as I hauled him upright. Dura was there in a blink, shouldering in on his other side and taking most of the burden. Her brow drew tight as she nudged him lightly.

When he did not stir, the tension in her face hardened into something dangerously close to panic. Henry stepped closer, eyes flicking over Nikolas in a practiced sweep. Whatever he saw twisted his mouth into a grim line.

"We need to camp. Now," he said.

"He blew past Exhausted and went straight into Heavily Exhausted. And his hit points…" He trailed off. Curiosity warred with the urge to remain blissfully ignorant. As always, curiosity won. I summoned his status window and nearly choked at the hit points Five. He had five left. One solid blow from death.

"Yes," I cleared my throat carefully.

"Let us do that." Before something strikes and finishes him. Dura bit her lip, adjusting her grip.

"I'll carry him. I'm better built for it." I allowed it, though a shard of reluctance lodged itself in my chest. When it refused to fade, I stayed close, my attention never leaving the boy. I had underestimated his talent for finding danger twice already. There would not be a third time. Karma's face, tight with worry and eyes burning, flashed behind my eyelids, the memory surfacing from beneath years carefully stacked atop it. Karma paced our chamber, agitation rolling off her in waves.

The sand beneath her feet reached up instinctively, grains brushing her skin, only to blacken on contact. Dark streaks marred the golden floor, scars standing out against the light. I remained by the bed, centuries of experience tempering the instinct to reach for her. She was too wound tight. Comfort now would only fray her further. When she calmed, then I could ease the strain, hold her through the tremors she would not admit to feeling. For now…

"I assume something has happened with the boy?" My tone was neutral, betraying none of the unease that always accompanied this topic. Karma stopped short. One hand raked through her long red hair while the other slashed outward, as if striking at something unseen.

"Yes. Because apparently something is always happening to him," she snapped.

"I swear, Time, if it's not one disaster, it's another. He's survived things that break grown adults, and the hits just keep coming." Her voice rose, raw and sharp, worry burning through frustration.

"Eventually something is going to break him. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But someday it'll all be too much, and I can't fucking fix it. I can't do anything but talk, and what if that's not enough? What if he-." Her voice cracked and t he anger collapsed into fear as she scrubbed at her eyes, breath hitching.

"Damn it all, he's just a boy. He shouldn't have to suffer like this. He should be here. I could keep him safe here." Unease stirred low in my chest. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. A child. Any child… In our home. We had imagined it once, what felt like lifetimes ago. With hope and laughter, we pictured these halls filled with small footsteps. A child with Karma's fire and hair… or one quieter, observant, like me. The nursery still existed.

Locked and untouched. A monument to what would never be. I should have erased it, scoured the memory clean, but even glancing at that door tore open wounds I had never truly sealed. If the idea of a single room could unravel me so completely, then a living, breathing child underfoot would be… Unbearable. Karma would never suggest bringing him here. We had agreed, long ago, that the boy would be hers alone. And yet the fear remained, glowing like a coal in my chest. Seeing her so torn almost made me reconsider.

Almost. Shaking free of grief's grasp, I slipped an arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.

"We have no way to bring him safely across dimensions," I said softly.

"Even if we did, you would only be able to take physical form for a handful of months at a time. He would be alone the rest." She buried her face against my shoulder, a shuddering sigh escaping her as she hid her tears.

"I hate this. Anything that can go wrong does with this kid, and he's so damn sweet. He doesn't deserve to struggle like this." There was nothing I could say that would ease it. No words that would soften the truth. So I held her tighter. The boy would come here eventually. Karma would find a way to bridge the divide between worlds. She always did. She would watch over him, and this frustration would fade into memory. The world beyond his home would be kinder to him. Karma would see to that. Until then…

there was nothing to do but wait. Anything that can go wrong, does… At the time, I believed she was exaggerating, frazzled by fear, grief sharpening every worry. From what little I had seen, perhaps she was under estimating. If the boy was to survive until Karma woke again, I would need to keep a careful eye on him. Silence settled in, brittle and cold, as Henry finally chose a clearing to camp. His gaze lingered on Nikolas.

"We don't have any potions," he said.

"Make sure he rests. He'll need to heal himself when he wakes." Dura nodded, carefully shifting Nikolas as she tugged her bedroll free. It hit the ground with a muted thud, partially unfurling. She hesitated, glancing toward me.

"Could you get it settled? I don't want to jostle him." I answered by moving. Together, we eased Nikolas down, arranging him until his breathing evened, chest rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm. A blur of blue-black fur darted past my ankle. Volpe curled around Nikolas's neck, tails tucking beneath the hood as his nose disappeared into the boy's hair. Soft, pitiful whines followed. Dura exhaled.

"I know, buddy. He's in rough shape, but just you wait. He'll be back on his feet soon." Volpe pressed closer, and Dura lowered herself to sit beside Nikolas's head, her axe resting within easy reach against a nearby tree. Her gaze never left his chest. Her fingers twitched, hovering, as if she were afraid to touch him. After a moment, I cleared my throat.

"You may place a hand on his chest, if it will soothe you. I doubt he would mind." She startled, as if she had forgotten I was there, before a mask of indecision fell over her. A long moment passed, then slowly, she set her palm over his heart. The tension drained from her in visible waves. She leaned back against the stone with a weary sigh.

"I feel kinda bad," she admitted.

"Back when we were hanging over that pit and the thing was climbing toward us, he tried to warn me and I snapped at him. Told him to calm down. Thought he was going hysterical on me." A humorless breath escaped her.

"Nearly had a heart attack when that monster latched onto him. Waiting in that cave was hell. I thought for sure he was just gonna… stop breathing on me." I nodded, half tempted to do as she had, to feel for myself that he still lived.

"A reasonable fear," I said quietly.

"And you can hardly be blamed for snapping, given the circumstances." She scrubbed a hand down her face.

"Still wish I'd taken it more seriously. Maybe he wouldn't've gotten hurt so bad." The guilt bled through her words. I shook my head, cutting it short.

"That creature was too fast. You could not strike freely while holding both yourself and Nikolas. Your guilt is misplaced and needless. He would tell you the same." She hesitated, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt.

"Maybe. I'll feel better once he wakes up and I can apologize." I let the matter rest and leaned back against the nearest tree, keeping one eye on the boy.

"You should sleep. Dominicus has the watch, and you will need your strength tomorrow." She hummed, easing down while keeping her hand firmly over his heart. Sleep tugged at me then, persistent and heavy, and I allowed it to pull me under. Dura was not the only one who needed rest. If Nikolas truly was the danger magnet Karma feared, I would need every scrap of my awareness to keep him alive.