"Thanks...?"
He sighs and hugs me.
"Okay, I guess you guys can explain to me later what happened while I passed out... Mara, you okay? You look very pale."
"I'm just a bit tired, babe," I chuckle, putting a kiss on his cheek. "I'm glad to see you... I love you."
He raises both eyebrows, and I see a dash of red appear on his cheeks, traveling all the way up to his ears.
"Th-thanks... I love you too, hot stuff."
I chuckle, and hug him again. Moon Goddess, it feels so good to feel Liam's warmth again, his arms around me, hear his voice ask again what did he miss. I hear Nora keep crying, tears of joy this time.
My head on Liam's shoulder, I keep looking around, and although my heart feels a lot better with my mate back, I can't help but see how many people we did lose in this battle... Everything around us is desolated, and no one else is able to cry of relief. There are still too many bodies, too many wounds. The rain has stopped, but the sky clearing doesn't match the atmosphere down here. Everything is... hard to process. I take a deep breath.
We will need to take care of our people. Heal the wounds, bury the bodies, see what we can save. The battle has left traces everywhere. There will be a lot to do, but... the worst has passed.
This battle is over. ...And it was the last one for Silver City.
Chapter 41
"...So you've really lost all of your Earth and Water Magic?" Kelsi asks with a sorry expression.
"Yep," I nod.
"And neither are coming back?"
I glance down at the burn on my finger. It's a bit odd how it burned my skin and stayed there as a reminder... It's not ugly, though. From up close, it looks vaguely like a butterfly, otherwise, it's just a brown triangle. I shrug.
"The Earth Magic, definitely not. The Water Magic... perhaps it will awake again later, if I try harder? I'm not sure, but I think I would rather not, though. I want to respect Luna's decision, for now. So, unless I really need it... I will stick to my good old Fire Magic only."
"I see..."
She looks down, her hand gently petting Ben's head. The big brown wolf is covering her leg and one half of the bed, but neither of them seems to care. I chuckle. It's actually his bed, although Kelsi still has an IV drip in her arm too, and is wearing a hospital gown. Ben has his own on the same hanger, and he's got a lot of bandages covering his body and his broken leg too. Our poor Ben even got half his tail amputated... Kelsi told him it was cute, though, so he's probably fine with it now. I wonder if there's going to be any damage on his human body, or if we will just have to get used to seeing a wolf with the tail of a pomeranian each time he shape-shifts... Still, I'm glad he's okay, that they both are, and together. The only reason the nurses accepted this arrangement is because of the lack of beds at the moment... and Ben refused to sleep anywhere other than by Kelsi's side. I feel a lot better knowing those two are fine... It's been a rough night, to say the least. It's probably sometime around 5:00 a.m. now...
After we evacuated those who could still be saved, everyone worked together to gather the bodies. Wolves and humans working together, helping each other through the hardest. I had to wait for a while before I could check on these two, so I'm a bit relieved now, and catching a break too. I think half my night has been fighting, the other bringing back bodies and transporting people... Kelsi looks tired too, but I'm glad she's alright. Apparently she got better as soon as we beat the curse, although she's still pretty weak. She doesn't remember much of the incident, either, which is good.
"...What will happen now?" she asks.
"The Alphas are checking on everyone, organizing the last rescues, and overseeing the packs... Selena has talked to the human leaders too, and Nora is here, helping with the healing for those she can. Everyone is pretty exhausted, but... you know."
"You do look tired," she mutters. "Your clothes too..."
I grimace. Yeah, I probably look like crap... I'm not the worst, though. The hospital lobby is full of blood and mud, despite the volunteers who tried to help keep it more or less clean...
"Mara?"
I glance over my shoulder, and Bonnie is there in the doorway, waving at us. She's the one who took care of Kelsi for the first half of the night, but then she got a lot more busy...
"See you later," I say to Kelsi, getting up.
"See you. Try to catch some real rest, okay?"
"I will. You watch over the big boy."
"Sure," she smiles, petting Ben's fur.
I turn around, hiding my sigh, and walk out to see Bonnie.
