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Chapter 412:

Cassidy's Point of View

Reed Family Farmstead

I woke up sweating and unbelievably thirsty. "Cass!" My little brother's voice called out.

He stood next to my bed. "Hey, Austin."

"Are ya okay? Ayda said yer sick."

My breathing was heavy as I could barely move. "It would appear so." Even just a twitch would hurt my back. "Ya gonna take care of me?" I asked him.

Austin nodded firmly. "Of course!" Then he covered his mouth and looked behind him. "Ayda's been here the whole time too."

She was sleeping in the seat behind him as she looked utterly exhausted. This was a choice we both made, but I don't think either of us truly understood the consequences. Ayda knew better than me, and she still ended up like this. That, or she knew and did it anyway. Neither would really surprise me.

"Could ya get me some water?" My tone was soft.

"Be right back!" He rushed out of the room.

As soon as he left, Ayda quickly got up from her position and moved next to me. "You only have a few hours left to recover, Cass." She told me, and my eyes widened slightly. "Before we begin again, I will apply another salve across your back, but you cannot rest for too long." Ayda explained in a hushed tone. "If we wait too long, the runes will mend too much and prevent us from continuing." Watching me as her eyes examined me, she frowned. "Do you understand?"

I could only nod in reply. She sighed as she pulled something from her cloak and held it to my lips. Not thinking twice, I drank it. Probably one of the foulest things I could ever imagine slithered down my throat in clumps. When I started to cough, Ayda grabbed my cheeks to force my mouth open to make sure I drank it all.

"We need that water, Austin!" She cried out as she backed away while I began to cough.

Trying to sit up was impossible as Ayda held me down till Austin returned. "What happened!?" My brother asked as he rushed to my side.

Everything turned to white noise as I heard them start to shout but couldn't make it out. My ears rang as I tried to drink as much water as possible as quickly as possible. Soon, my vision started to darken as I tried my best to take deep breaths while my back felt like it was splitting apart.

"Breathe, Cassidy! Breathe!" Ayda told me firmly, and I felt her hand on my chest, followed by a pulse of magic. "Austin, fetch a bucket of water." Apparently, he was hesitant because I heard her yell a moment later. "Now!"

"Ayda-"

She cut me off. "Hold still!" I felt another pulse as my back numbed, and I sank into my bed. "You need to remain calm, Cass. This is the after-effect of you not being able to rest appropriately. I have no idea how you were even able to function for the Priestess's meeting, but this is the result." Ayda explained. "Everything was planned meticulously. However, we have strayed from that path. Now, we must do our best to move forward."

"How?" The words left my lips in a breathy manner.

"Because I've been caring for you, due to the incident from yesterday, my magic is not where I would like it to be." Ayda informed me. "Which is fine, given that we already took care of the largest portion of your body. However, I would still like to be careful." The Elf pulled out the bottle once more. "This is a sedative. An incredibly heavy one that will prevent you from waking. That is until I fetch you tonight."

I stared at her for a moment. "Why?"

Shaking her head, she put it away. "Because I cannot stay here. I need to make a concoction that will increase the rate at which my magic returns. Austin will be here, and he will watch over you, but you waking up caused a mess." Ayda stated before she placed her hand on my forehead. "This will keep you out of pain until I return for you tonight. It will also stop your brother from worrying about you so much."

Closing my eyes as I could hear how heavy I was breathing, I spoke. "Are we gonna continue tonight?"

My Elven friend was quiet for a moment before she answered. "We are. I will wake you with my magic and transport us back to the storage closet." Brushing some of my hair, she finally pulled her hand back. "We cannot delay much longer. Continuing off of all the runes is a must to make sure they are completed appropriately. Should we fail, you could die."

Nodding weakly, I replied. "Okay."

"Do not worry about Austin. I will talk to him and tell him I gave you some medicine."

"Thank you."

"Do not thank me until we have completed your request, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me in the future." Cracking one of my eyes open, I saw Ayda looking down at me with tears in her eyes. "This is going to only get worse, Cass. Your back is the worst, given the area that needed to be covered, but it will not be healed by the time we finish." A few tears fell as her hands shook.

"Not yer fault." I told her in a tired tone. "Ah asked for this."

Ayda shook her head. "And I agreed." She replied. "It will be some time before you recover, but hopefully, we can just use this as an excuse that you are sick." I felt her grab my hand. "That will give you the most rest."

Her head whipped to the door as we heard the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs. "Ah'll let you decide."

Austin finally burst into the room, struggling to carry a heavy bucket of water between his legs. "Ah got it!" I heard him cry out. "How is she!?"

"She has received some medicine, but I believe your sister must be sick." Ayda carried on, but my eyes got heavy, and I fell asleep as she started.