CHAPTER 48
(Lyria POV)
The forest felt colder than before.
Not because the air had changed, but because Kael's warmth beside her was fading with every step.
Lyria kept her arm firmly around him now, more like holding him together than supporting him. His weight shifted heavily against her side, and each movement forward felt like he was borrowing strength that was no longer there.
"Kael…" she said softly, her voice already tired from fear, "we need to stop properly this time."
He did not respond immediately.
His breathing came slower now. Controlled—but strained in a way she had never heard before.
"We stop when it is safe," he finally said.
Lyria almost laughed, but it broke halfway into something painful. "Safe? Kael, nothing about this has been safe for hours."
"That does not change the objective," he replied.
"And what is the objective now?" she asked quickly, her voice rising slightly. "Because from where I am standing, it feels like surviving is becoming impossible."
Silence.
That silence again.
The one that always meant he was thinking too much.
---
They took a few more steps.
Slow.
Unsteady.
Kael's hand was still loosely around hers, but the grip was no longer firm. It was there… but fading.
Lyria noticed it immediately.
"…Your hand is slipping," she whispered.
"It is not," he replied automatically.
"Yes, it is."
Another step.
Then Kael stopped completely.
Lyria froze instantly. "Kael?"
His head tilted slightly downward.
And this time, his silence lasted longer than usual.
"…I need a moment," he said quietly.
That was the first time he admitted anything close to weakness.
Lyria's chest tightened instantly. "Okay. Okay, we can stop for a moment. Just sit down, please."
He didn't argue this time.
He lowered himself slowly against a tree.
Very slowly.
Like even that simple movement cost him something.
Lyria immediately knelt beside him. "Kael, look at me."
His eyes lifted.
And her heart sank.
Because they were no longer sharp.
They were tired.
Not gone.
But dimmer.
"…You are not healing properly," she whispered.
"I am healing," he replied.
"Not fast enough," she said immediately.
He didn't deny that.
That silence confirmed it.
---
Lyria placed both hands on his arm without thinking. "We need help. We need to find someone. A village, a healer—anything."
"There is nothing nearby," Kael said quietly.
"You don't know that!"
"I do."
That answer was calm.
Too calm.
Lyria shook her head quickly. "No, you cannot just accept that. There has to be something—there has to be—"
Her voice broke slightly.
Kael looked at her.
And this time, something in his expression shifted.
Not strength.
Not control.
Just… awareness.
"You are panicking," he said softly.
"I am allowed to panic!" she snapped immediately. "You are bleeding, you are barely standing, and we are lost in a forest where nothing is helping you!"
That silence came again.
But this time, Kael didn't correct her.
He didn't deny anything.
He just watched her.
Quietly.
---
Lyria took a shaky breath and tried again, softer this time. "Kael… please. Tell me what to do."
His eyes narrowed slightly, but not in irritation.
In thought.
"…Stay calm," he said.
"That is your plan?" she asked, almost brokenly.
"It is the only one that helps you think clearly."
Lyria laughed weakly again, but tears slipped out anyway. "I don't think clearly when you are dying in front of me."
That made him pause.
A long pause.
Then—
"I am not dying," he said again.
But this time…
It didn't sound like conviction.
It sounded like something he was still trying to believe himself.
---
A sudden sound echoed through the forest.
Lyria snapped her head up instantly. "What was that?"
Kael didn't move immediately.
Then he slowly pushed himself up slightly.
Too slowly.
"Stay behind me," he said again.
"Kael, no—"
"I said stay."
But his voice wasn't as firm as before.
And that scared her more than anything else.
---
Before she could argue again—
Kael tried to stand fully.
He made it halfway.
Then his body stopped responding properly.
Lyria grabbed him instantly. "Kael!"
His knees weakened.
And this time—
He collapsed.
Not violently.
Not dramatically.
Just… down.
Like something that had been holding on for too long finally let go.
Lyria caught him immediately, but the weight of him forced them both slightly to the ground.
"Kael!" she shouted again, her voice breaking completely now. "No, no, no—don't you do this!"
His eyes were still open.
Barely.
"…Lyria," he whispered.
"I'm here," she said quickly, holding his face. "I'm here, I'm here—just stay with me, please."
"I am…" he paused, breath uneven, "…still here."
But it sounded weaker now.
Fragile.
Lyria shook her head desperately. "No, no, no, you are not allowed to leave me here. Do you hear me?"
His hand moved slightly toward her wrist.
Slow.
Unsteady.
Still trying.
"I hear you," he said softly.
And then—
His hand trembled.
Lyria froze instantly.
"…Kael?" she whispered.
He didn't answer immediately.
His eyes stayed on her.
Still there.
But fading at the edges.
And in that moment—
Lyria finally understood something she had been refusing to accept since the attack began.
He was not just injured.
He was slipping away.
Right in front of her.