Page 31 of Elven Oath

Aodhan’s eyes flicker with understanding, though he says nothing. His breathing is more labored now, his face pale.

I look around the clearing, searching for anything, any way I can help. But I don’t immediately see what I’m looking for. I feel helpless suddenly. The surge of adrenaline from the battle fading and leaving me raw.

My gaze falls on the sword I still hold in my hand. The one that had transformed from a dagger into something more. There was something strange about it, something ancient, powerful. I can feel its magic under my palm.

“Aodhan,” I say, my voice firmer now. “Stay with me. We’ll figure this out.”

His eyes meet mine, and for the first time since the attack, I see a flicker of fear in them. He was strong, unshakable, but even he couldn’t fight against the poison.

“I’m not letting you die,” I whisper, gripping the sword tighter as I stand, determination flooding through me.

Panic claws at me as I sit beside him, his breathing shallow and his skin growing colder beneath my touch. The wound isn’t closing. The poison is beginning to spread, and with every passing second, he’s slipping further away.

"Falkor, Drago!" I call out, my voice tight with urgency.

Falkor was already by Aodhan's side, his face grim as he took in the severity of the situation. Drago, on the other hand, looks ready to tear through the woods in search of any remaining attackers.

"It’s poison but I know the cure," I say, my voice steady despite the chaos swirling inside me. "There’s a plant—the Eldara root. It glows bright purple, and it only grows in hollowed trees, away from light." I turn to Drago. "You have to find it, quickly."

Drago doesn’t waste time questioning me. With a determined nod, he vanishes into the woods, moving with the swift, lethal grace of a predator on the hunt.

I turn back to Falkor. "You stand guard. If anyone comes back, you fight them off."

He nods, his usual playful demeanor gone, replaced by the serious, focused expression of a warrior ready to protect his own. He positions himself on the edge of the clearing, sword in hand, scanning the treeline in the direction our attackers left.

I can’t focus on anything else but Aodhan. He is slipping away too fast. His golden eyes, the ones that had seemed so full of life and fire just yesterday, now barely flickered. His breaths were shallow, his chest barely moving with the effort to stay alive.

"Stay with me," I whisper yet again, my voice trembling as I press my hands to his wound, as if I could stop the poison from spreading with sheer willpower alone. But it was hopeless.

Then something inside me cracked. Maybe it was desperation, maybe it was some ancient magic stirring within me that I didn’t fully understand, but I could feel it.

The bond, the connection that linked us. It wasn’t just the marriage vows. It was deeper, something raw and primal, something that connected his dragon soul to me.

Without realizing it, I speak. Not aloud, but directly to his dragon.

Aodhan. Please, stay with me.

I freeze at the realization of what I’d just done. I can feel him. His consciousness, his dragon senses, lingering just beyond the edge of darkness. He’s still there, but weak.

Aodhan, I need you to fight. You can’t leave me. Not now.

The words pour out, unbidden. My thoughts, raw and unfiltered, reach for him, hoping he can hear me.

For a moment, nothing happens. He’s so still, and I can feel the cold dread sinking into my bones. But then, there’s a flicker. A faint pulse of awareness from him, like a spark catching flame.

Vevina...

His voice is faint, but it’s there, inside my mind.

You’re... in my thoughts...

Tears well in my eyes, but I fight them back, refusing to let the fear overtake me.

Yes, and you’re not allowed to give up now. I won't let you.

His golden eyes flutter open, just a fraction, but enough to show that spark of life. He looks at me, his gaze heavy with pain but full of something else too. Something that mirrors the strange connection I feel between us.

His lips twitch, the faintest hint of a smile, though it was weighed down by pain.

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