Page 68 of Villainess's Redemption
I waved him off, swallowing hard against the burning in my throat. “I’m fine,” I snapped. I took a deep breath and ignored his outstretched hand. “It’s just… the heat… And no, I didn’t know about the shipwreck. That was just a coincidence-”
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Anderic cut me off, his voice sharp with worry.
But his words seemed to come from far away, muffled and distorted. There was a buzzing noise in my ears. My vision narrowed, darkness creeping in at the edges. I blinked hard, trying to focus on Anderic’s face.
“What-” I began, but the word caught in my throat. A coppery taste filled my mouth and I coughed, bringing my hand up instinctively.
Blood. Bright crimson against my pale skin.
What was I saying again?I can’t think. My head was pounding with each heartbeat.
My mind reeled, struggling to process what was happening. The poison. It had to be the poison. But how? It wasn’t supposed to be lethal. Did I truly underestimate how far and wildly the events could change?
I looked up at Anderic, my mouth working silently as I tried to form words. But my throat burned, the pain spreading like wildfire through my body. Every breath sent jolts of agony coursing through me.
Anderic was trying to say something to me but his words are distorted because even though I can see his mouth is moving, the words are all coming through wrong. The world tilted violently and I felt myself falling.
Strong arms caught me before I hit the ground. Through the fog of pain and confusion, I realized Anderic was carrying me, shouting orders to someone I couldn’t see. Everything was tooloud and too quiet at the same time, a cacophony of noise that made no sense.
“Stay with me, Lya,” Anderic’s frantic voice broke through the haze. “Stay with me. Nothing will happen to you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I tried to tell him it was alright, that I was okay, but all that came out was an incoherent mumble.
He looked down at me, his blue eyes wide with fear. I blinked, trying to focus on his face. How ironic that after everything, it was thefearI saw in those piercing blue eyes. Fear for me and not losing a prime suspect in his investigation. For the first time, it truly felt like he was looking a me as a person and not a piece of puzzle. Was this how death felt like? Full of realizations? Who was I even asking? I knew how it felt. If only I could live a little bit more-
“Shh, it’s alright,” he soothed. “Don’t talk. You’ll be alright.”
As I lay cradled in his arms, I found myself staring up at Anderic. He looked like a fallen angel, with all golden curls and chiseled features, his bottomless blue eyes focused intently on something ahead.
Why had I never truly seen how beautiful he was before? I’d always dismissed him as just another pretty face, a cunning prince playing his games. But there were layers to him, so many layers I’d never bothered to uncover.
Maybe I should have fallen for him instead of wasting my time on Noah.
Wow! What a realization at the doorstep of death…again.
Was this really the end for me? The thought drifted through my mind as darkness crept in at the edges of my vision. As the pain consumed me, dragging me down into oblivion, one last coherent thought flickered through my fading consciousness.
Why did it take dying to finally see the truth?
* * *
Darkness. Endless, inky darkness engulfed me. Was this death? Or perhaps hell’s waiting room?
With each labored breath, awareness crept back—along with searing pain that pulsed through my body in agonizing waves. Every inch of me felt flayed open, raw, and exposed. My heart thundered in my chest as I desperately tried to assess my injuries.
No, I’m not dead. Death shouldn’t hurt quite this much, should it?
Another surge of pain washed over me, sweeping away all rational thought. Panic clawed at my mind, reducing me to base instincts. Where was I? Where were Sebastian and Mother? Had we somehow made it back to our pitiful little shack? Why did everything hurt so bloody much?
The more I spiraled into these frantic musings, the tighter anxiety gripped me. No matter how I fought, I remained trapped in the prison of my own mind. A wretched sob tore from my chest, the sound pitiful even to my own ears.
Through the haze of agony, I felt a hand press against my neck - soft yet firm. My face was tilted, and a low voice murmured in my ear. The words were unintelligible, but the tone was oddly soothing.
Now I’m hallucinating gentle touches. Clearly, I’m not dead. Dead don’t hallucinate.
More voices drifted around me, but my addled mind couldn’t make sense of them. The pain consumed everything, dragging me back toward oblivion. Just as consciousness began to slip away, a familiar voice cut through the fog.
“Lya? Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can understand me.”
