Chapter 255: What is Going On?

Orion walked fast, every stride tight with urgency, but he still moved quietly enough not to disrupt the healers tending to their afternoon routines. He also didn’t want to alert them... although he was certain that they already knew he was in the medical facility.

He didn’t want to disturb Lysander, but he doubted Marta had much knowledge about what was going on. Lysander had had a stressful night, and Orion had no idea if he would still be resting when he got to the room or if he’d be awake.

Well, either way, Orion was going to have to speak with him. If he was resting, then he’d come back later, but if he was awake, thank whoever was on his side.

Normally, if it were a normal situation or, truthfully, someone else, Orion wouldn’t have sought to meet with Lysander — but this was Sophia. She wasn’t just anybody. She was his mate and... she was everything.

Orion reached the door to the room where Brynhild was and eased his fingers against the handle. He pushed gently.

The door opened with only the faintest whisper.

The room was warm, dim, and calm in a way Orion didn’t think anything in this facility had the right to be right now. The hearth crackled faintly. Herbs steamed softly in a bowl near the wall. Brynhild lay on the bed, fast asleep, her breathing slow and even.

She looked peaceful, and he was glad she was resting. He knew she would wake up; she wasn’t going anywhere, after all.

Lysander sat on a chair beside the crib, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

Orion was glad to see that the man wasn’t asleep. His eyes, which had been red-rimmed and filled with exhaustion earlier, were now better.

Lysander was smiling at the infant curled in the crib. It was a small, tender smile. If Orion was soft, he would have smiled too.

This was the kind of scene Orion should back away from, just to give father and daughter a moment to themselves, but he had no choice in the matter.

Lysander sensed the movement first. He looked toward the door, the softness evaporating instantly. His brows pulled into a frown. A deep one.

Orion stepped inside, closing the door behind him without a sound. He kept his voice low, barely above a whisper, mindful of the sleeping mother only a few feet away.

He walked to the crib first — not to admire the baby but to confirm something.

Raina was asleep.

Good.

There was no universe where Orion would have dragged Lysander away if his daughter’s eyes had been open. He let out a silent breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

Lysander straightened slowly, eyes narrowing in subtle concern.

"What’s wrong?" he asked.

"It’s Sophia," Orion told him.

Lysander’s frown deepened instantly. He stood from his chair, muscles tensing with alertness.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I think it’ll be better if you see it yourself."

The answer didn’t sit well with Lysander — Orion could see it in the twitch of his jaw — but he nodded without hesitation.

He didn’t even look back at the crib. He didn’t look at Brynhild. It was like his body already knew where to go and why.

They walked into the hallway together, closing the door with the same careful silence they had used to open it.

Orion exhaled and shook his head.

"You didn’t even hesitate," he murmured.

"Why would I?" Lysander muttered.

Orion raised a brow. "Maybe because you just became a father, and your wife is still asleep?"

Lysander chuckled. "If you are worried about Raina, then don’t be. The only thing newborns do is cry, eat, and sleep. And she’s done all three already. It’ll be a while before she wakes up again."

"Oh."

"Besides, Brynhild likes Sophia," he said simply. "You like Sophia. Tobias and Ronan both like her. And I like her too. That’s more than enough reason to move."

His voice softened just slightly.

"And Sophia is the reason Brynhild is still here." He paused, breathing out. "You think there’s any world where I let something happen to her? If I can help her, I’m helping her."

Orion nodded once, feeling the weight of those words settle between them. He didn’t need to say thank you — not when Lysander would brush it off anyway.

When they reached Sophia’s room, Orion pushed open the door quietly and motioned for his friend to enter.

Sophia lay exactly as he’d left her.

Still on the bed.

Still burning hot.

Still trembling with that fever that didn’t make any sense.

Her hair clung damply to her forehead. Her breaths hitched every now and then. Her eyebrows were drawn inward as if fighting through something from the inside.

Lysander approached the bed in a few long strides, his body shifting into healer mode automatically.

Orion spoke quietly, standing at the foot of the bed.

"Marta said it was just a fever. I thought that by now, she would’ve woken up. But instead..." He motioned at Sophia. "She’s having hallucinations."

Lysander’s expression hardened. "Hallucinations?"

Orion nodded. "She’s apologizing. A lot. But I don’t know why. She even said something about her friends, like they were getting hurt or something... it doesn’t make any sense because the friends I know she has are perfectly healthy."

Lysander moved to the bedside and pressed the back of his fingers lightly to Sophia’s forehead. The touch lasted only a moment before he pulled away sharply.

"She’s burning up," Lysander said under his breath.

"Yes, Marta said the same thing. It wasn’t like this at the beginning — it was all just a normal fever — but there’s a temperature spike. The only thing Marta complained about was that Sophia was exhausted. I—"

"Hallucinations are coupled with high fever. This isn’t just a normal fever anymore," Lysander explained.

Orion swallowed, jaw tight, shoulders rigid. He didn’t say anything. The worry in his chest had grown claws by now.

Before Lysander could say something else, Sophia’s fingers twitched.

Her lips moved.

A broken whisper escaped her throat — fragile, trembling, soaked with fear.

"...I’m sorry... I’ll do better..."

Orion snapped his gaze to her face instantly.

She wasn’t awake.

But she was crying now — silent tears streaking down her already overheated cheeks.

Orion turned to his friend. "This is why I called you here, brother. What’s going on? I can’t make any sense of this."