Chapter 271: When The Fever Stares Back

Orion’s eyes remained fixed on the exact spot Micah had stood a second ago, even when the young man was already gone and the door had long closed behind him.

His jaw tightened as he stared at the spot.

"Do you plan to stand there all day glaring at the ghost of someone who is no longer here," Marta said, nudging him lightly with her elbow, "or are you going to get yourself together so we can finish what we came here to do?"

Orion blinked slowly, but his gaze didn’t move at first.

"He’s suspicious," he muttered.

Marta chuckled. "Suspicious because he cares about Sophia?" she asked him.

Orion finally looked at her. "Did that not look like it’s more than just caring?"

Marta shook her head. "It looked like caring to me."

Orion shook his head. "It’s more than that. I have an inkling he harbours feelings for Sophia but I’m not sure."

Marta gave him a look. "And you got all this from just him asking about her condition?"

Orion nodded.

Marta folded her arms and gave him a look. "You are reading into this too much and I suspect that wouldn’t be the case if you’d just let everyone know that you guys are together."

His lips pulled thin.

"I’m not hiding it anymore," he replied.

Marta tilted her head, inspecting his face like one of her vials. "But..."

He exhaled through his nose. "But I’m not going to go out of my way to announce it to the full pack, especially when Sophia is still unconscious."

Marta nodded, already turning towards the long shelves of herbs and bottles.

"You know, even if you are suspicious of Micah," she said quietly, "I think Sophia has good friends and you should be thankful for that."

"She only needs friends," Orion replied stiffly. "Nothing more than friends."

Marta laughed, a soft warm sound that echoed in the small room.

She brought down a narrow bottle wrapped in pale cloth. The liquid inside glowed faint green, swirling like mist.

"This," she said, handing it to him, "is feverroot essence."

Orion’s eyes moved to the bottle.

"Since you’ll be staying with Sophia now, you should have this. Especially in the case that she has one of her moments."

Orion nodded. He understood what she meant by moments.

"Sometimes we may not be there. We may be with the other patients or doing research, but since you’ll be with her, it’s important you have it," she told him.

Orion nodded again as Marta lifted a finger.

"You open the bottle," she instructed, "and let it stay open for about ten seconds. Not more. Then you mix it with warm water and let it settle for another ten seconds."

Orion nodded.

"That’s all. It’s more effective this way, but sometimes the situation may not even let you make sure the wait is up to ten seconds," she told him.

"I understand," Orion told her with a nod.

"Don’t forget to care for yourself too," Marta told him with a smile.

Orion smiled at her but didn’t say a word in reply.

He turned and walked back to Sophia’s room. The closer he got to her room, the more his mind swirled with thoughts.

Again, he wanted to take the pain from her. Why couldn’t the memory come back without her suffering like this?

He released a sigh. He was going to do everything to help her get better. Anything at all he could help with.

She would probably be mad at him when she woke up and found out that he didn’t continue with the training, but he would take her wrath rather than sit by and do nothing at all.

He released another sigh, then pushed the door open and stopped in his tracks.

Sophia was standing.

Not by the bed.

But by the window, staring outside at the bright sky, the light slipping in through the open window.

It reflected faintly on her skin and caught in the strands of her hair. She stood still, her fingers resting lightly on the frame, staring outside like she wasn’t even aware she had left the bed.

His breath caught.

"Sophia...?" he called slowly, but she didn’t answer him.

He stepped in and gently shut the door behind him.

She didn’t make a move at all.

He placed the bottle on her bedside table carefully, then walked toward her, slow, cautious—like he was approaching something fragile that might disappear if he startled it.

"Sophia, it’s me," he said softly.

Still no response.

She turned slowly and her eyes landed on him.

And that was when he saw it.

They were focused... but not fully there.

A faint glaze clung to them, like fog on glass. She was looking at him, but not really seeing him.

He had thought she was awake before, but now seeing her like this, he knew she wasn’t.

Her lips parted slightly, but nothing came out.

Her eyes followed his every move as he stepped closer, but he knew she was hallucinating. She wasn’t seeing him, but whatever she was seeing wasn’t going to hurt her physically, at least.

He reached for her, his hands pulling her to him.

She didn’t pull away. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Her skin still burned and she trembled faintly under his touch.

He swallowed.

"You shouldn’t be standing," he said softly. "Come here."

He gently tugged her hand and she followed after him without resisting.

He slipped one arm around her waist and the other under her knees, lifting her effortlessly. Her head rolled slightly toward his chest as he carried her back to the bed.

She sighed faintly, her breath warm against him.

"Easy..." he whispered.

He lowered her carefully, adjusting the pillows, pulling the blankets around her.

Her eyes never left him.

Not even once.

He brushed his knuckles against her cheek.

"Sophia," he called softly. "Say something."

Her brow furrowed slightly, like she was confused.

"What do you see?" he asked quietly.

She only stared at him with a frown on her face.

Orion sighed. She wasn’t going to answer him after all.

He turned to the table to pick up the herb Marta had given him, but then decided against it.

Instead, he spoke to her calmly. Orion just talked about anything and everything—Brynhild and Lysander and their baby.

"It’s been two days," he said with a sigh. "I miss you, shorty. I just want to hear your voice again, and I don’t mean the one that sounds broken and scared—the one that... the one you use when cursing me out."

He fixed his gaze on her and noticed she was already asleep.

Orion smiled, and it was only then he realised the sky was already dark.

But he had work to do, so he picked up some of the paperwork Garrett had brought to him and started going through them.

He had no idea how long he did it or when sleep took over him, but Mira, who had checked on Sophia that night, noticed how he sat sleeping with his arms folded across his chest on a chair right next to Sophia. She told Marta, who brought a blanket, placing it over Orion and making sure there was no noise in the room as they left calmly.

And it was from that moment that the rumours started...