Bounded To You (Star-Crossed)

Chapter 39 - Crossroads

CHAPTER 39: CROSSROADS

"He's gotten bigger." Lucius said as Shadow tried to rip a pillow in half.

"And much more aggressive." Noah said, untying his hair before he pulled the blanket off of the bed and got under it.

"Shadow, come here." Lucius said, and in a second the pillow he was tearing apart was forgotten and the wolf was rushing to Lucius, snuggling closely to him, lapping at his chin. Lucius chuckled as he said, "He is a very sweet pup. He just likes to play. Don't you, Shadow?" Lucius asked, making him yap in agreement. Noah breathed a laugh before laying down, and as if on que, Shadow moved away from Lucius, resting his head against Noah's chest and relaxing.

"Took your spot again." Noah laughed as Lucius tried to move the wolf away from Noah so he could snuggle up to him. When he finally managed to do so, the wolf merely moved to Noah's other side, his head still against his torso as Lucius lay down as well, and his head against Noah's chest, making Shadow tilt his head towards him.

"He's mine." Lucius told him, only to laugh when shadow licked his nose.

"If you are done arguing, can we sleep already?" Noah asked with a smile, a hand tangled in Lucius's hair while the other petted Shadow.

***

"What are you doing?" Lazarus asked, standing next to Liam who leaned against the infirmary's door frame.

"Drinking my coffee." Liam mumbled, bringing his cup to his lips again before his finger rubbed under his lips as he watched in silence.

"What is it you are hiding?" Lazarus asked, following the healer's gaze to Cylus kneeling near Wyatt who was now in a wheelchair that Tobias made for him. Wyatt's fingers barely moved, shaking severely as he tried to close his shirt, so Cylus was now buttoning it for him.

"What would I be hiding?" Liam countered, still watching Wyatt get angry when he almost dropped a glass of water, Cylus having to hold it to his lips.

"Liam, stop answering me with questions. Just tell me. I need to know. Will he ever be the same again?" Lazarus asked.

"His muscles are atrophying. I have no idea why it is happening. He was walking in the beginning, so I thought he was merely recovering but a few weeks ago I realized that was not the case. He is getting worse. He can't stand anymore. And as you can see, he can barely move his hands." Liam said, his eyebrows set in a deep frown.

"What is the cause though?" Lazarus asked him.

"I started thinking about the spell. If it was actually broken then this shouldn't be happening, right? So, I spoke with Ira and she tried to find any trace of it, but somehow, she cannot detect it. I came up with another theory, that perhaps she hadn't broken the spell, merely forcefully awakened him, and as such, her spell is trying hard to counter the other one and that is why he is suffering physically. She said she was still unable to detect it though."

"So, what are you thinking?" Lazarus asked.

"I have been watching him closely and I am slowly confirming the theory that both spells are fighting for dominance. You know, it is like something is pulling you right when you are trying to go left, so you become stuck in the middle. In his case, his feet are too confused to go in the same direction. His words as well. His speech is becoming worse. I think it is safe to say that whatever spell Levi is using to hide himself from Edmur's visions has been converted to a different use. It is hiding the spell from us."

"Then break it." Lazarus said.

Liam snorted as he said, "Do you even realize how many concealing spells are out there? The six main ones aren't even the ones he used. Ira and I spoke, and we believe that the one Levi is using was one he constructed himself, which would make it ten times harder to break."