|[ DEATH'S APPRENTICE ]|

[Chapter Eighteen]

I woke to the sounds of quiet breathing. Almost silent, but there. I blinked my eyes open, wincing as lamplight flashed in my eyes, and propped myself up on my elbows, grateful that i didn't seem to be feeling any pain. Giving myself a moment, I let my eyes adjust, and I tried to recognise where I was. I didn't recognise the room or its high, stone ceiling, nor the bed I was in. my sheets were tangled around my feet, revealing clothes I didn't own. But I recognised the figure slumped in the chair beside me, eyes closed, dark hair falling over his face as he gently dreamed.

"Malik?" I asked, rubbing sleep from my eyes. He didn't react, only dozed on, and I wondered how long he had been here; wondered how long I had been here. "Malik?" I tried again, slightly louder. He jerked awake, a wild look in his eyes, before he caught sight of me.

"Cora?" he asked, as if uncertain he really believed it was me. "Oh thank fucking god!" he cried, jumping from the chair. He rushed to me, pulling me into a bone crushing hug, and I was sincerely thankful that I was healed. "I thought you were going to die." He mumbled into my shoulder, "I thought you were..."

"I'm okay." I patted him awkwardly on the shoulder and he quickly released me, taking a step backwards. I had never seen him look so flustered.

"Cora... what happened?" he asked, falling back into his seat. He scooted it closer to me, watching me intently.

"What do you mean?" I asked, falling back onto the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. I realised that I must still be in Mad Dog's camp. There were no windows, only stone walls. We were still underground. The thought gave me a chill. "Where's Eris?" I jolted upright, suddenly remembering her, remembering her limp body and how she had looked when I left her. "Is she alive? Did she survive?"

"Cora, please, just..." Malik tried to calm me.

"Just tell me." I snapped, knocking aside his arm as he tried to touch my shoulder.

"She's alive, yes." He said slowly, "Though we don't know if she's going to wake up. I didn't know if you were going to wake up." His words punched a hole of guilt in my stomach, and I bowed my head.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, staring down at my hands.

"What?" Malik asked quietly.

"I'm sorry... for agreeing to it. For going on my own. For making you worry."

"Don't worry about that now," Malik urged, "Just tell me what happened. When we brought you back here you were barely breathing. And you weren't healing. Do you know how much it takes to shut down our healing factor?" he asked, "A fucking shit load that's how much."

"I... I Uhh, well..."

"Cora, just tell me what happened." He beseeched. "Mad Dog is furious. Eris won't wake up, and she thinks that foul play has been involved. And unless I have something to tell her she's going to come in here and interrogate you instead of me."

"Eris and I went into the camp." I began, "And we took down two guards. But then when we went to the next group... well, we were outnumbered and before we could make any headway Edward showed up with some kind of... some kind of bomb. And I think Eris was right next to it.

"I was thrown into a wall, and I think I broke my shoulders, and before I could heal properly he shot me."

"Cora..." Malik breathed.

"He kicked me, and I managed to stab him in the leg. And he broke my nose. And I killed him... and then I passed out."

"That should be enough to satisfy Mad Dog for now." Malik nodded, leaning back into his chair. "I'm so sorry, Cora... I should never have let you go on your own."