Chapter 117: You are my world.
~Raphael's POV~
I blinked several times, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. There was a lantern next to my bed, glowing softly, but that wasn't what shocked me. It was the voice coming from it, Ava's voice.
"What are you? Why are you beside my bed?" I asked, my voice hoarse. Even though I recognized it was Ava speaking, I couldn't help questioning what I was seeing.
The last thing I remembered was pulling Ava's soul from the Rift before everything went black.
"Do you perhaps know what happened to my mate?" I asked, my muscles tensing as I prepared to stand up and search for her myself.
"She is healing," came the reply from the lantern, the voice undeniably Ava's.
Those three simple words were enough to calm the racing of my heart.
"Oh, that's great," I sighed, falling back onto the bed. My entire body ached as if I'd been thrown off a cliff. Strange needling sensations crawled across my skin like tiny ants.
I stayed quiet after that, not wanting to alarm whatever or whoever was inside the lantern. But my mind was working overtime.
That voice had answered twice now, confirming my suspicions. Somehow, Ava's voice was coming from within the lantern. How that was possible, I had no idea.
"Mate is here," Grey growled inside my head, his presence suddenly stronger than before. I had been suppressing him since he heard the Lantern speak. He had recognized the voice just like I had.
"Stay back. You promised," I snarled back internally, not wanting him anywhere near Ava after all the chaos we had caused.
"I only wanted to apologize," Grey said, his voice softer than I'd ever heard it, filled with what sounded like genuine regret.
"Do you think she would forgive us if she found out? Have you forgotten what we did?" I shot back, feeling anger bubble up inside me like hot lava ready to erupt.
Without warning, my hands began to glow. To my horror, actual flames burst from my palms while my claws extended from my fingertips, replacing my body nails.
"What's going on here?" I screamed, watching as the fire grew stronger, dancing across my skin without burning me.
"I am sorry, Vessel. We are now one. You are the sacred beast and I am Raphael. You are me and I am you," Grey's voice spoke through my mind, sounding different somehow, more integrated with my own thoughts.
It sounded like my own voice mixed with his. What's this madness?
"That's nonsense! What did you do? Give me back my body!" I shouted, my panic taking over as I wrapped my hands around my own throat as if I could somehow force Grey out.
"Raphael, what are you doing?" Ava's frightened voice called out from the lantern. The sound instantly froze me in place.
Slowly, I felt the claws retreat back into my fingers. The flames dancing across my skin died down, but I realized too late the destruction they'd caused.
The bed quilts around me were charred and smoking. The robes I had been wearing were nothing but ashes now, leaving me completely naked.
"What in the moon goddess is this?" I mumbled, staring at my hands and the destruction my momentary loss of control had caused.
"You are officially now a god, Vessel," Grey's voice explained, sounding almost proud.
"What do you mean, a god?" I whispered, fear and confusion warring inside me. This couldn't be happening.
"The rift completed the merge," Grey continued. "Your human body and my sacred body have become one. The fire is just one manifestation of your new powers."
I shook my head, refusing to accept this new reality. "No, this isn't right. I just wanted to save Ava. I didn't ask for... for this!"
"Raphael?" Ava's voice called again from the lantern. "Are you okay? I can sense your distress."
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself for her sake. "I'm fine," I lied, reaching for a blanket that hadn't been completely burned to cover myself. "But Ava, why are you in that lantern? What happened after I passed out?"
The lantern glowed brighter as she spoke. "Your sacrifice was greater than you know. When you pulled me from the Rift, my body was too damaged to hold my soul. This lantern is temporary until my physical form can be healed."
"How long will that take?" I asked, my heart aching at the thought of Ava trapped in that small object. She has been trapped in different objects for a while now.
"I don't know," she admitted. "Drogon and others have been working day and night, but it's never been done before."
I reached out to touch the lantern, feeling the warmth radiating from it. "I'll wait as long as it takes. I'll surely find a way to save you."
"Careful with your emotions," Grey warned inside my mind. "Your powers are tied to them now. Lose control, and you might burn down the entire castle." What?
I pulled my hand back reluctantly. "I need to learn to control this... whatever this is."
"We will learn together," Grey said, sounding more like a partner than the adversary he'd been since first awakening inside me. "Your strength is impressive. Most vessels don't survive the merger, let alone maintain their dominant personality."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" I grumbled, flexing my fingers and watching with fascination as small sparks of flame danced between them.
"It should," Grey replied. "It means you're still you, just... more."
I looked around the room, wondering for the first time why I wasn't in the castle infirmary, but in my chambers. The infirmary meant better healers.
"Where are the others?" I asked Ava.
"They are at the Temple of the Sacred," she answered. "After your body collapsed, Drogon thought it best to keep you here, where he could take care of you and not let anything happen to you."
I nodded, though the underlying meanings weren't lost on me. They were keeping me contained, like a dangerous animal. Perhaps they weren't wrong to do so.
"Raphael," Ava's voice grew softer. "What you did for me... Coming to get me. I can never repay you."
"You don't need to," I said immediately. "I would do it again in a heartbeat. You are mine to protect."
"Even knowing what it would cost you?" she asked.
I looked down at my hands, remembering the monstrosity I had seen inside the rift. Now this new raw feeling of power coursing through my veins. I sighed. Was this really what I was now? Part man, part beast, part god? Was I even part of anything again?
"Yes," I answered honestly. "Even knowing everything, I would still choose you, Ava. Always. You are my world. A world without you isn't worth living in."
The lantern glowed warmer as if she was blushing. "Rest now," she said. "You'll need your strength for what's coming."
"What's coming?" I asked, suddenly alert.
"Change," she replied simply. "For all of us."
I lay back down, my mind racing with questions, but my body was too exhausted to pursue them. As I drifted off to sleep, I could have sworn I felt a ghostly touch against my cheek, like the memory of Ava's hand.
"We'll figure this out together," I promised in a whisper. "Whatever I am now, whatever you are now... we'll find our way back to each other."
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