Page 75 of Remnants
Aiden’s thumb swipes my lips, then drags the lower one down. I slowly open for him, too tired for information processing in my head yet to do anything else. He perches the edge of the cup on my lower lip and angles it up. Water fills my mouth, and I greedily gulp it, feeling like I’d been lost in a desert for days with how dry everything feels. He tilts the cup the perfect amount, giving me the seconds I need to breathe before I take more and more until I’ve drained it all.
He pulls the cup away and then puts a hand to my forehead as Kellan had.
“What’s going on?”
Aiden retracts his hand, then studies me. “How much do you remember from yesterday?”
I sink heavily against Kellan behind me unintentionally, the comfort of his body wrapped around mine something that calls to me. It feels nice being able to relax into him instead of trying to hold myself upright. Everything right now feels like a lot of work, even something as small as that.
“I remember the attack on the Tower. Tinsley. Vera and Dane. And then…cleaning up.”
“And after that?”
I try to recall finishing the pile. Or anything that happened after. Had Kellan wished me a good morning? As if it’s the next day already? I drop my head into my hand, trying to remember something.
“It’s okay if you don’t. Jack can explain it better, but the simplest way to put it is that you overdid it with your gift,” Aiden says, his velvety voice something I could easily fall back asleep to.
I force my eyes open before I do exactly that. “Did I hurt anyone?” Kellan’s arms tense, and I can feel his head shift up to look at Aiden behind me. My heart sinks like weights in my chest to the pit of my stomach. “I did?”
“Everyone is fine. I was just heading to the infirmary to meet Dane, Jackson, and Reid before we visit Harvey. Do you feel well enough to come or do you want to rest more?”
“Why is Jackson there?”
“He’s just meeting us there.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “I want to go.”
He nods, looking to Kellan over my head before holding a hand out for me. I’m still feeling pretty weak, so I take it without a word while Kellan keeps supporting me from behind until I’m standing on two feet. My legs quiver.
“Hold on to me, beautiful. I won’t let you fall.”
I shift my feet until the tremble begins to subside. “I’ve got it.” I release his arm and Aiden’s hand to test that claim. Even though exhaustion still weighs me down, I can stand. I can move.
There’ll be time to sleep more later.
Aiden and Kellan keep close to me the entire elevator ride andwalk to the infirmary, but I’m proud to say I make it walking on my own. Once we’re in the infirmary, where the three we’re meeting with are each sitting on top of beds due to lack of chairs, I pick a bed for myself to sit on and catch my breath.
Jackson moves next to me anyway, pushing my hair out of the way and touching his forehead to mine.
“What is everyone’s fascination with my forehead this morning?” I mumble under my breath, and Jackson smirks.
“She’s still a bit warm,” Aiden comments from where he stands at the foot of the bed.
Jackson hums in what sounds like agreement.
“Mind filling me in on the details?” I ask him, still confused as fuck about what they’re so concerned over. I’ve used my gift a lot before and drained myself to the point of passing out. Gordon pushed me to that point on several occasions. Maybe because this is the first time they’re witnessing it, they’re making it to be a bigger deal? Or am I missing something?
Jack nods, sliding his hand over mine and splitting my fingers with his. “Remember what I said about breaking past limits?”
I remember him mentioning it, so I nod.
“You did that beyond what your body could handle. You didn’t build up the stamina first, and when your body tried to shut down your gift to protect itself, you overrode that instinct and pushed through it.”
Oh.
“You sound like you’re familiar with it,” I murmur.
“I am.” He’s smiling at me when I turn to look at him. “I’vedone it a couple of times. It’s a fast way to strengthen your gift, but it comes at a high cost. Thorne told me he’d seen a few gifted people kill themselves when pushing themselves too hard like that.”
