Chapter 52 A Queen Among Tides: Chapter Fifty-Two - Lemuel

Chapter 52 A Queen Among Tides: Chapter Fifty-Two - Lemuel
Have you ever gotten so drunk you completely blacked out, to the point that waking up can almost feel like starting your life all over again? If the answer is no, you’ve probably lived a very sensible life. However, as someone who has been blackout drunk more than once in my long life, I can say right now feels about the same as that. That moment your mind and body become alert again, but there’s that split second where your brain has to remember how to make the body do what is meant to come naturally. Then your mind tries to go back in time to remember how you got here and where the hell here is. Come to think of it, I do actually feel hungover.

I slowly open my eyes to take in familiar, comforting surroundings and almost immediately the memories come flooding back. Circe, the cell, the pain, SEBASTIAN! I frantically sit up despite the protests from my body and look around only to heave a sigh of relief when laying down beside me is the man I seek. I look him over and am relieved when I see no signs of injury or trauma to his body. Still as handsome as the Adonis he has always been. His beard has grown out significantly, his hair is a shaggy mess and his eyes… such deep circles are under his eyes that have me frowning in concern.

I carefully lay back down and turn on my side; the action feeling akin to a newborn calf taking its first steps. I slowly reach out, fighting past the rusty tension in my muscles, and caress Sebastian’s cheek, taking a breath when electricity breathes life into my tired body. Sebastian’s eyes scrunch up in his sleep and slowly his eyes begin to flutter open. His breathtaking cerulean eyes stare at me like a deer caught in the headlights and I can’t look away from them. We remain locked in this trance, neither of us speaking, and yet the silence feels in no way uncomfortable.

“Please tell me I’m not dreaming,” he whispers nervously.

I smirk, “Are you saying you dream of me often?”

His eyes widen a fraction and I’m quickly pulled into his strong arms. His hold is crushing and yet I relish every suffocating second as I feel him nuzzle his head into my shoulder. My body makes its protest known to me, but I ignore it as I wrap my arms around him and breathe him in. When did he last shower?

Sebastian starts to pull back, “I’m hurting you, I’m sorry,” he apologises with worry, but I simply tighten my hold on him.

“It’s worth it,” I say, placing a gentle kiss on his neck. Feeling his body against mine and being in each other’s arms is more soothing than any medicine could ever be.

His arms circle back around me as he gently caresses the back of my head, “I was so scared you’d never wake up.”

“How long was I out?”

“It’s been a week,” he says in a pained voice.

I sigh and slowly pull back and lay my forehead against his, “I’m so sorry, no wonder you’re starting to look like a sexy hermit.”

He chuckles, “At least I’m still sexy.” He reaches his hand up, gently caressing my cheek, and I lean into his touch instinctively and gently kiss the palm of his hand. I feel as though I’ve been starved for this closeness for years. “How’s the pain?” He asks with concern.

I shrug, “Nothing I’m not used to.”

He frowns, “Is it always like this when you grant a wish?”

“Being rendered unconscious for a week? I admit when it first began I would end up knocked out for a couple hours, but never days at a time.”

He sighs, “I guess granting my wish coupled with the rest of your trauma was just too much. I’m just so glad you’re okay,” he says as he goes to kiss me, only to pull back and cover his mouth, “Oh Gods, my breath must be revolting!”

I chuckle. I had detected he may not have brushed his teeth in a while, but I wasn’t going to say anything. It’s pretty clear he’s stayed by my side while I was unconscious, so I’m not going to give him a hard time. How can I? He was worried sick about me and refused to leave me. If that’s not love and devotion, I don’t know what is.

I cup his face in my hands and lean in placing my lips on his in a soft kiss. The jolts from our lips shoot down to my toes encouraging me to deepen our kiss. I feel him melt into my touch as he presses his lips back against mine, moulding around mine and caressing them with such care like he’s been doing it all his life.

We pull apart as I give him a final peck, “I don’t care about your breath, I just care about you. Just please tell me you haven’t been starving yourself,” I say, looking into his eyes to see if he tries to lie. He pouts his lips like a fish and purses them to the side in a cartoonish and comical way, but I resist the urge to smile.

“I may have neglected my nutrition needs for the first couple of days,” he begrudgingly admits.

“Sebastian,” I sigh.

“Don’t ‘Sebastian’ me, how was I supposed to think about eating when I was terrified you were going to die? Nevertheless, my mother came and scolded me, and I’ve been eating since. Happy now?”

I nod, “I can accept that. I’m glad she’d been taking care of you.”

“And you.”

“What?” I ask in surprise.

He nods, “My mother and father visit every day. Sometimes twice a day to see how you are, and keep me company or help look after you,” he says happily.

I look at him sceptically, “I could believe that of your mother, but your father?”

“I know, I know. But he’s really had a change of heart. They gave us their blessing, not that we needed it but…”

“You wanted it,” I say compassionately as I take his hand and kiss it.

“They’re my parents, I don’t want to be at odds with them. I only ever wanted for them to accept me and in turn you, and now they have,” he says cheerfully.

“And Circe?” I carefully ask.

His face sets into a mask made of granite and his mouth into a hard line, “Rotting in a cell awaiting her execution where she belongs along with her traitorous cohorts,” he spits venomously. Well, that’s comforting news.

“So Eisa didn’t kill them. With the beating she gave them, I assumed they were dead.”

Sebastian relaxes and lets out a chortle, “I’m sure she was tempted, but no, they were just badly injured. Circe is a mutilated mess, which is fine with me. She was starting to heal until my mother dished out some punishment of her own,” he says smugly.

I blink in surprise, “The Queen? Why?”

“Circe attacking her son and son-in-law isn’t enough reason?”

“When you put it like that.”

“But there was a reason,” he says, and I can feel pain and grief building up inside him, “Circe confessed to the murders of Cole and Andromeda,” he says in a pained voice, shutting his eyes tight to fight back the tears.

I take in a deep breath and pull him close stroking his hair, “I guess you were right. I’m so sorry, Sebastian,” I say as I attempt to console him.

He holds me tight, like I’m a rope keeping him from falling into a dark abyss, “I wish I had done something about her years ago. It never should have gotten to the point that two good people had to die, and the love of my life was nearly killed,” he says in anguish.

“The what of your life?” I ask, my heart quickly thudding in my chest and pulsating in my ears.

Sebastian pulls back to look into my eyes, “The love of my life. That’s what you are. I don’t need some magical bond to tell me who I’m meant for, even without that I’d know it was you. I love you, Lemuel. I’ve loved you since I first laid eyes on you, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt I will love you for the rest of my days and beyond.”

I suck air into my lungs, feeling the ache in them as if they had been starved for a lifetime as tears fill my eyes, “I love you too, Sebastian. I never thought I could love or be loved. Then you swam into my life and forced your way into my heart and I’m glad that you did. I never knew happiness until I met you. The thought of losing you was more painful than anything Circe or Merlos could ever do to me. I’d endure that torture forever if it meant having you in my life.”

He gives me a bright, wide smile as a tear trickles down his nose and drips onto the pillow. He grabs my face and launches himself at me capturing my lips in a bruising kiss that can be felt in my bones. I endeavour to keep up with his assault as love, pride, and joy bloom inside him and if this is only a fraction of what he feels, I think the full dose might be enough to knock me off my feet.

“I guess I really did win you over,” he says as his lips brush against mine.

“I guess Zarseti did know what she was doing. She gave me someone so stubborn that they would never budge no matter how hard I pushed,” I say as I let my fingers skim through his beard.

“And now you’re no longer bound to me,” he says apprehensively.

I brush my thumb against his cheek, “I meant what I said. I love you and I’m staying. I don’t know how to avoid being bound to anyone else, but we’ll figure it out. You’re worth figuring it out.”

He smiles warmly, and then furrows his brows in confusion, “Wait, how come we’re not bound again? I’ve been touching you since you granted my wish.”

“Molesting me in my sleep, how lovely.”

He rolls his eyes, “Very funny.”

I smile, “One wish only, those are the rules. You can’t just re-touch the same visum and hope for a new wish, that’s not how it works.”

“What if they bumped into a different visum?”

“That I don’t know. I’ve never actually met another visum, and don’t particularly want to.”

His eyebrows rise in mild surprise, “You don’t want to meet someone else like you who knows what it’s like to go through what you do?”

“And reflect on whatever fucked up shit we did in our past to earn our curses; no thank you.”

I slowly get out of bed with a groan and carefully stretch out my limbs hearing several pops that ease a little of my discomfort. Never thought bed rest could be so uncomfortable and it’s not like I was sleeping on NASA-quality bedding back in my youth.

“What are you doing?” Sebastian asks as he sits up, “Are you sure you should be getting up? I know you’re still aching,” he says with concern.

“It’s better if I move around, so I was going to go shower, and I think you should come with me.”

Sebastian beams up at me and leaps out of bed, “I think that’s a brilliant idea.”

I smile shaking my head, “You would.”

As I start to take slow, unsteady steps around the bed, Sebastian races around to my side and scoops me up into his arms. On instinct, I wrap my arms around his neck and quickly get my bearings before narrowing my eyes at him.

“Sebastian, I can walk just fine,” I point out.

“Yes, but if you walk, then I can’t do this,” he says proudly as he saunters towards the bathroom, carrying me as though I weigh no more than a feather. Show off.

Sebastian carries me into the bathroom and carefully sets me on my feet. As I reach for the door to the shower, Sebastian gives my hand a light whack.

“What was that for?” I ask incredulously as I rub the back of my hand.

“No shower. Bath,” he says, his diction rivalling that of Tarzan. I half expect him to say, ‘Me Sebastian, You Lemuel.’

Sebastian walks over to the tub and turns the tap and checks the temperature of the water. Once satisfied, he walks over back over to me, “May I undress you?”

“You’ve undressed me several times now, and I don’t recall you asking on any of those occasions,” I point out.

He shrugs, “Different circumstances.”

“Very well.”