the future

the future
I groaned, opening my eyes as slowly as i could, mostly because it hurt to actually open them.
It felt like I was surfacing from deep water.
At first, I was aware only of warmth. Not the sterile heat of the ward lights, but something gentler and familiar. My lashes fluttered, my vision hazy, and for one suspended moment I was afraid to blink. What if i closed my eyes and then i could not see anymore?
Then I did. I turned my head to the side and i felt my chest tighten.
Darius was there.
Sitting beside the bed. Awake. Solid. Real.
He was smiling at me.
The world stopped.
Not painfully. Not frighteningly. Just…. paused. As if my heart, overwhelmed by the sight of him breathing and conscious and here, had forgotten what it was supposed to do for a blissful second.
My chest felt light. Empty in the best possible way.
“Darius,” I muttered, his name slipping out like a secret I’d been holding too tightly. A smile tugged at my lips before I even realized it was there.
His smile softened instantly, like I’d given him something precious without meaning to.
“There it is,” he said quietly.
I frowned a little, still dazed, my fingers twitching against the sheets as if I needed to ground myself. “There… what?”
“That smile,” he replied. His voice was rough around the edges, worn but warm. “I haven’t seen you smile in a while.”
Something inside me cracked open at that.
I swallowed, my throat tight, and let myself really look at him. He was pale, still marked with healing bruises and bandages, but his eyes… his eyes were clear. Steady. Watching me like I was the only thing in the room worth seeing.
“You scared me,” I whispered.
His expression shifted, guilt flickering across his face before settling into something tender. “I know.”
I reached for him without thinking, my hand finding his where it rested on the edge of the bed. The contact sent a quiet rush through me, relief, certainty, life. His fingers curled around mine immediately, firm and reassuring.
For the first time since everything had gone wrong, my heart remembered how to beat properly.
“You’re really here,” I said, almost to myself.
“I am,” he answered. “you thought for a second that i was going to leave you? Damn” he chuckled. Wincing a bit as he clutched his chest
I smiled again, wider this time, because he was alive and watching me and somehow, impossibly, smiling back.
For that moment, nothing else mattered.
He watched me for a moment longer, his thumb brushing lightly over the back of my hand as if he needed to reassure himself that I was still there.
“Stay with me,” Darius said softly. I creased my brow, wanting to ask him what he meant by that. I mean, it was not like i had any other place to go to
Then, after a brief pause, his mouth curved into something almost playful. “I was thinking… when all of this settles.” his hands almost instantly, found their way to my brows, removing the creae as he spoke
I tilted my head, curiosity sparking through the lingering haze. “Thinking what?”
“How about we leave,” he said. I felt something cool spread through my skin. He did not say i should go. He said we. He wanted to come along with me.
“Just for a bit. You and me. The human world.”
I blinked at him, the words sinking in slowly. Then a surprised laugh escaped me. soft at first, then brighter, lighter than I’d felt in what seemed like forever.
“You’re serious?” I asked, already knowing the answer by the look in his eyes.
“I am,” he said. “No councils. No wards. No titles. Just us.”
The idea settled warmly in my chest, blooming into something hopeful and unreal. I giggled, the sound feeling strange and wonderful in my ears. “You know,” I said, smiling up at him, “I always wanted to live somewhere in Europe.”
His brow lifted slightly. “Europe?” there was a small smile playing on his lips.
“Yes,” I said, warming to the thought. “Somewhere with old streets and tiny cafés. Maybe near the water. Or a place with too many books and not enough space. I always imagined I’d disappear into a city like that and finally just… breathe. I have read about places like that when i was still with my family, and when Aria took me to the human world, they always talked about stuff like that. It would be really cool to experience something like that, don’t you think?” i could not stop myself from smiling as i spoke, feeling the gitters from just talking about it.
He studied me closely, like he was committing every word to memory. “is that what you would really want?” i found myself shaking my head yes before he could even complete what he had to say.
“although…” my smile dropped a bit. “if you are not up to it, then we would find another place and…'“
“I think I’d like that,” he said after a moment. “Watching you disappear into a place like that. Watching you come alive in it.”
My smile softened, emotion pressing gently behind my ribs. “You’d really do that? Leave all of this behind? The kingdom, they would…”
“For a while, i am sure they would not die for the little while i am going to be away” he cut me off. “Long enough to remember who we are without it.”
I squeezed his hand, my heart swelling in a way that felt full instead of heavy. “Then yes,” I said, laughing softly. “Take me to Europe, Darius and you better make the experience worth my time” i said, with fake seriousness.
His smile widened, something free and unburdened breaking through. “Then it’s decided,” he said. “We’ll go.”
And for the first time, the future didn’t feel like something to survive.
It felt like something i wanted to look forward to….