Chapter 57: Chapter Fifty-Seven

Bast remained in the hospital for a few days, showing no signs of coming out of her coma, causing Damien to slowly but surely lose all hope in her recovery. On the third day, Damien had her transferred back home into her own bedroom, and hired the world's top Neurologists and Neurosurgeons to care for her.

I tried my best to keep myself busy, so I wouldn't have to see Bast in her current state. It caused me pain to see her like that, but the pain it caused Damien was unfathomable, to say the least.

Damien steadfastly refused to leave her side even to care for himself. Over the next week and a half, the only way Damien would feed is if I brought him blood, and forced him to drink it. His days were spent caring for Bast in ways that made my heart ache.

"Alastair, I did this, didn't I?" Damien asked me one day when I'd brought him fresh blood. He looked up at me, his face now void of emotion. I thought seeing him in so much pain was bad, but it didn't compare to seeing him numb and void of all emotion. At least when he showed his pain, I knew he was still feeling. But now, it felt like he was a ticking time bomb, only capable of suicidal rage.

"What are you talking about Lucifer? Cristóbal did this to Bast, not you."

"If I hadn't made her be with me, she never would have been in that room. Cristóbal would never have seen her, and she wouldn't have gotten hurt." He said, his eyes not leaving Bast as he gently brushed out her long black hair.

"Bast chose to be with you, Lucifer. Does that hold no significance to you?" I asked him, trying to refrain myself from yelling. I knew he would blame himself for her being hurt, but I still wasn't fully prepared for how much pain it would cause me, to hear him say it.

"And now look at what's happened to her." He mumbled in response.

I remained silent as I watched Damien drink what I'd brought him, and waited until he'd finished, to turn around to leave. Before I could close the door behind myself, he stopped me.

"I need you to do something for me, Alastair."

"Of course, anything." I responded, feeling a flicker of hope.

"Kill me."

Those two words felt like a punch below the belt, stunning me to silence as I tried to comprehend what he'd just said. He wanted me to kill him? "No!" I yelled, shaking my head as I returned to his side. "I cannot."

"You said you would do anything, Alastair. Have you become a liar now?" He said, finally allowing his eyes to leave Bast, so he could glare at me instead.

I had to fight back a growl, as I still hadn't gotten used to the gold of his eye, and remained on alert. "Lucifer, you don't want this." I said, sitting in the chair next to him.

"You've no idea just how much I want this."

"You want this now, but you may come to regret it."

"A dead man can regret nothing."

"What about Bast?" I said, trying my hard to fight in the battle I'd already lost. I knew the reason he was asking me to do it, but if I refused I know he'd find another way. But the thought of killing my king? My best friend? My brother? I couldn't bare to think about it.

"What about her? She's gone, Sam. I cannot live in a world, where the love of my life does not. Even worse, forcing her to live, just to keep myself on the edge of being recreant is selfish." Damien said, getting on his knees in front of me, keeping his head bowed.

"What if she wakes up to find you had yourself killed?" I asked, standing up and taking a few steps back. It took everything I had to keep the tears from falling.

"That is a big if, brother. One I just cannot believe in. It's been two weeks. Every doctor has said that the first week is critical. If she doesn't come out of it, she likely never will."

"I... Lucifer, please." I struggled out as I felt my walls coming down. It wasn't long until Damien began crying as well, both of us unable to deal with the situation anymore.

"End my suffering... That is an order." He said as his tears fell freely from his eyes, his broad shoulders shaking softly as he wept.

I looked at the man I respected and loved, more than anything in the world, watching him as he wept. I realized that this would be great mercy to him, despite how much I despised the very notion of what he'd asked me to do.

"Ye- yes, my king." I said, my breath catching as I fell to my knees in front of him.

We remained like this for a few minutes, both of us coming to terms with what had to happen next.

I took a dagger, and aimed it towards his heart, pausing for a moment.

'Just do it, Alastair. Your king has given you an order, and you must follow through with it!' I screamed internally, fighting with myself.

Just as I began to plunge the dagger into his chest, Bast mumbled softly, stirring under the blanket.