Aftermath

Aria stood up shakily. "Ares," she called. The dome dissipated. She saw two figures in the mist: one big and one small. She frowned and headed for the larger figure. She turned over the person but it was Sue. Her face was extraordinarily pale, and her lips had a tinge of blue. If this was Sue, then Aria looked at the small body some meters away. She gently laid Sue down and walked towards the figure. It was a small child, and an all-too-familiar one at that. Even though his face was covered in dust and grime, she still recognized him. Ares! Even though she forever referred to him as Purple eyes or creepy kid behind his back. Ares—Ares She gasped; they were the same person! Her eyes felt hot as she picked him up. She touched something warm and wet by his side. When she raised her hand, it was blood. The child, Ares, groaned in pain. "Ares," Aria called him. His eyes opened, and her heart broke at its dull almost transparent shade of violet. He looked at her and smiled. "Don't cry," he said. He tried to wipe her tears but it pulled on his wound. His voice sounded childish. "Don't, don't move, you'll be fine okay? I'll get you help, I'll call Selena if I have to! Just hang on okay?" He grinned looking past her, "When we first met and I was in this form I couldn't recognize you, I was simply curious about the pretty girl that made my heart race, so I stared at you every chance I could to satiate my hunger, I guess I got a jolt of memory when you nearly died in Everburn." She became worried as the popular saying 'my life flashed before my eyes' came to mind. Still, it was better to keep him conscious and talking. Tears dropped from her eyes and stained his cheek. "You called me your wife," she laughed choking on tears, "I thought you were a little creep." Ares smiled, "So I was told." His small face contorted, and spasms rocked his fragile frame. "Aria, you have to let him go, he's in too much pain," Garsam said. She had been woken up by the sound of the explosion. She supported Ivy on one shoulder. Aria shook her head, tears streamed from her eyes till Ares' face was a blurry blur, "I can't... can't." She raised him and hugged his tiny form. She heard him sigh in her ear and he was silent. Aria pulled back and held his cheek, "Ares?" He didn't answer or move. His body started fading almost immediately. She tried to hold onto him but her arms were soon empty like he was never there. "Ares," she whimpered in a broken voice. She hugged herself and cried. Her wails pushed back trees and leveled the building before her. Garsam held onto Ivy and planted her feet firmly lest they be blown away. "Ares," Aria cried. "A-" Aria blinked and looked around. She was on the ground. She touched her cheeks and her hands came away wet. Why was she crying? She looked up at Garsam, who was frowning down at her in confusion. "Why are you sitting there? Your sister doesn't look good and my hands are full with Ivy so go help her." Aria scuttled away. For some reason, her heart ached painfully, and she felt like she was missing something. She looked back; everyone was fine, so why did she feel like crying? She rubbed her eyes and found Sue. *** A week later. Aria patiently cleaned Sue's face with a damp rag. Although Sue was awake, she couldn't move much. Ivy in the next room hadn't woken up at all. Before he left, Lev had diagnosed Ivy; he concluded that she had used up too much magic and that she was drained. So with Jerry's help, they had conducted a magic transfusion daily for three days. It didn't wake her up, but her pallor greatly improved. After tending to Sue, she stepped out for a breath of fresh air. Jerry had gone to get breakfast, and Garsam was dealing with her father. He had arrived two days after the fight with reinforcements. He expressed his regrets at having missed the fight and offered to help rebuild the destroyed parts of Clearwater. Garsam was to oversee this project while the Alpha King frisked with his escort. As she took care of Sue, she also waited for Selena. She half expected the goddess to waltz into her room and demand her life. But a week has passed, and the predicted doom was yet to occur. Sinbad was recuperating. Apparently, his condition had been pretty bad. He had been in the Intensive care unit the first few days. Now that he had been moved to a normal ward, Aria had only been to see him once, and then she didn't even enter. She just stood at the door to make sure the heart monitor was functioning. Another thing that happened was the escape of Alpha Nath. During the Pack's evacuation, his son had apparently snuck into the guard ranks and weaseled his father away. The Alpha King had berated Sinbad's father for this. Aria entered the dinner. The smell of roast meat assaulted her nostrils and made her stomach rumble. She looked around but didn't see Jerry. She walked up to the counter. The server glanced at. "Has a boy come by? He's about yay tall with dark hair, a white shirt, and green pants?" The server saw she didn't want to order and clicked her tongue, "You just missed him." Oh. She looked at the display of grilled meat and swallowed her saliva. She still had a few bucks; no one would complain of having too much to eat. She pointed at a fat rib. "I'll take one." She sighed in satisfaction as she walked back into the hospital. She entered Ivy's room first and checked her. She was still asleep; her dark hair was tied neatly by a ribbon. She looked delicate and peaceful. Aria hoped she would wake up soon.