CHAPTER 40— Waking in His Arms
835 Words
The world returned to Kaela in fragments —
light first, then sound, then pain.
Her heartbeat was sluggish, like it was fighting through thick water. Her lashes fluttered, and she tried to breathe… but even that felt like a memory her body had forgotten how to perform.
Where…?
A voice — rough, low, frayed with emotion — cut through the haze.
“Kaela. Look at me.”
Her eyes struggled to focus.
The first thing she saw was blue.
Not cold, sharp steel-blue like usual —
but storm-blue, frantic, burning.
Vionn.
He was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding her tightly against his chest, one arm around her waist as if he were terrified she would vanish again.
Her lips parted, a weak whisper escaping.
“Vionn…?”
His breath shuddered.
“Thank God.”
He cupped her face — both palms trembling.
Kaela blinked slowly, confused. “Why… why am I…?”
“You were poisoned.”
His voice cracked.
“I almost lost you.”
Her brow tightened as flashes returned — the ropes, Adrian’s hands, the fear. Her stomach twisted.
“I—I couldn’t move… everything was dark.”
Vionn pulled her closer, like he needed to feel that she was real.
“You’re safe now.”
He kissed the side of her head — not lustful, but desperate, protective.
Kaela’s fingers curled weakly around his shirt.
“How long…?”
“Hours,” he murmured, thumb brushing gently over her cheek.
“They weren’t sure if you would wake up.”
She saw shadows under his eyes — exhaustion, terror.
His jaw was unshaven, his hair a mess — nothing like the controlled Blackwood king she knew.
He looked like a man who had stared death in the face —
and refused to surrender.
“Vionn…” her voice trembled softly.
“You stayed?”
He laughed — a broken, disbelieving sound.
“I didn’t let go of you for a single second.”
Dr. Hale appeared in the doorway then, his white coat faintly stained with adrenaline and urgency. His face was composed, but his eyes betrayed relief.
“She’s awake,” he announced gently.
“That’s a good sign.”
Kaela tried to sit up —
Vionn instantly pressed a steadying hand to her back.
“Slow,” he whispered. “Don’t push yourself.”
Her gaze moved between them.
“What… what kind of poison?”
Dr. Hale hesitated.
His jaw tightened.
He glanced at Vionn — a silent conversation passing between men who understood the weight of fear.
Then he stepped closer and answered:
“It’s not a common toxin. It’s engineered. Specific.”
A grave pause.
“Designed to shut down the heart… slowly.”
Kaela’s blood froze.
Vionn’s grip on her tightened like a reflex — a vow, a warning.
Dr. Hale continued quietly:
“But it’s incomplete. It seems he wanted you alive… for now.”
Kaela looked away, swallowing a surge of nausea.
Adrian’s voice echoed in her memory:
You’re finally mine…
She shivered.
Vionn instantly wrapped her in his arm, warmth engulfing her.
“Don’t think about him.”
His voice was low, lethal.
“He’ll never touch you again. I will tear the world apart before I let him.”
His chest rose sharply with each breath —
a controlled beast barely contained.
Kaela rested her head against him, her voice fragile.
“I was so scared…”
Vionn shut his eyes, forehead lowering to hers.
“I know.”
His whisper trembled.
“I was too.”
She looked up, surprised — he wasn't someone who admitted weakness.
But with her… he was beginning to break open.
Dr. Hale cleared his throat gently.
“We have an antidote in progress. It will take time. She’ll be weak, and… there may be side effects.”
Vionn nodded — not once looking away from Kaela.
“Do whatever it takes. Money, equipment, anything — just save her.”
Dr. Hale placed a reassuring hand on the bed.
“She’s strong. She’ll survive.”
Then he left them in silence.
A silence filled with emotions neither of them had words for.
Kaela lifted her hand — slow, so slow — and touched Vionn’s cheek.
He froze.
Her thumb brushed the stubble there, and her voice came out barely louder than a breath.
“You found me…”
His eyes softened, agony shifting into something deeper — devotion carved into every line of his face.
“I will always find you.”
His hand came up to cover hers.
“You are my wife, Kaela. You are mine. And I will not lose you… not like I lost her.”
Kaela’s heart twisted — not at mention of Adriana…
but at the raw truth in his voice.
The vulnerability.
The fear.
The love he still refused to name.
She leaned into him, her forehead against his shoulder.
And for the first time…
Vionn’s arms weren’t a prison.
They felt like home.
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