Timely Love ( A were story)

Chapter 68

There was no celebration.

Only urgency.

“Move—now!”

The command cut through the silence that had followed the fall. Soldiers gathered what strength they had left, lifting the unconscious and supporting the barely standing.

At the center of it—

Diana did not move.

Her body lay still, her breathing faint but present, her face pale against the chaos around her.

Dylan wasn’t much better.

He stood—barely—but something about him felt… wrong.

Unsteady.

“Don’t stop,” Theon said, his voice strained but firm. “We get them back first.”

No one argued, they moved.

The return through the forest was fast, but far from steady.

Dylan staggered once, yhen again.

Kaelen caught his arm immediately. “Oi—stay with us.”

Dylan didn’t respond.

Something dark flickered along his skin.

At first, it was faint.

Almost invisible.

Then it grew.

Wisps of darkness slipped from him like smoke, curling into the air before dissolving. His form trembled, just slightly—like something beneath the surface was trying to break through.

Theon saw it.

And froze.

“…No.”

Another pulse—

stronger this time.

Dylan’s body jerked, a sharp breath tearing from him as the darkness surged outward suddenly—

violent, uncontrolled.

The soldiers closest to him recoiled instinctively.

One nearly drew his weapon.

“Don’t!” Theon snapped.

The darkness lingered for a second—

heavy.

Pressing.

Then—

it receded.

Dylan dropped slightly, catching himself just before hitting the ground, his breathing rough.

“…I’m fine,” he muttered weakly.

No one believed him.

Kaelen exchanged a look with Theon.

Unspoken.

But clear.

This wasn’t over.

They pushed forward.

By the time they crossed the edge of the forbidden forest, Theon had already made his decision.

“You,” he called to one of the soldiers.

“Go ahead. Inform the palace—now.”

The soldier nodded and rushed ahead.

“Tell them we need full medical preparation. Critical condition.”

A pause.

Then, more quietly—

“…and urgency.”

The message didn’t need more.

By the time the rest arrived at Lancaster—

the palace was ready, healers stood waiting, doors already open.

The moment they entered, everything moved quickly.

Efficiently.

“Separate them,” one of the healers ordered. “Assess severity immediately.”

Diana and Dylan were taken first.

No hesitation, no delay.

Kaelen watched as they were carried away, his jaw tightening slightly.

“…They’ll be fine,” he muttered.

It sounded more like hope than certainty.

Theon didn’t answer.

They were led elsewhere—along with the remaining soldiers—into different sections of the healing facility, divided by injury and condition.

The room filled with soft light and controlled magic, healers moving with precision as they began their work.

Time passed, not long, but long enough.

Outside the healing chambers, those who remained stood together, Aaron and Joanna. Seraphina and Alaric. Maltida and Herald.

No one spoke at first.

But the tension was there, heavy, unrelenting.

“They’re alive,” Dylan’s parent said finally.

Maltida nodded once.

“That is enough for now.”

But her voice held strain.

Footsteps approached.

The head healer stepped forward, his expression calm, measured.

“They are stable,” he said.

Relief flickered—

brief, but real.

“But not recovered,” he continued. “Both are in critical condition. Especially the male.”

Dylan.

“The strain on his body…” the healer paused slightly, “…is not normal.”

No one asked further.

They didn’t need to.

“You all need to be examined as well,” he added.

“We’re fine,” Diana’s father said immediately.

“No,” the healer replied firmly.

“The facility is large enough. You will all be checked.”

A brief silence followed.

“The kingdom—” Herald began.

“—will be managed,” the healer cut in calmly.

“The second-in-command has already been informed. Clean-up operations are underway.”

Maltida’s gaze sharpened slightly. “…And the barrier?”

“Still down,” the healer said.

“And until it is restored, the kingdom remains vulnerable.”

Silence fell again.

“Then we increase surveillance,” Herald said.

“No movement goes unchecked.”

The healer nodded once.

“When they recover,” he said, “you may decide your next step.”

Not before.

The tension eased—slightly.

Not gone, but contained, one by one they followed, not as rulers, not as warriors, but as people waiting—

for those who had nearly been lost.

And somewhere deep within the palace—

two lives hung in fragile balance.