DOUBLE UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A little something to make up for all the fucking cliffhangers, I promise there won't be any more horrible ones❤️🙃

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Kalem's P.O.V

I did something bad. Something really, really bad.

I couldn't remember every part of it, not that I wanted to. All the parts I could see, the fire, the blood and the screams, seemed like a horrible dream, but it wasn't. It was real, and it was because of me.

It had to be me because nobody else was here, and I was kneeling on the only patch of red sand that remained from the desert that was now entirely black.

The sun had risen, but I could barely see it through all the rising smoke. The thick clouds were full of ashes that I prayed didn't belong to anyone good. I prayed and prayed, but the smell of burnt flesh was everywhere.

I told myself that the clan escaped and that they'd all gotten away before I... they had to because these newly scorched lands had no life I could sense, no little traces I could feel in the wind or call on.

Nothing was alive for miles a-and I'd done that.

I drop my watery gaze back down to Lincoln, his body still limp in my arms. Master never looked or felt so small as he did now. He'd always been so strong and confident, but now there was all this drying blood, and he was so pale.

The only thing that stopped me from blacking out again was the thing that brought me back, the tiny, barely-there flutter behind his eyes that I'd spotted through the darkness.

That movement, that sign of life, had saved me.

It was small, I knew, but it was something, and right now, it was the only thing I had. It was the only thing I had left to hold me together because if Lincoln was really gone... I was sure what I'd done here would only be the beginning.

But that wouldn't happen. I wouldn't let that happen. I just had to make sure Lincoln was okay, and then I'd be okay.

Spreading wide before I can even ask them to, my wings ready themselves behind me as I get to my feet. I'm careful with Master, holding him tight but with all the care he always used for me.

"We're going to be okay," I whisper to him in a promise I wouldn't break before I take to the skies.

I force myself to keep my wet eyes up, to look to the clouds instead of the grounds so I don't see it all. It would hurt too much.

I could hurt later after Lincoln was okay, and he would be.

I'd make sure that Master was safe and protected so that nobody would ever touch him again. Nobody

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Today was day three, and Lincoln still hadn't opened his eyes, but he would.

He would because he promised to never leave me alone in this world, and Lincoln always kept his promises.

The wound had healed. It shut itself tight with new skin, leaving only a scar, but I couldn't look at it, or else it made my heart go cold again. I couldn't sleep either because whenever I closed my eyes, the big shredded hole still flashed before them, and it was like it was happening again.

But that was okay, I needed to watch over Master anyway.

I made sure to give Master lots of my blood, ever single day. Blood helped make vampires stronger, but Master wasn't getting any stronger.

I push that scary thought away as I reach over and fluff Master's pillow, fixing it the way he liked it so that he could be extra comfy in our safe place. I worried that maybe Lincoln would want our bed, but the castle wasn't safe; nowhere was safe if somebody could hurt Master again.

I'd only moved us once, and that was after Zhoron found me.

I didn't think to try and hide us from him so he'd found us quickly, but the first time he tried to come close, my magic had almost struck him down. Nothing inside of me, not my good parts or bad, was willing to let a soul near my Lincoln, even Zhoron.

It was the same when he tried to bring Wequie and Malcolm, and especially with Aias, I wouldn't let a single person near us. They wouldn't stop trying, so I'd moved us and put up a barrier so that nobody would be able to hurt my Master.

Tucking Lincoln in, I make sure he's cosy before I offer him a smile that quickly wobbles and shatters when he doesn't send me one back.

"I miss you," I whisper in a quiet cry that quickly becomes sobs. I try to stop them, but they keep coming anyway. "I-I'm sorry for not coming b-back. I-I should've c-come home. I-I'm sorry," I cling to his cool skin, trying hard to make it warm. "I-I'm so sorry, Lincoln."

Master doesn't even move a little, no shift or flicker behind his eyes; he lies still just as he'd been doing for the last three days.

My mind tries to tell me that maybe I'd imagined it the first time, that maybe Lincoln really was gone, but I don't let that thought settle, even though it makes my heart almost stop beating.

Again, that awful moment replays itself in my mind.

Lincoln had turned towards me with a smile on his face, one of his true ones that I hadn't seen in so long. His usually guarded eyes were open with relief and joy that it was all over, and then... t-then the spear, all that blood and it felt like it might really all be over.

I should've protected him.

I should've taken care of him the way he always took care of me. Lincoln would've never let me get hurt, never, and even as strong as I'd become, I'd let someone else hurt my Master.

My apologies get all messy because of my sobs, but I say them anyway while I squeeze Lincoln's hand, hoping he'd hear them so he could come back to me.

I promised that if he was upset with me, I'd do everything I could to make it better, and never leave his side, or let anyone ever hurt him again.

But no matter what I say, Lincoln doesn't wake up.

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Lincoln's P.O.V

I was no stranger to pain, but even I could admit this searing agony was entirely new shit to me.

If I could speak my curses aloud, I would, but my mind seemed to be waking before the rest of me, only receiving the pain signals and nothing else. Typical.

While my body slowly follows suit, I try to recall the series of events that led me here, suffering a torment in my heart whilst lying on something that smelt disturbingly new.

I remembered the battle well, with Diablos being his usually over-chatty self. Kalem's arrival with what was apparently his demon brother, a blissful period without any mention or glimpse of the showerhead, and then finally, a spear through my heart by an overzealous cult member.

I breathe a sigh when my body allows it and then spear no compassion in mentally berating myself.

I'd assumed that I would be hurt badly from the warning Malcolm had so desperately tried to give me before the fighting had begun, but if I'd listened, I could've perhaps stopped it and avoided causing such agony to my love.

Because I could see that clearly, more clearly than anything else in my memories, that haunting look of pure terror being etched into Kalem's sweet face, and then the darkness that had consumed him afterwards.

My poor boy, he'd suffered far too much. Kalem... Where was Kalem?

Forcing my eyes open despite their will to remain frozen shut, I blink several times to take in the unfamiliar space. The overbearing sunlight pressed right through the only opening available in the large space that seemed to be a cave? If I wasn't hallucinating the high, curved ceilings that grew narrower the further it went.

I didn't think I was hallucinating, but when I looked down and saw a mattress beneath me, I wasn't too sure because the last time I'd been conscious, caves didn't usually keep a stockpile of large mattresses with enough sheets to wrap a mummy.

Sitting up, I peer through the cave's entrance, spotting what seemed to be a never-ending field of sunflowers and surprisingly, that was the only thing that made me feel sane. If there were sunflowers, then there would be Kalem too.

However, if this was a dream, then it was nice to know that my psyche was decidedly warped.

As strength begins to pump itself back into my body, I make a mental inventory of all the working parts. Besides the ache in my chest, everything else seemed to be in the right order, far stronger in fact, which suggested I'd gotten a large feeding of blood while I was out.

A glance down at my chest reveals a tightly bound collection of bandages that were fresh and clean from the looks of things. I couldn't remember ever having to be bandaged up, and while the thought should have been alarming, it was oddly comforting to me.

I didn't think there was anyone else in the world who would think to bandage up a vampire besides Kalem.

The wound felt to be already healed; I could feel by the tightness of new skin there, sealing itself away with the shreds of my heart, so there was no real purpose to keeping the bandages, but I didn't dare remove them.

Tugging the millions of blankets free, I slide off the mattress' edge and make my way out of the cave with a hand tracing the cool walls. My joints pop with each step, cracking like they hadn't been used in decades, and I thank the Gods Malcolm and Wequie weren't here to hear it; Gods knew they'd never let me live it down.

A flash of memory crosses my mind, one where a giant demon was flying the pair away with the demand that everyone run from us, from Kalem.

The question of what happened after circles my mind but quiets when I meet the cave's entrance. Squinting past the annoying sun that blared across the open lands, I try to find something other than the yellow sunflowers that was so prominent I almost felt sick just seeing it, but there's no sign of anything familiar.

There was nothing by flat lands as if I'd been deposited in the middle of nowhere.

I don't know what I expected to find, but Kalem's own personal heaven and my personal hell was not it.

I give a mental tug on Lyrra, searching for any of the clan that could be near, only to find that they seemed miles away. We couldn't possibly be anywhere near the castle then, or where the war had been, so where on Earth were we?

The heavy footfalls of someone approaching derail my thoughts, rousing worry until I catch the scent of honey on the passing winds. It turns my bones and muscles to jelly, threatening to put me down again as I step out so I can confirm that it is, in fact, my love.

Walking towards me with his head cast down, Kalem quietly ran his fingers over the bouquet of black orchids he carried in his hands. The sight of him makes my soul brighten.

Under the sun, he truly looked like an angel with his large wings shimmering behind him, though they were crestfallen at his back, appearing like a sad, golden curtain at his back.

It was still staggering to see him like this, a near giant instead of the small boy who'd become a part of me, but it did not dare make my love for him waver.

Raising his head absentmindedly, Kalem's eyes swipe over me only for him to immediately still, his entire body going rigid while the bottom edges of his wings flutter hopefully.

The orchids fall as his fingers slacken like his jaw, gliding down to fill the flower beds like spots of black amongst all the yellow.

"Lincoln?" Kalem whispers shakily before he rubs his eyes hard.

My entire body aches as I catch the pure disbelief and hesitance in his eyes as if he were afraid to hope.

"M-Master," Kalem sobs as fresh tears fill those beautiful eyes.

I step forward, ready to take him in my arms, but he pops over, not wasting time using his legs. The second I'm in his grasp, Kalem runs his hands all over me, checking every point of my body he can. His touch is gentle, like I were some fragile thing that would break if he were too rough, but it was the feel of his warm palms on my skin after so long apart that threatened to shatter me.

"Master," He wails so harshly that the remnants of my heart try to splinter within my chest. "Y-You're awake!"

I nod my head gently, afraid to ask how long it was that I'd been lying in that cave, "I'm here, love," I promise, voice hoarse, "I'm right here."

I rest my hands over his, tracing his skin, basking in his warmth and his love whilst sharing my own so that he knew this was real.

"I'm sorry I took so long," I whisper.

Those words were the trigger, the crack in the dam Kalem had been hiding behind. If he'd been holding it in until that very moment, Kalem's sobs turn violent as he lets it all out.

His terrible cries fill the air around us, making a song so sad it made my eyes fill while I held him against me. Body shaking like a leaf, he clings to me with his face within my collar while his wings flap with his distress.

"I'm here now," I promise as I lower us to the floor. The minute we settle, he climbs into my lap as if he still fit. My lips tugs upwards slightly at the action, but I only press gentle kisses to his neck, "I'm right here, love."

"M-Missed you s-so much," Kalem whimpers, his hands tightening around me. I didn't know how long I'd been out, but I was sure he was talking about longer than that.

"I missed you too," I reply as I bury my face into his neck for my own comfort. "Gods, I missed you too. I couldn't function without you, Kalem. I could barely make it through each day. I-I'm so sorry I hurt you, love."

Shaking his head against me, Kalem pulls back enough for me to see his face now soaked with white tears, "I'm s-sorry for everything!"

"Kalem, don't,"

"I-I should've come b-back," he sobs, his lips wobbling so hard it made new agony ripple through me. "I should've c-come straight home because t-then you wouldn't have been l-looking for m-me, and y-you would've h-had my blood to h-heal a-and-"

"Kalem," I shush him with a finger on his lips that do hardly anything to stop his full-body sobs, "Kalem, don't you dare apologize for a single thing."

"But I-"

"You did what you thought was best," I cut in while I take his face in my hands and bring him down so I could kiss his nose, cheeks and every part of him I could get. "You tried your best, which is all I could ever ask for you, and I'm sorry I didn't see that at the time. You were just trying your best."

Kalem's white eyes grow misty as he nods his head slowly as if he were afraid to admit it, "I-I wanted to h-help."

"I know, love," I promise, throat tight as I push his fallen hair from his face, "I know. I see that now. I'm so sorry I didn't see that before."

"No more fighting," Kalem begs so sweetly it pulls a smile from my lips, "d-don't want to ever fight w-with you a-again or g-go on t-trips alone, o-or sleep w-without you."

I shake my head as I palm his cheek, my body swells with joy as he hurries to lean into it, "Never again."

"P-Promise?" He questions, white eyes wide as they held mine.

I raise my hand, offering my smaller finger, and Kalem almost creates a river as he quickly wraps his pinkie around mine.

I hold him for a long time, kissing his skin and comforting him until he slowly settles, his desperate sobs turning into little sniffles and whimpers. When he sits up, Kalem wipes at his cheeks as best as he can, his gaze flicking to and from mine.

Colour fills his cheeks quickly as he struggles to hold my gaze, his fingers suddenly becoming interesting to him.

"What is it, love?" I question while I nuzzle him, my body practically vibrating at having my boy back.

"Can I h-have a kiss?" Kalem asks carefully, his cheeks turning red, "On my lips? I-It's been so long, and I-"

I cut his request off by bringing our mouths together. My body melts, and my chest swells as I breathe him in and taste the sweet, full lips that would forever be mine. Kalem whimpers against me, leaning so hard into the kiss it sends us both to the ground.

I can't quiet my chuckles, but Kalem doesn't let that deter him as he claims my lips like a man starved. I do the same, nibbling and licking at the seams of his mouth until he opens for me with a moan that tilts my world on its axis.

We sink into one another, tasting and claiming all the places we'd lost for too long.

Nothing in this world, or any world, could ever feel this right, this good.

I'd loved my boy from the moment I saw him but having him again pressed those two pieces back together, and I knew without a doubt that Kalem was always meant to be my beginning and my end.

"I love you," I confess in a neverending chant. "I love you. I love you. I love you."

"Master," Kalem squeals with a giggle that's music to my ears. "I love you too."

"Really?" I question, and he frowns as if offended.

"Really," he replies anyway.

"Master and Kalem forever?" I ask, body warming with all things right in this world as I watch my love smile so wildly at me, it gives the sun a run for its money.

"Master and his Kalem forever," he swears before claiming his lips again.

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FUCKING SCREAMING!!!!!!!! UGHHHH, Kalem and Lincoln being back together, all is right in the world

Thoughts????

Thoughts on that opening scene? 
Thoughts on Kalem basically hiding Lincoln from everyone??

I think my little baby is traumatized smh, but I like seeing them together. Writing about a happy Kalem really just makes me happy

Alright, vote comment and enjoy the next chapter!!!!!