"Zai fils akuo las di Azra!"

I wake up with a gasp and shudder at the harsh words spoken in my dreams. Not sure who said it and I can't exactly translate it but the intense pitch from the voice is enough to scare me.

"Hmm..." I groan and exhale softly. My eyes flutter from the brightness of the chandelier hanging in the middle of the room. Closing my eyes, I turn my head to the side and open my eyes. I see an unfamiliar brown leather couch pushed against the wall. I move my eyes to the drawer beside the bed where I see a lamp that I haven't seen before and bandages. I know instantly that this isn't my room.

Where am I?

Without turning my head, I move my hand slowly to push the cover of my body and make a move to get up but I don't get anywhere. "Ouch. Fuck! That's hurt."

What the fuck? Why do I hurt all over? Why does it feel like a minotaur chew and spit me right out?

I shift to roll on my left side before moving my legs out, which gives me an adventure to bring my right hand down to the bed and use all the energy I have to push myself up. An unexplainable pain spread from my lower stomach through my entire body. "Fuck." I mutter, not sure if I've ever felt pain like this before.

God! I need to pee so bad and brush my teeth, it tastes so bitter.

I move forward to drop my feet on the floor. Honestly I expect to feel a cold tiled surface beneath me but it's a fur rug. I look down to confirm the leopard print rug spread under the bed.

Standing up, I keep my calf press again the bedframe to stop myself from falling down onto the bed. I can feel the weakness and exhaustion in me. I scan the room to check if there's an ensuite here somewhere and I see a door that probably leads there.

I begin to take steps one by one, moving a foot after the other because it's the only way I can get there without anything supporting me. Reaching the handle of the door, I turn it and push it, revealing an ensuite. Thank God. I enter and go straight for the basin. I stop as my eyes grow wide.

What. In. The. Hell. Happened. To. Me?

I drop my hands on the edge of the basin and lean closer to get a good look at myself. I look like shit. My face is all messed, and my eyes... My eyes looks bloodshot like I drown myself in a brewery last night and the dark rings make the bag obvious. I raise my head up when I notice the dark purple bruising around my neck. "What the–?"

Okay, I remember going to the library, doing research on spirits and the activities that followed including the appearance of the spirit himself and... and... I got stabbed by an invisible force.

I lean back and pull my shirt up to see the bandage wrapped around my stomach. No wonder I've been feeling pains all over. I move my hand to touch the it but remove it when the simple graze cause sting.

Groaning, I move away from the bathroom and find the water closet. I open the cover and sit down. My feet curl as I begin to pee. My stomach clenches as the weak stream comes out slowly. Fuck, why does this hurt so much? I–

"Camille?!" The door of the bathroom yank open and Damian enters, looking around until his face settle on me.

"What the hell?" I demand in horror and bend to cover myself but pressing the wounded stomach against my thigh cause me pain, making me groan out loud.

"Are you okay?" He asks, concern lace his tone as footsteps approaches.

I raise my head up slightly to see him walking over. "Get out!" I point my finger to the direction of the door. "Get the fuck out!"

"I'm going, I'm going," He says and begins to back away.

I don't raise my head until the door closes. "Fuck." I breathe out as I raise myself up. Damn, that hurts. That fucking hurt. I wipe my face with the back of my hand and proceed to clean myself up.

Not that I can move any fast than I can, I take my sweet time brushing my teeth, which is so uncomfortable but I get done.

I walk back inside the room limping with my hand slightly press against the wound. Not surprised to see Damian sitting on my bed and I notice my backpack on the floor beside the bed, my phone charging on the other drawer beside the bed.

"Where is this place?" I ask, not addressing the elephant in the room but that doesn't stop him from apologizing for it.

"I'm sorry for barging in like that. I came to check up on you and when I didn't see you on the bed, I panicked. I'm sorry." His apology sound sincere.

I wave that off. "That's okay. What happened? Why am I not healing? And where is this place?"

He stands up from the bed and walks towards me, meeting me halfway. "Come on," he says as he comes to my side and bring my arm around his neck before wrapping his hand around my waist, holding me up as we walk towards the bed.

I sit down and remove my hand from his neck. He goes on his kneels in front of me, his eyes on my stomach. "I have to check–can I?" He asks, pointing at my stomach.

I nod. "Go ahead."

He pulls the flannel shirt up and stares at my wound. "You're bleeding," he mutters.

"I assume you know how to change a bandage." I don't mean it as a question, I know he knows how to do it. I might not have known how I got there but I know it is Damian who brought me here and treated me. The room reeks of him.

"I do know how to change a bandage but we need to wait for my father before I do anything," he replies.

I frown and lean back, pressing my hands on the bed behind me to support myself. Sitting like this is better than bending. It doesn't hurt as much.

"Why? Am I supposed to bleed to death? And you still haven't answered any of my questions: what happened? How did I get here?"

"What do you remember?" He asks instead of answering me.

I debate whether to tell him or pressure him on why he's answering my questions with his but I don't have the strength. God! It's like I fought Darkseid and lost.

"I was doing some homework in the library when I heard something. I went to investigate and got stabbed by nothing. Your turn?"

"Do you remember calling for me?" He asks and I nod. "Did you see anything strange that can give us a clue about what stabbed and strangled you?"

I was strangled. Explains the bruise I have on my neck.

"Are you seeing me?" I ask and he furrows his eyebrows in confusion. "I look like a fucking mess and you're asking if I saw anything strange. Look, Damian, I feel like shit and I don't have the strength to argue and play the words games with you. Tell me what happened. Why the fuck does it feel like I'm dying?"

He stares at me for some moments to analyze me, I know that's what he's doing because he does it all the time when he isn't asking me to stay away from him.

"That's because you are." He answers.

"What?" I breathe out.

He sighs. "The blade that was used to stab you was poisoned. Father was able to identify the poison and he couldn't work on it unless you're awake." He explains.

My lips parts throughout his explanation, letting his words sink into me. I blink to get control of myself again. "I was... I was poisoned? As in someone wanted to kill me?"

That is so many things wrong with that question. Why would anyone wants me dead?

That's when I remember Miranda's warning. She told me they want my head on the pike. She never said who they were or why. She said not to trust anyone and now I see that she wasn't lying. They're people out there to get me.

"What?" Damian ask, breaking my thoughts. His face is full of curiosity. He knows something's up.

"Do you have any idea of who it might be?"

He shakes his head. "Father and I are still working on it. We believe they were two while one was stabbing you the other was strangling you."

I shake my head vigorously, refusing to accept that someone wants me gone. The theory was silly when Miranda told me but the reality of it is actually fucking scary.

"What was the poison?"

"Father was able to identify it as Leslo. It's a very poisonous flower from Di Hipsodat. All flowers in Di Hipsodat are very poisonous but Leslo is the worst of them all. It's called the death plant. One contact and the person is as good as dead. No cure. You should have died the second the blade touched your skin but El is immune to literally anything including all the dangerous flowers in Di Hipsodat. Your royal Dihipian genes kept you alive but because you aren't full blooded, it attacked your human cells."

That is one hell of a flower. I should be grateful for being the granddaughter of El then, but the conversation isn't over.

"You said the headmaster can heal me but I have to be awake, why? And how exactly is he going to do that?" I need to get all the answers before going for it.

"We need to remove the poison by burning it out and you need to be awake for it because if you're unconscious then your healing ability won't kick it, the fire will just speed up your dying process."

"That is umm"–swallowing the lump stuck in my throat–"useful. It's very useful. But when you said burn, you don't mean like an actual fire right?"

"I do and you will feel the pain until you start healing." I think this is his way of saying, 'there is no easy way to say this but you're screwed'.

"Where is the headmaster now?" I ask to know how much time I have until my suffering begins.

"He's getting supplies." He answers and I'm tempted to ask what supplies but I don't think I want to know. Let me be surprised.

I close my eyes and think about the pain I'm feeling right, adding more will absolutely kill me.

"Camille?" Damian calls and I open my eyes. "You lied."

I raise my eyebrows in question. What is he going on about?

"That day in my class, you snapped and came at me but I knew it wasn't really you. I asked what was wrong and you told me it was nothing. You lied." I open my mouth to tell him It's none of his business but he beats me to it. "Today, you said you were in the library for homework but you weren't, that was also a lie."

I don't want you to know what's going on in my life, sue me.

"You were doing a research on dark spirit and unrested ghost. What plagues you, Camille?"

I flinch at his tone and open my mouth to tell him to fuck off but the door opens. I turn my head to the direction of the door to see the headmaster. My eyes doesn't wander to his face, it stays on the lighter he's holding.

"I see you're awake."

I nod. "Hmm mmm."

"Did you tell her?" He asks Damian. I don't look at him to see his reply. I answer for myself.

"Yes, he told me I'm getting toast tonight."

He chuckles as he stops at my front. Damian shifts to the side to give him space. "Don't be dramatic, Cami. You are not getting toast." He assures me.

"Oh yeah, so what do you call burning the poison out?"

"Burning the poison out." He shrugs and says, "can you pull your shirt up?"

With shaken hands I pull the shirt up before clasping my arms around it, locking it so it won't drop down. Damian stands up. He bends and moves his hand to my waist and begins to unwrap the bandage. I keep my eyes up because I can't look at it.

"Lay down." The headmaster suggests after Damian tosses the uses bandage somewhere around the room.

In a slow motion, I turn my body to side before bringing my legs on the bed. I move backwards, carefully until my head hits the pillow and my back flat against the soft surface of the bed.

"Damian, hold her hands," the headmaster orders, "and Damian," he call when Damian moves to sit on the bed beside me. There's a warning look on the headmaster. I don't understand what it means but I'm too busy to care and question it. "Hold. Her. Hands."

Does emphasizing on each word makes the order more important? I want to ask but I don't.

Damian nods, a knowing look passes between them. Oh, fuck! I wish I'm not in so much pain right now.

He settles on the bed and grabs hold of my left hand. His cold palms sandwich mine in between them. "It's going hurt but you'll get through it." He promises, his eyes soften.

I close my eyes and nod. "Just fucking do it. Get it over with."

"Brace yourself, Cami and remember no matter how painful it gets, don't fall asleep." The headmaster warns.

"Hard to fall asleep when you're burning." I reply.

"Good point. It's time."

I don't open my eyes but I hear him open the lighter before he begins saying some spells.

It's not going to hurt.

It's not going to hurt.

It's only for a few minutes.

It's only for a few minutes.

It's–

My eyes shoot open as a painful scream tears from my throat when the fire touches the wound. I thought I knew pain, this is no compare to it.