Chapter 58
Chapter 22:
Trisha’s P.O.V
“Hey, champ!” I called out to Neema, watching him sitting on his bed, bent over his notebook in concentration. “What are you up to?”
“Hi, mommy!” Neema gave me a sleepy smile, but rubbed his eyes to drive the sleep away. “I was doing my homework.”
“Homework? What subject?” I went to sit on his bed as he made room for me.
“Math.” He showed me what he was working on. “The teacher said I need to finish by tomorrow, but I’m sleepy.”
“Really?” I raised my eyebrows at his sheepish smile. “Who was it that stayed past their bedtime again?”
“Sorry.” He wrapped an arm around my waist and placed his head on my chest, holding on to me tightly. “But it was your and Damien’s wedding! I couldn’t miss it!”
Smiling, I wrapped my arms around my precious boy. “Neema…do you like Damien?”
“Yes!” Was the instant answer. “I always liked Damien.”
“Really?” I raised my eyebrows at him in surprise. “You never told me that before.”
“I didn’t?” He looked up at me in surprise, his adorable little face too hard to resist, so I bent down to give him a kiss on each cheek.
“No, you didn’t.” I wrapped my arms tighter around him. “Did you see any visions lately?”
I was a little hopeful as to if he had seen anything that could help me and Damien win the case. If all else failed, Neema would be our only source of hope; our last measure. Because even the Council of Elders wasn’t above the Oracle of the Lord. But if the Elders knew we planned to bring Neema to court or that he was still with me, it could become troublesome as they would do everything in their power to rule out his judgment.
But Neema shook his head, quashing that little hope for now.
“You and Damien are both worried about something.” Neema stated, putting his head back down on my chest. “I can feel it. Are you in trouble?”
“Probably.” I told him, trying to find a way to explain to a child what was happening. But then I decided against it. Neema didn’t need to know now. He was the Oracle; when the time came, he would have a vision and he would know before any of us did.
“Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.” He said in a reassuring voice, even though it sounded sluggish from sleep.
It gave me some form of reassurance, since the Oracle was never wrong. But as I waited for Neema to say something more, hoping for some words of wisdom…it never came. Instead, I found him fast asleep with his arms still wrapped around me.
“Little devil.” I whispered, but I put him to bed and moved his books to the bedside table so he could work on them later.
Sometimes, it was easy to forget that Neema wasn’t just an Oracle; he was also just a seven year old child. He hadn't gotten a hang of his powers yet and it was unpredictable when he would. Even though Oracles had roamed the earth every thousand years, there was no telling what to expect of their powers since the Wipeout had also erased any record there might have been.
I don’t know what I had been waiting for, but usually, Neema would sometimes say things that helped me clear my doubts right away. Today just wasn’t those days, I guess. And he was tired, so that could be why. But whatever the reason, my mind wasn’t at peace. Not only was what Rose said affecting my thoughts, I was also at a dead end regarding Damien’s case.
Even after Neema had fallen asleep, I waited beside his bed, trying to sort out my thoughts and trying to decide on my next best course of action. But when nothing came to my mind, I decided to head back to my room and get back to my research and studies. On my way back, I found Carig heading to Neema’s room with his lunch, so I greeted him and told him to let Neema sleep in just for today.
I guess the only thing left for me to do now was wait for Damien to return.
*
Damien returned to our room at around twelve at night, a lot longer than I had thought he would. I went to question him about why he was so late when I noticed the bags under his eyes. He looked tired; worn out.
“Damien?” I came to sit next to him when he almost collapsed onto the bed. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine,” he told me, blinking several times to stay awake. “Just tired.”
“Here.” I held my wrist up to his lips. “Drink some. It’ll help you heal.”
Damien opened his eyes to give me a tired look, but he nodded and took my wrist, biting down on my vein instantly. A surge of pleasure rushed through my veins and I bit down on my lower lip to stop myself from moaning. Now wasn’t the time to get horny.
To stop myself from feeling the pleasure of his bite, I focused my mind on other matters, or tried my best to distract myself. It was a first that Damien had listened to me so readily. Maybe he really was tired. What had he been doing all day that he could hardly even move?
Ignoring that thought, I just told him what I had be waiting to all evening. “Could you teleport me to the Castle library?” I asked as he released my hand, but held it close to his heart instead. “I need to get some research done.”
Much to my surprise, Damien groaned instantly.
“What? What happened?” I frowned, lying down next to him.
“I’ve been practicing teleporting a crowd the whole day.” He groaned, finally looking at me with those gorgeous eyes. “My men and I had been trying to find safe houses all over the world; somewhere you could be safe if any-”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” I snapped at him. “I’m trying, Damien! I’m trying my best to save you. Don’t give up on yourself just yet! Don’t give up on me!”
He gave me a weary smile. “I’d rather die than give up on you. But if something happens to me, the elders might come for you next. So I need to make sure that you’ll be safe.”
“The only person who’ll make sure that I’m safe, is going to be you.” I told him firmly, feeling a surge of determination. “I’m not preparing for a future without you until my very last breath.”
“Me neither.” He sighed, wrapping his arm around my middle. “Can we go tomorrow morning? Tonight I just want to rest in your arms. Just sleep.”
It was a sweet request, one that I never thought Damien could make. So I had no choice but to agree.
“Okay.” I wrapped my arm around Damien’s waist as he pulled me closer to him until I was surrounded by his scent.
Pushing back my worries and confusions for one more night, as I fell asleep in the arms of my husband.
