Forever

"She'll wake up soon Theo, stop fretting!"

Eva scrunched her nose unconsciously as she heard an unfamiliar female voice. Her hands moved and she felt a soft blanket on top of her body, covering her up to her chest. Her throat felt parched, and she didn't have the energy to open her mouth and ask for water.

"It's been two days! TWO DAYS! You think I'm overreacting?" Eva recognized the deep voice to be Theodore's and parted her lips to call out his name. She realized that she wasn't able to and whimpered softly.

"You're overreacting. She'll be fine, considering what she went through, I'm shocked to see she managed to throw a slipper at you with such force." a woman giggled and Eva thought she heard a scoff that sounded too much like Theo.

"They could never break her," he murmured, and she felt his warm touch over her hand that lay by her side. "She has a fierce spirit. She's not a bird, she's a fire-breathing dragon."

Eva felt her heart thud inside her chest and she slightly moved her hand against his to make him know that she was awake. Somebody gasped in the surroundings. "I felt her hand move Gwen," spoke Theo and Eva shook it again, which made his hold on it tighter.

"Birdie? Hey, open your eyes." his soft voice reached her ears and with strength, she didn't know she possessed, Eva forced her lashes to flutter open.

It took her time to get used to the light that brightened up the room, but eventually, her eyes got used to the brightness. His face soon came into a view and Eva released a ragged breath she didn't she was holding in.

A similar rough noise escaped his throat as he caressed her cheek with his fingers and lowered his head to place his lips on her forehead for a second before backing away.

"How are you feeling?" he asked and Eva could see someone enter the room in her peripheral vision as she once again focused her sight on his face and tried to smile.

She parted her lips to speak but knew her throat was too parched for her to utter a word that he would understand. As if he could sense her thoughts, he got up and Eva saw him grab a tumbler of water and pour it into a glass before walking toward her. Gently, he helped her sit up and Eva felt her head throb as she placed her hand on her temple and squeezed tightly. Her head felt like it would explode any second now.

"Here, drink." his soothing voice entered her ears and she looked up to see his face close to her and a glass near her mouth. Eva raised her hand to take the cup from his hands, but he took it back, shaking his head.

"Let me help you drink it."

She didn't know whether to cry at his words or shout out in happiness, though she doubted she could do that right now. All she did was nod and open her mouth to gulp in the cool liquid that instantly erased the pain in her throat. After giving her a few seconds to swallow, Theo once again tilted the glass and watched the liquid enter her mouth with his own lips parted open.

As Eva closed her eyes, she felt her ability to speak return but before she could open them again, she felt something wet on her cheeks. Opening her eyes, she realized her vision had gotten blurred with tears, and it took a few blinks to let her see his face again.

She watched with tears flowing freely down her cheeks as Theodore placed the glass on the table and sat near her, bringing his face close to hers. Eva gasped softly as she felt his lips on her cheek and her heart thudded when she realized that he was taking in her tears and sucking them away one by one without any rush in his movements.

Her eyes dried up faster than she realized and a soft hiccup escaped her lips as she saw him smile and knew immediately that he was trying to hide his anger away from her.

With a soft smile, she touched his hand and it broke her heart when she saw him flinch. "I know you're angry."

A flash of vulnerability passed his eyes to be replaced with a blank look almost instantly. "Do you think I'm mad at you?"

She shook her head and said, "No. I think you're angry with people who you should now forget and ignore." she spoke, even though her desire for revenge hadn't decreased an inch.

A rough scoff escaped his lips and Eva squeezed his hand in her softer one. His hand was filled with callouses all over and she gently caressed each one with the tip of her fingers to relax him.

"You think I can forgive and ignore the fact that they locked you? Trapped you? What did they do to you, Eva?" he asked and his voice was desperate, almost making her start tearing up again. "What did they do to make your hands shake so much?"

Eva looked at her left hand which lay on her lap and gulped when she saw it tremble. She had been so engrossed in comforting Theo that she hadn't noticed the tremors arriving back. She didn't know exactly when they had started, but she remembered the time when Diana had told her about her sister's death and a blast of energy had flown out from her in full force. But that hadn't been the cause of her tremors.

The minute she had realized that she was helplessly trapped inside a room that resembled a cage too much with its barren walls, Eva had lost control of her hands. It seemed as if all her panic at being locked up had gotten directed to her palms, and no matter what she did, they wouldn't stop shivering.

"I'm here now. You saved me. That's all that should matter." she spoke and watched as he shook his head in denial.

"I should've sensed you when I visited Vermont. If only I'd been a little faster and smarter— "

Eva placed her trembling right hand on his warm one and stroked it lightly. Her gaze drifted off from his breathtaking face to her hand which was now as still as death atop his arm.

Had his touch made her trembling stop, she asked herself, and it looked like the same question was running through his mind too.

If that was what happened, then Eva didn't want to do anything but bury her face in his chest and let go.

Forever.