Sorry this took me a while! Online classes are really taking it out of me. I hope you all are safe and well during quarantine. Thanks always for reading, and please review!

…

Seven minutes. The seizure had lasted for seven minutes.

And when Merlin went still beneath Arthur's fingertips, the silence was deafening. The mist had dissipated as suddenly as it had appeared, right when Merlin had gone still. Arthur's stomach wound up tightly as his fingers searched desperately for a pulse. For a long, terrible moment, Arthur felt nothing. Then, a moment later, there was a weak beat. Arthur gasped shakily, the relief utterly overwhelming. He felt moisture welling up in his eyes, but he furiously blinked it away. They were not out of danger yet.

"Shit, what happened?" Gwaine's worried voice pierced through the silence, startling Arthur fully back into the present.

The king gazed up at his knights, who now formed a protective ring around Arthur and his servant. They all wore concerned frowns directed at Merlin, who was still unconscious, his shallow breaths coming in wheezes.

"He's had a seizure," Arthur said quietly, pulling Merlin's head onto his lap, though mindful to keep him on his side.

"He's bleeding," Leon said softly.

"I know."

Arthur began to swipe away the blood dripping sluggishly from Merlin's nose with his sleeve. Merlin's face was filthy, caked with dirt and more dried blood after days of being held captive. It was just another reminder of how Arthur had failed to protect him.

"Search the area," Arthur ordered without removing his gaze from Merlin's limp form. "See if there's any sign of the creature. Keep your silver weapons ready."

Arthur knew he had been obeyed by the sound of the crunching of leaves as his knights fanned out around them.

"I'm staying here, just in case," Gwaine said, moving into the corner of Arthur's vision. Arthur nodded, and Gwaine took that as an invitation to sit down across from him. "This creature… why did it target Merlin?"

Arthur frowned. "I still don't really know. Gaius said it had something to do with psychic energy, but that isn't all of it. The succubus was desperate, like its life depended on Merlin."

Gwaine looked almost pensive for a moment, before giving a slight shrug. "That thing's delusional, no doubt, going after Merlin." He paused, his face growing dark. "It'll beg for death by the time I'm through with it."

Arthur's shoulders deflated as he gazed back down at Merlin. If Arthur could've destroyed this creature, he would've, but he just didn't have the power to. Only Merlin did, and gods knew if he had succeeded.

Merlin stirred slightly under Arthur's hold, drawing his attention. His eyelids fluttered sluggishly and his body began to tremble slightly. Arthur looked pointedly at Gwaine, holding a finger to his lips. Gwaine nodded, looking like he was actually going to stay silent for once.

Merlin's deep blue eyes turned up slowly towards Arthur.

"Merlin?" Arthur whispered as gently as he could. "Are you with us?"

Merlin's eyes were cloudy and glistening already with unshed tears. The seizures always seemed to make him emotional afterwards. He coughed, his body still trembling against Arthur's knee. Arthur's heart jumped at the sight of blood on Merlin's lips.

"Shit," Arthur hissed before he could stop himself.

Merlin began to roll over, coming in closer to Arthur's chest. He looked panicked.

"Merlin, you're alright. You're safe," Arthur said reassuringly, trying to mask his fear.

It seemed to work. Merlin went still again, comforted by the return of Arthur's familiar, soothing tone. With Merlin calm, Arthur probed gently at his mouth and found that Merlin must've bit up his tongue during the episode. Arthur released another sigh of relief at this realization. If Merlin had been coughing up blood…

"She—she was… so afraid," Merlin whispered.

The tears were back now, rolling freely down Merlin's cheeks. Arthur wiped them gently away with a sweep of his thumb.

"Merlin, don't cry. It's alright now."

Merlin shook his head, his chin quivering. "I didn't—I didn't want to kill her… but she—she was going to kill you."

Arthur's eyes widened. Could it be—?

"Merlin, did you break the link? Did you kill the succubus?"

Merlin's face scrunched up painfully, as if Arthur's words had struck him. "She's dead."

Arthur felt something in him break. All the fear and anger he had built up for weeks now finally melted away. Merlin did it. Merlin had killed the succubus. But, most importantly, Merlin was safe. Arthur exchanged a relieved look with Gwaine, then nodded at him to retrieve the other knights. It was time to go home.

Arthur swiped Merlin's tears away again and clutched at his right hand. "You did it, Merlin. You killed the monster."

Merlin shook his head ever so slightly, and when he spoke again, it was so quiet that Arthur almost didn't catch it. "I'm the monster."

Before Arthur could even begin to fathom what that meant, Merlin had fallen asleep.