As I slowly woke, I heard distant, muffled moaning, but I soon realized that it was my own. I was still in a great deal of pain, but it was just slightly less intense than the attacks I remembered. Every inch of my body, inside and out, felt like it had been on fire, and even though the heat was gone, it was all left to smolder, and I was getting no relief. I heard other muddled voices beside me, but I couldn't understand them for a few moments as I continued to wake. I felt a heavy hand laying across my forehead, and another hand was holding mine at my side.

"Try to relax, Derek," I finally heard Master Natiyr clearly. "I know you're experiencing some discomfort, but you'll feel better in just a minute..."

The hand holding mine squeezed tightly. "Don't fight it," my mother instructed me gently, leaned over close to my ear. "It'll all go away soon."

I tried to follow their suggestions, but I was still so overwhelmed by it all, not knowing why I was in so much pain, I could do little more than take short, gasping breaths as my entire body shook to endure it.

"Derek," Mom continued more confidently, "you're going to be alright. You won't hurt anymore, I promise."

For a while, I didn't believe her, still feeling every nerve I had firing relentlessly, but eventually the pain began subsiding as they said it would, and I could slow my breathing somewhat, though I was still hyperventilating.

"Mom?"

"Right here," she answered quickly, brushing her free hand against my cheek. Master Natiyr's hand was still on my forehead, but as I opened my eyes, I could see Mom hovering over me, her face overwritten with worry just inches from mine, and I could see that I was back in the Manor's medical wing.

"What...what's wrong with me?"

She took in and released a slow breath, as though she were reluctant to tell me. Was it that bad? "You...contracted a virus."

Still a bit out of it, I tried to think. "A virus is making me...hurt like this?"

Again, reluctance in her eyes. "You got it from your father."

I stared. If I got it from him, then had he gone through that same agony? No, he couldn't have; he hadn't been able to feel pain since...

She must have seen the look of realization on my face as she nodded. "The same virus that destroyed his nerves just before you were born."

Master Natiyr retracted his hand from my head, apparently finished healing me, but I hadn't noticed then. I was too busy trying to process what my mom was telling me. "But...I thought you said...he didn't have it anymore? How did I get it from him?"

She thought for a moment, glancing to the side before returning to me. "You know the color of Kaylina's eyes? That rich, golden brown?" I nodded. "Your father's eyes used to be that color...not black. The virus changed them, and they stayed black even after he got the antidote."

My head was still swimming. "I don't understand."

"We thought the black in his eyes was just pigment left there by the virus, but...apparently the black is actually a collection of dormant virus bodies. His fall, or maybe his injuries triggered some to release and return to his bloodstream, and he...transferred some to you through your wounds. They replicated in your system, and then they attacked your nerves last night.

"After Cordira found you, we treated you immediately with the antidote. We've scanned and tested you for hours since, and we're very sure that the virus is gone now. All you're feeling is just residual nerve irritation that will subside. No more virus, no long-term damage."

Though I should've been relieved, only one phrase remained in my mind, and I couldn't think about anything else.

"...Cordira found me?"

Mom nodded nonchalantly. "She said she was walking past your room to get a drink last night when she heard your...screaming. She woke us up and brought us to you, and we were able to administer the antidote very quickly once we figured out what was wrong. I'm sure we would have eventually heard you, but she saved you from suffering for very long."

I didn't even have time to process what that meant before Cordira stepped into view, standing beside my mother with a warm smile.

"You gave us quite a scare," Cordira teased lightly. I could only gaze back at her blankly.

"Just a few minutes, Cordira," Mom told her as she turned and hugged her tightly. "It's his turn to get the rest now."

"Yes, Master Rys'tihn," she answered, and as my mom left, my mind felt even less clear than it had been when I had woken up earlier.

...it was as though nothing had happened last night.

"I hope you're feeling better?" she asked innocently. When I managed to nod, she smiled again. "Good, I'm glad. You'll be back up to speed in no time."

Her vibrant, energetic eyes looked me over without any hesitation, without any hint of regret, or guilt, or humiliation. I was the one who had been briefly tortured by some crazy virus, but I still remembered every detail: the longing on her face, and the sweet sound of her voice just before she kissed me...

I swallowed, hard. I knew I wasn't insane, and I knew I hadn't imagined or dreamed our discussion. It had all been very real, very tangible...hadn't it?

I was beginning to realize that I must have looked to her the way she had the first time we had woken up in the medical wing, and I did my best to cover up my...disappointment. "Yeah...thanks to you."

"Actually, I'd like to thank you." I was about to ask why when she began grinning mischievously. "I told your mom I was up getting a drink...but I was actually coming to get you so we could sneak out of the Manor and go down to the Falls. Thanks to your episode, my dad didn't have the chance to catch us when we would have been leaving; he was still up in the library, and he would have heard us distracting that guard in the hallway. Because of you, neither of us are in trouble."

Even though it hurt, I had to laugh a bit. "You're welcome...?"

She laughed, too, but soon an uneasy expression spread across her face. "Are you sure you're alright? You're still shaking... I'll go get my dad and bring him back to help you."

"No, it's okay," I stopped her before she could go very far. "I'm just...cold." I wasn't lying entirely. Only a light sheet lay over me, and even though I could tell it was at least midday through the medical wing's window beside me, the room was cooler than usual.

As she turned back to me, she grinned again, sizing me up. "Then move over."

Confused by the demand, I blinked. "What?"

Returning to my side, she shoved my shoulder pretty forcefully. "There's plenty of room for both of us, and I can warm you up faster than another blanket."

I studied her face as intently as I could, determined to find some kind of...awkwardness or reluctance, like what she had exhibited the night before...but she was nothing but candid and guileless, just as she had always been before this whole fiasco. And if she was going to be so casual about it...I guess I would be, too.

I somewhat painfully shifted myself to the side, making room for her. She quickly climbed in and pulled the sheet over both of us, settling herself against me. Her head gently rested on my shoulder, and she was right; it wasn't long until I was comfortable and we were both asleep.

If I had known then that she would be gone when I woke up, that I wouldn't see her again for more than four years...I never would have closed my eyes.