Adam comes back to himself in complete darkness. It's not an awakening, more like he is reentering his body, which has been sitting vacant waiting for him to return. He doesn't know where he's coming back from, only that it must have been very far away.
Around him there is only darkness, a great empty space that seems to swallow him. He reaches for Cabeswater, but where the forest's presence usually is, there is nothing.
He thinks he hears a buzzing.
It's just his nerves. There's nothing living here, just him.
But he hears them. Coming closer.
He never was afraid of bees or wasps. In his small town they were a staple of their warmer months. Adam worked what odd jobs he could, instinctively brushing away any insect that came too close. Once he got stung, watched the bee struggle and die as his hand swelled. After he pulled out the stinger, it was just like any other bruise on his boy. The bee had died for nothing.
Now there is Gansey.
Gansey his king, so strong and bright. This nation's hope, royalty of old, whose bloodline, if they're right, dates back to Glendower and beyond.
Gansey had told him what it had been like, to die and be greeted by that great ancestor of his. To feel his touch, and see breath return to his body. He spoke in the dark about what it felt like, the creatures crawling across his skin even as it cooled, and when he came back to his skin he had to push them off with fingers too swollen to move. Life had been returned to him in a second, but his body took longer. On cold nights his hands still swell, like the old man left a little of himself in their young leader.
After Gansey shared his story, well. Adam had learned to be afraid of things that buzz.
He doesn't move and the darkness doesn't lighten. But there is something in front of him, and it must have always been here, because there is no time passing. Everything is as it has always been, and Gansey sits before him. He looks like he always does, comfortable and kingly at once, a comrade and a ruler in one. He sits in a throne that is not yet his, but it could be. It's not the cold throne that sits in the palace, but the one from Glendower's reign. One of the things they hope to find soon. It was rumoured to have the power to deny all but the true ruler. Whether or not that is true, it would be a marvellous blow to Greenmantle, to have it in their possession. More importantly, where that throne is hidden surely Glendower rests as well. And finding him means they will have proof of Gansey's lineage, and an almost clear path to the palace.
Is he seeing the future? This is not one of Cabeswater's visions, does not ring with that kind of truth. But Adam can't guess at what this is, if not the future. Against his best instinct, a coil of hope unfurls in his chest.
Immediately, the buzzing is all around him. It's in his head, behind his eyes. His whole body vibrates with it, and when he opens his mouth to cry out, wasps tumble from his lips, more than could ever be contained by his mouth, or even his body. The wasps don't bother with him. Instead, they head straight for Gansey. At first, Gansey doesn't react, and the wasps land on any exposed skin. For a moment, they don't sting him. Adam can't breathe. Maybe they won't do anything. Maybe this is a nightmare, and he'll wake up before he has to watch this.
Gansey suddenly seems to be aware he's not alone. His eyes find Adam's, and Adam watches his face twist into confusion, and then fear.
"Adam?" His voice is quiet, like he's trying to hide his panic. "Adam, what-"
And then all at once, the wasps begin to sting. Gansey's voice is cut off by a cry, and then his throat must swell shut. Adam goes to move towards him, but he's frozen, forced to watch as Gansey's body shakes and then goes terribly still. He's almost unrecognizable, slumped back against his throne. Adam wants to throw up, or cry, but he can't do either. He can't even look away.
Interesting, says a voice that may or may not be in his head. Not what I expected.
When the darkness overwhelms him again, he embraces it.