it. I also didn't fucking care.
And then, one by one, the others began to drop. Not to the ground, but like me, they hit their knees, refusing to pull their hands away from her body. The luminescence of her skin had intensified, and it grew brighter with each demon who stumbled. Then, when Nick's knees hit the grass, everything changed.
Her mouth opened, and a roar surged out that sounded like it belonged to a dragon. Her back arched, her skin burst into light, and even Ron jerked back. The edge of the bench caught his leg, making him drop to his hands and knees, but we could all still see her. The heat of her body intensified, forcing our hands away, and I wasn't the only one who pressed them against my ears to block out the sound.
It was pain, rage, and determination, all blended together. There was no way her human voice could do this, and yet it was. But I didn't care about that. All that mattered was that she was doing something. She couldn't do this if she was dead, could she? This had to be some sign of life - maybe of rebirth.
Then, with an explosion of light, it all stopped. The sound, the pull of our aether, and even the searing heat coming off of her. Like a switch had been flipped, it was over. Blinking against the glare, I forced my eyes to focus, and looked up to find Sia sitting on the table, her legs hanging off the side, and her eyes locked on something in the distance. Her red eyes, glowing with the color of her natural aether.
Slowly, the brightness faded. Not just from her eyes, but also from her skin, and it seemed that as her body returned to its normal human appearance, our Muse regained her awareness. From the look on her face, she was also very, very confused.
"What happened?" she asked, looking at all of us. "Why are you kneeling?"
She was alive? Alive! Using the last of my strength, I shoved myself to my feet to wrap my arms around her. Then, unable to stop myself, I kissed her. She tensed in confusion, jerking back to look at my face. For a moment, our eyes met, and whatever she found in mine seemed to tell her enough. Her hand pressed against my cheek and she leaned back in.
This time, she kissed me softly, but that wasn't what I needed. I also didn't care that everyone was watching. In the back of my mind, I knew my pride would be bruised later, but that didn't matter. She was alive. I'd almost waited too long, telling myself that if I didn't give in, then I wouldn't care about what happened to her, but she'd just made it clear that wasn't the case.
I needed her. Just as much as I needed Ron - or the rest of my legion - I had to have this woman in my life. I couldn't imagine an existence without her. In only a few months, she'd managed to worm her way through all the emotional barriers I'd created, destroying them one by one with her complete trust and acceptance of us until I had nothing left to hold her off. I'd fallen in love with this woman, and there had been nothing I could do about it.
This was all I had left. It was the only way I knew to explain everything I felt, including this deep fear that simply wouldn't let go. While my mouth explored the fiery heat of hers, the cold of all my worries still clung to my spine like a chill that refused to give up. This woman scared me in ways I couldn't even explain, but it no longer mattered. So long as she was here, with all of us, I knew that things would be ok. Somehow, we would find a way to make sure they were.
I tilted my forehead to hers and let out all of that in one deep sigh. "Please tell me you're ok?" I whispered.
"I..." She caressed the side of my face. "I feel that burning thing in my veins again, but I'm fine. Luke, what happened? I was getting us drinks, then I slipped, and now I'm here?"
It was Ronwe who answered. "You died, Sia."
Sam groaned and sank onto his rump. "Yep, that's the simple version. Pretty sure you also unconsciously drained the Vale. I don't know if anything is still alive in here."
"I'm