Chapter 86

Chapter 86: Chapter 86

Freya stumbled backwards, and for a moment, she thought her legs would give out beneath her. She reached for the edge of the bed to steady herself, her eyes fixed on Maya as she struggled to accept what the nurse had just told her. No cure? There was really no cure for the poison eating away at Zeke’s body? Her lips trembled, and she swallowed hard, hoping Maya would take back her words and tell her there was still something they could do.

"There’s really no cure?" she asked, her voice barely audible. "Maya, please, look at me and tell me there’s something you can do. You can’t just tell me he’s going to die and expect me to accept it!"

Maya bit down on her lower lip so hard that she tasted blood. She wanted to give Freya some hope, anything that might stop the young woman from looking at her as if she were the last person in the world who could save Zeke, but she couldn’t lie to her.

Black Vein had been banned long before the zombie apocalypse, and there was a reason nobody dared to use it anymore. She had spent years treating hunters with injuries and poisons of all kinds, yet she had never encountered a case where the victim had survived after the poison reached this stage.

"I’m sorry, Freya," she whispered. "I don’t know of a cure."

Something inside Freya seemed to break. She dropped to her knees beside Zeke’s bed, barely noticing the pain when they struck the floor. Tears streamed down her face as she grabbed his shoulders and shook him gently, then more desperately when he didn’t respond. His head moved slightly with each shake, but his eyes remained closed, and his breathing was faint.

"Zeke, wake up!" she cried, her voice filling the ward. "Come on, stop doing this to me! Open your eyes, you bastard! You can’t leave me here alone!"

She clutched his hand between both of hers, rubbing his cold fingers. Zeke had always been the person who stepped forward when danger appeared, the one who smiled even when everything around them was falling apart, and the one who had promised her that they would eventually leave the Hunter’s Guild behind. They had talked about finding a quiet place where nobody could order them around or use them for their own purposes, where they could live without constantly looking over their shoulders. He had promised they would build a life together, and Freya had believed him with all her heart.

"Didn’t you promise me we’d leave this place together?" she sobbed, bending over his hand. "You said we’d find somewhere to live, somewhere we wouldn’t have to answer to anyone. You said we’d make a life for ourselves, just the two of us! So how can you die now? What am I supposed to do with all those promises if you leave me?"

The ward fell into a terrible silence, broken only by Freya’s crying and the faint sounds of the medical equipment. Maya lowered her head, unable to bear the sight, while Lysander stood beside Ingrid’s bed with a grim expression.

"Zeke, wake up! Please! Just wake up!" Freya cried, her son’s heartbreaking. Everyone was so focused on her that they didn’t realise when the bed rustled or when the figure on the bed moved towards Freya.

Suddenly, a hand reached out towards Freya and in the middle of the palm eested a small pale pill.

Freya stopped crying long enough to stare at it, confusion cutting through her sadness. Slowly, she lifted her head, following the arm until her eyes met a pale and tired face. Ingrid stood beside her bed, and she looked like she was about to fall back and faint, but her eyes were open, looking directly at Freya.

"Ingrid?" Freya said slowly. She scrambled to her feet so quickly that she nearly lost her balance again, reaching towards Ingrid before stopping herself, afraid that touching her might make her collapse.

"You’re awake! Are you okay? Does your head hurt? Can you stand properly? Oh God, you shouldn’t even be out of bed yet!"

Lysander moved before Ingrid could answer. He crossed the short distance between them and caught her around the waist, supporting her weight before she could sway. His hand settled firmly against her back as his purple eyes searched her face, taking in her pallor and the exhaustion beneath her eyes. The moment he saw her standing, the tension that had been gripping him eased slightly, but the concern in his expression only deepened.

"Ingrid, are you all right?" he asked, his voice lower than usual. "You were unconscious. Your temperature was dangerously high, and you haven’t recovered properly. Why did you get out of bed?"

Ingrid turned towards him and gave a slight shake of her head. She could see the worry in his eyes, and a part of her wanted to reassure him, to explain that she was awake and that she would be fine, but there was no time for that now. Hunter G was dying, and she wasn’t going to stand around discussing her condition while they watch Hunter G slip away.

"Not now, Lysander," she murmured.

He stared at her for another moment before reluctantly easing his grip enough for her to move, although he didn’t release her completely. His arm remained around her waist, ready to support her if her knees gave way, and Ingrid accepted the help without arguing.

She turned towards Freya and held out the pill again. "This can help Hunter G."

Freya looked from Ingrid’s face to the pill, her tears momentarily forgotten. "What does it do?"

"It’ll help his body expel the poison and clear the other harmful substances left in his system. Whatever is circulating in his blood won’t stand a chance against this pill." Ingrid’s voice was weak, but she spoke with enough certainty to make Freya’s eyes widen. "If you give it to him now, it should start working before the poison causes any more damage."

Maya immediately turned around. "That’s impossible!"