Chapter 36: Unwelcome
The household was vulnerable.
Raiden stayed confined to his bed, downing potions to dull the pain of his wounds, but his chest still burned with every rattling cough, and he could feel something vital bleeding within. His body refused to mend, even after two days had passed since their battle with the blue giant.
While Raiden remained bedbound, wrestling with his ravaged body, Leo, less wounded than his master, pressed on with his training, believing the apprentice must carry the master’s responsibilities when fate demanded it.
The evening was gentle, and Raiden lay abed, his fingers absently brushing against Ash’s still form. For the first time since coming here, he felt overwhelmed by the burden of it all, his mind drifting inevitably to Jack’s parents.
He was certain the Grim family would spare little thought for such a pitiful death as his—if they had even bothered to check whether he lived or died at all.
Despite knowing this, he still wondered: if they had found him dead, would they have felt anything? Jobe’s death had stirred nothing in them. The very day his brother died, they had forced him to train before cameras while they attended some prestigious party. But still, he was their last remaining child—surely that meant something?
He sought no answers, only the luxury of contemplation, the freedom to let his thoughts drift where they would. So he did, and found solace in the act itself.
As he lay there lost in thought, Leo entered his room. "How are you doing?" he asked, climbing the three steps to the bedside before settling beside him.
Raiden gave a brief nod, his face darkening with displeasure at the coddling, but he was in no position to refuse such care.