Page 84 of Solivagant

The headache got worse. My bones ached. Even my blood seemed to burn in my veins.

I was hot. I was cold.

I didn’t want to sleep, because I didn’t know whether my eyes would open again if I closed them.

I didn’t have much of a choice.

My head was so heavy. I wasn’t strong enough to keep it up anymore.

I was drenched and shivering. Sweat? Blood? My eyes struggled to open to check.

Was I moving?

A large hand was sliding under my neck. I groaned. Every inch I moved made my bones ache and my head ache worse.

“No,” I groaned.

Something cold and metal pressed against my lower lip. Then cool water was trickling into my mouth. I swallowed.

My eyelids finally obeyed, though they felt so heavy as they parted. Glowing red eyes looked down at me, full of concern.

Tusks tipped more water into my mouth. I tried to swallow, but it was too much. My throat refused to take in more than a sip at a time, and my chest seized as I coughed. It jolted my whole body. Everything hurt so badly.

He pulled the bottle away and reached for cooked meat instead.

I couldn’t even tell what it was, but my stomach twisted in complete revolt of consuming anything.

I turned my head away.

He whined.

The darkness took me again.

A low sound of pain rumbled through my chest, barely escaping my lips. I was being touched again. I didn’t want to be touched. The damp fabric over my skin was being peeled away. Even that sensation seemed to burn.

I sobbed.

My head hurt so much that it made my vision blur as I opened my eyes.

Tusks was still here. He was using a soaked piece of clothing to gently wipe the sweat and filth from my chest and face. It was too much.

I raised my hand to get him to stop. It took so much effort.

My head throbbed again. It felt like my brain was too big for my skull, and it was trying to break out. It felt like it was succeeding. The pain was sharpest at the top of the frontal bone on either side, just above my hairline.

My shaking fingers lightly pressed against the area. I roared in pain. In shock. There was a bump there, beneath the skin. I dared to touch the other side as well. Another bump. Another stab of agony.

What was happening to me?

Tusks whimpered.

I cried. I sobbed like a small child, because what else could I do? Everything hurt so bad and I didn’t know why.

“Help me,” I cried. “Please help me.”

He whined. Because he couldn’t. Because maybe I was dying, and there was nothing I or he or anyone could do about it.

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