CHAPTER 42: CATALYST

  “Suryel?”

  Helel called her name again, his voice low, careful, the way one spoke to something fragile that might shatter if startled.

  He tilted his head down, dark hair falling forward as his eyes searched her face for any sign of distress.

  She was utterly still.

  Too still.

  His chest tightened.

  He shifted his position on the ground and carefully cradled her closer, sliding one arm beneath her shoulders and the other around her back.

  His movements were precise now, stripped of theatrics.

  He pressed two fingers lightly against the side of her neck, counting.

  One beat.

  Two.

  Three.

  Her breathing was steady.

  Soft.

  Then she snorted quietly and let out a faint, ridiculous snore.

  Helel froze.

  Then exhaled sharply, relief crashing through him so hard his shoulders sagged under its weight.

  “She was just sleeping…” He muttered to himself, the words half a laugh, half a prayer. “Stars above, you scared me.”

  Fatigue, relief, and the sudden realization that she was safe had taken her completely.

  Her body had simply… powered down.

  Exhausted.

  He reached into his pocket dimension and retrieved a soft fleece blanket, one he hadn’t even remembered putting there.

  He unfolded it carefully and draped it over her sleeping form, tucking the edges around her shoulders with a gentleness that felt almost reverent.

  She didn’t stir.

  She shifted slightly instead, curling closer, her cheek pressing unconsciously against his chest as if seeking warmth by instinct alone.

  A smile crept across his face, slow and unguarded, pulling at the corners of his mouth until it reached his eyes.

  “Rest.” Helel whispered, brushing her hair back from her forehead with the back of his fingers. “You deserve it.”

  His gaze drifted upward, past the dark water, past the twisted roots, until it settled on the glowing orb of light nestled among the branches of the Star Bearing Tree.

  The spear’s echo, her will, crystallized.

  His expression softened, pride and something far more complicated flickering through him.

  Then his thoughts shifted.

  The other brothers.

  “Yael must be looking for you…” Helel murmured, fingers absentmindedly combing through Suryel’s hair.

  His voice dropped further, more serious now. “I better tell them to get here.”

  He glanced down at her, ensuring she remained asleep.

  “And you,” He added quietly, “Need to be looked at properly.”

  He shifted carefully, keeping her supported, and used his free hand to draw a message in the sand beside them:

  ‘Hey Metatron. I got Suryel at the Star Bearing Tree. She’s okay.

  Stop reading this and send Azriel. Tell Yael too.’

  The letters glowed faintly for a heartbeat.

  Then vanished.

  This time, they did not linger.

  They reappeared in the Archive Tower, forming neatly atop a long stone desk cluttered with scrolls and ledgers.

  Metatron read it instantly, his eyes scanning the message with practiced speed.

  He inclined his head in acknowledgment, though his attention flicked briefly toward a far scrying surface where Suryel’s earlier… persistent harassment of the Star Bearing Tree had already been under observation.

  “Yes.” The Throne’s librarian murmured to no one. “That tracks.”

  The word was sent.

  Back at the lake, the sand near the Star Bearing Tree began to shift.

  Small tremors rippled outward.

  Footsteps struck the roots hard and fast, echoing through the domain with urgency.

  Yael came sprinting through first, crossing the domain threshold with reckless speed, his sandals skidding against the stone as he nearly lost his footing.

  “Suryel!” He shouted, panic raw and unfiltered.

  Helel shot up just enough to catch him by the arm before he could faceplant into the roots.

  He shot Yael a warning look.

  “Watch it.” Helel hissed quietly. “She didn’t survive all we did just to be squashed by your weight and enthusiasm.”

  Yael blinked, breath hitching as his gaze snapped to Suryel curled on Helel’s lap.

  She was breathing.

  Sleeping.

  Alive.

  Michael arrived moments later, his steps measured but swift, followed closely by Azriel, who moved with his usual unhurried composure.

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  He knelt immediately, eyes scanning Suryel first, then flicking to Helel with sharp assessment.

  “You okay?” Michael asked, voice steady but edged with concern. “How is she?”

  “I’m fine.” Helel replied quickly. “And she’s stable.”

  He leaned closer to Suryel, gently checking her wrists, her pulse steady beneath his fingers.

  Then he slapped Yael’s hand away and shoved his face aside when the younger brother tried to scoop her up.

  “Get off!” Helel snapped in a whisper. “Let her sleep, Yael!”

  “That’s rich coming from you.” Yael shot back, huffing a short, incredulous laugh as his eyes narrowed at Helel.

  But he straightened, his tone shifting as he tapped Helel’s shoulder firmly. “And well… thank you.”

  The anger hadn’t vanished.

  But gratitude lived alongside it.

  “For saving her.” Yael added, quieter now.

  Helel wiped water from his face and flicked the droplets toward Yael without ceremony.

  “Nope.” He corrected, voice firm. “I didn’t save her.”

  He tilted his head toward the lake. “She’s the one who pulled me out.”

  Silence fell.

  Michael stared.

  Azriel raised an eyebrow.

  Yael’s mouth opened, then closed.

  “She saved you?” Michael repeated, disbelief slipping through his composure.

  Helel nodded, pride and amusement mixing freely now. “Pulled me out of the black lake with a spear. Very dramatic.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows for emphasis.

  Yael’s jaw dropped.

  Michael facepalmed.

  Azriel deadpanned. “Of course she did.”

  Suryel shifted in her sleep, turning toward her other shoulder as if searching for a warmer side.

  “And what were you doing in the black lake in the first place?!” Yael shouted, the shock finally erupting.

  Helel burst into laughter.

  The kind born from surviving something deeply stupid.

  Yael grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him hard. “What were you thinking?! She can’t even swim!”

  “I SWEAR IT WAS THE ONLY WAY!” Helel laughed, then winced sharply. “Ow! OW— Stop that! Michael look, help!”

  Suryel stirred.

  Her brows knit together.

  She sat up slowly, blinking away the fog of sleep.

  “Yael…?” She murmured.

  Her eyes opened fully.

  “Yes, Hi.” Yael said instantly, kneeling beside her. “I’m here.”

  She saw him then, holding her hand with that familiar warmth.

  The kind that settled deep in her chest like sunlight after cold rain.

  Her face broke into a bright, sleepy smile.

  “Ah.” she sighed contentedly. “That means I’m dreaming again. Yay…”

  She yawned. “I can’t wait to go home… but why are you so loud…”

  Her head tipped sideways as she drifted right back toward sleep.

  Helel and Yael moved at the same time, instinctively supporting her shoulders and easing her down before she could topple.

  “We’re taking her to Raphael.” Azriel said, appearing beside them without fuss.

  He lifted Suryel effortlessly, cradling her as if she weighed nothing at all.

  “I can carry her.” Yael protested immediately.

  “Same.” Helel added.

  “No, you’re not.” Michael said flatly, holding to their backs. “You’re both seeing the healers too.”

  “I am okay.” Helel insisted, puffing his chest.

  Michael met his gaze without blinking. “Do not make me poke your side.”

  He bent down to help Yael to his feet and hauled Helel up with equal firmness.

  Yael obeyed without complaint.

  Helel grumbled under his breath.

  They left the black lake behind, roots creaking beneath their steps as they crossed the Star Bearing Tree domain toward the Eternal Realm.

  Gabriel was waiting at the threshold.

  “I’ve informed Raphael.” He said calmly, joining and matching their gait. “He is not happy about the influx of patients since the Abyss opened and the hellions came out to party.”

  A pause.

  “But he is waiting.”

  An awkward silence stretched as they crossed the bridge.

  Each step echoed.

  Hurried.

  Deliberate.

  …

  Suryel woke to the buzz of voices arguing.

  Her eyelids fluttered open.

  The ceiling above her was wrong.

  Flat.

  Sterile.

  Bright.

  White ivory walls replaced the night-sky canopy of the Star Bearing Tree.

  Clean light washed the room evenly, too precise, too intentional.

  A breeze brushed her face, carrying the scent of forest and sand, faintly mixed with air that was far too clean to be natural.

  She blinked, startled.

  People moved around her, figures in white tending to other patients, their voices low and clipped.

  Clinical.

  Then she saw them.

  Yael, sitting upright with a book he wasn’t reading but he was trying to.

  Helel, staring at the ceiling like a toddler forced to stay still.

  Three beds away.

  Between them stood a stern figure dressed in white, arms crossed.

  “I won’t repeat myself.” The figure said coolly.

  “I just wanted to know where Samael is for later.” Helel argued, tugging at the cloth securing him to the bed. “Come on.”

  “NO.” The figure replied sharply, already turning away. “We both know that ‘for later’ means immediately.”

  “Rest.” He added without looking back. “Do not make me sedate you.”

  Feeling oddly well-rested, Suryel sat up.

  “Where am I…” She asked, “How did I get here?”

  “This is the Infirmary.” The figure replied, approaching her and checking her pulse. “Azriel carried you.”

  He met her gaze. “My name is Raphael. I am a Healer on duty. You are my patient.”

  Her eyes swept the room once more.

  Then locked onto Helel.

  Her glare sharpened.

  “This…” She said slowly, “Is not home. It doesn’t look like Earth either!”

  “Correct.” Raphael answered.

  He placed a cold hand on her forehead. “Now lie back down.”

  Silence.

  Helel let out a polite, nervous laugh.

  Suryel snapped.

  “YOU LIAR!” She launched over the bed toward him.

  Yael’s voice cracked through the abode, panicked and sharp, like a bell struck far too hard.

  Author’s Note:

  Oh boy. At least if she tries to kill Helel. They’re already in a hospital. Hahaha.