A dull ache had been with him for most of the morning. His chest would twinge here and there. Not enough to distract him but it was enough for him to wonder if he needed to have his heart checked out. Classes were long and for the most part, boring. It would have been better if Dyani was there. Britt sighed as the final class let out. Dyani's friends had stayed behind in the beginning and it was nice at first. Now, they would only ask for an update before turning away. It made him feel bad for them. He was not the only one missing her presence. The group had lost a lot of their jovial attitude and things seemed strained. It was not his business, though, and so he turned his thoughts away.

  There was a ding as his PMA went off.

  Dr: Master Briggins, can you come in to see us? There is an emergency and I need you to visit at once. Miss Dyani is stabilized but we will need to speak with someone on her behalf.

  Britt: I will be there shortly. Thank you for responding.

  Britt tossed all of his things into his bag and ran from the room, not caring that the papers were bent in all manner of directions. He moved as fast as he could without drawing attention to his heritage, which was to say that he felt like he was going slow. It took him five minutes to cross the campus at a dead sprint and drop his bag off in his office. Dodging around the students was a hassle. Britt shot the Headmistress a message to her PMA that he had been called on a family emergency and he would return later that evening. Ignoring any messages coming in from others, he shot off a message from his personal PMA that held Dyani's parent's numbers. He sent them an update that something had occurred and she was stable and as soon as he knew what it was, he would contact them immediately to explain.

  The Dysc was empty, and Britt praised the Goddess for small blessings. Witha. few swipes of his fingers he was able to put in the address for the (CENTER). It had become familiar to him over the course of the weeks that the staff had begun to recognize and call him by name. It was sad that it had come to that but he knew that it would benefit them later on when Dyani was healed. It was a long trek through the halls of the (CENTER) that by the time Britt reached the nurse's station, he was feeling the anxiety that came with impending bad news.

  "Ah, Master Briggins, thank you for coming as fast as you could. We had to wait for her to be stable before we could contact you. Please come this way, I will take you to the Doctor's office."

  The head nurse waved him to follow him. They passed Dyani's room which Britt noticed that the curtains had ben drawn shut. That did not help his nerves at all. The interesting thing was that the moment they got close to her door, the dull ache became a sharp pain. He sucked in a breath and covered his chest with a hand. The nurse turned back to look at him and raised an eyebrow. There was a moment where Britt felt himself being examined before the nurse walked back.

  "Are you well, Master Briggins?"

  "Britt, please," he grunted through clenched teeth. The pain had increased the longer that he stood there. "I feel pain. Extreme pain in my chest. It's been an ache all day but now that I am closer to Dyani it turned into something much worse."

  The nurse sighed, "We feared that. Come. The Doctor has much to explain to you. Would you like me to get a potion to help dull and sooth the pain?"

  "If you would, that would be much appreciated."

  They walked further down the hall and Britt felt the pain ease up but not by much now that he was aware of it. The nurse knocked on the door and opened it. The Doctor stood from her desk and held out her hand.

  "Britt, I wish it was under better circumstances that we meet like this. Unfortunately there was an incident this morning."

  "Doctor? Master Briggins is experiencing signs of backlash. I will go grab the potions for him and return," the nurse stated.

  "Thank you Camden, I will inform him on the current situation. You are dismissed." The Doctor waved her hand to close the door behind the nurse. She sighed and sat down again, motioning for Britt to join her on the longer couch. "You will want to sit for this."

  Britt frowned, "I'm tempted to ask for a drink with that tone of voice. Please, just tell me."

  Doctor Baine waved her hand to float a small crystal to her. At at closer look, Britt recognized a small ward stone. With a prick of her finger, Britt could see the wards shimmer to life. The complexity of them left him a but stunned, considering the size.

  "Impressive, isn't it? It's amazing the access you have to new innovations when a relative is going through their Masteries as Aquilla."

  She gave him a smirk and Britt felt tension ease from his body. If she was aware of Aquilla, then that meant that she had either gone to it or knew family. With her skill and her age, he would bet his entire paycheck that she had attended herself.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  "Quite. Now, what was it that you needed to share with me that requires this level of secrecy?"

  Doctor Baine rubbed the bridge of her nose, "You must keep your emotions in check or we will have the potential for Dyani to destablize. Do you understand? This is serious and I need to know that no matter how angry or upset, that you can control your emotions."

  Britt grit his teeth, knowing that whatever it was she had to tell him was not good. he gave a sharp nod and closed his eyes. Centering his breathing and his magic, he pushed down any lingering emotions so that he could analyse rather than feel. It was not reccomended for long term use, but it was a frequent technique for those that were in high tension careers.

  "Tell me."

  Doctor Baine stood, walking over to her desk. She pulled out a set of keys and pricked her finger, running the blood onto the tip of the key. Inserting it into the desk drawer, there was a click as the wards and secrecy shields allowed her access while the mechanism opened from the turning key. It was a small plastic bag with a scrap of paper. Britt raised an eyebrow at the paper, wondering what was so sensitive. He got his answer when she handed it to him.

  At first it was shock and disgust, before realizing exactly who the results belonged to. Righteous anger flashed over him like a tidal wave. He sucked in a breath and let it out, releasing it down to Mother Earth.

  "Who did it?"

  Doctor Baine stood and turned to her desk, contemplating whether she should reveal that. Britt knew that he would not like the answer.

  "Please, Doctor. Who hurt my bonded?"

  She caved at that. He had the right to know, especially since Dyani was unable to speak for herself.

  "DeLainey. She was the only one that had access and the ability to do so."

  Britt sucked in a sharp breath and felt the anger build again, this time at the betrayal of someone both him and Dyani believed to be a good friend. Dyani would be heartbroken, as he knew that she was interested in DeLainey more than just friends and the woman had encouraged that.

  "Are you sure?"

  There was a knock at the door and the nurse from before slipped in. He held two vials in his hand and was waiting just outside of the secrecy wards. The Doctor walked to him and held out a hand, bringing him inside the wards.

  "I have some potions to help you. One will help with the pain that the bond is experiencing and the other will help your magic heal. Right now you are connected with her through the bond. Since it is still new, you are experiencing everything with extreme sensitivity."

  Camden held out the two vials, "You will want to take this one first, as the pain is what is debilitating to your connection and is creating a feedback loop. Then take this one and it will help sooth the bond magic to heal."

  "Thank you, I appreciate this." Britt took the bright pink potion before choking down the foul smelling sludge of the bond potion. "I was not aware that you had become aware of the connection between Dyani and I?"

  Doctor Baine nodded at the question, "I brought him on it with a written contract of silence. He made vows of silence and I needed someone else who was aware of her real situation on hand."

  "I can agree with this, so long as they are bound tight."

  "Yes, sir. I used the highest contract that my job permitted me to hold." Camden chimed in. "I am glad that I was made aware of the situation, as our reaction to her issue earlier would have been much different and life threatening."

  "What happened? You never did answer me." The coolness spread over his body as the potions took affect. His breathing eased up and the pain faded away.

  "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Come and follow us, we will show you. It is better to see than to tell you in all honesty."

  Britt sighed and winced as the wards crashed down around them. The one thing he hated about wards was their ability to crash, no matter how gently one undid them. It was the worst for those who were in tune with magic. The nurse went off towards the station while Doctor Baine led them to Dyani's door. They went through the cleansing process before stepping in. Britt's eyes zeroed in on her form and checked her over for any sign of distress. There was none but the placement of the blanket over her was different than before.

  Doctor Baine maneuvered over to the side closest to the curtains, giving him sight of the room and a wall to his back. Intentional or not, he was appreciative of the small safety measure. The woman's hands shook as she lowered the blanket to reveal a large lump of bandages across Dyani's chest. It was already tinged light pink with remnants of blood.

  "I am so sorry that this was able to happen. We will be compensating her stay completely as we failed to detect this in time."

  Before he could ask her about what happened that caused the Research Center to offer full reparations, the bandages were lifted. The dark red was the first thing that he noticed. It was the runes and the design that had him stumbling back in horror.

  "No."

  Doctor Baine walked over to a supply cabinet and pulled out things to change the dressing. Britt stared at the grotesque carving that was on her chest. The amount of pain and agony that she had to have gone through was baffling. This would explain the pain he felt all day, because even at the distance they were from each other, this level of torture would be felt anywhere. Britt sunk onto the bed beside her and brushed her hair behind an ear.

  "Oh, Dyani. I am so sorry that you have been through so much in your short time in this world. You never deserved any of that."

  Britt took her hand and held it while watching the Doctor work. It was quiet between them as Britt tried to process his emotions around the whole situation. He brought his hand up to leave a kiss on the back of hers.

  "Come back to me, Dyani. You are missed."

  "She is a strong one. It may take her longer than you wish but she has a fighter's spirit. I foresee her waking up long before we predicted her waking. Do not give up hope. Now more than ever, she will need you beside her."

  Britt looked at Doctor Baine and gave a sharp nod. There was nothing more he could say in the moment. Her words were true and he knew that she was right. Dyani would need him in the time coming ahead. She could not make decisions until she woke; until then, Britt oversaw her health. Being a bonded came with many perks and that was one of them. her being his bonded, even in secret, ensure that the Headmistress and anyone sniffing around could not take over her medical care.

  With a kiss to the forehead, Britt stood.

  "Thank you for alerting me to the situation. If there is anything that you need please let me know."

  Britt bowed and left, deciding that it was in his best interest to leave. He had a few friends and Dyani's family to visit.