The pain was excruciating. Breathing was growing increasingly more difficult.
This is it. He thinks to himself. There’s no coming back from this one.
“Xander?” His wife’s voice, dripping with desperation, rings out from somewhere nearby. “Can you hear me?”
Xander opens his eyes. Vision blurred, he struggles to focus on her face. What appears to be relief rushes over her.
Lillie was kneeled on the ground next to him, dried blood on her hands from trying to stop the blood flow. The bleeding had stopped, at least for now.
She gives him a small, unconvincing smile.
“Don’t worry. Your mother is on her way over here. We’ll get you all patched up.”
Xander shakes his head to the best of his ability. He felt weak. Even the slightest movements were difficult to manage.
“Don’t be silly. You’ll get through this like you always have.”
It’s obvious that she’s trying to convince herself that everything will be fine, however, the look on her face indicates that she knows the opposite is true.
He’s going to die. There’s no denying it.
“Anise… She laced the blade. The poison is spreading. I can feel it. There’s nothing we can do.”
Shock flashed across Lillie’s face. It’s clear that she didn’t know that little detail. She frowns, tears welling up in her eyes. Any hope that she had been holding onto was gone. She’s trying her best to hide it, but he knows what’s going through her head.
“You knew about this, didn’t you?”
Lillie averts her eyes, a telltale sign that he was right. She sighs, then turns back to him.
Xander attempts to place his hand on her shoulder to comfort her, but fails. Numbness was starting to take over. His mind was getting foggy and his vision growing even more blurry. Darkness was closing in. He didn’t have much time.