“…I don’t know.” Sebastian admitted.

He wouldn’t know until he could see Edmund.

“I– we… we need to get back.”

“Sebastian, wait. We don’t know if it’s safe for you. Not if your magic is unstable from your emotional state and- and- and becoming some kind of super wolf.”

“No, Hayden, we need to get back now.”

“We’re not doing anything until you walk me through what happened. You said you killed a leviathan. That shouldn’t be possible – even if you were a well seasoned magic user.”

“That isn’t important.”

“Why are you in such a rush to get back?”

“Because it hurt Edmund.” Sebastian snapped, managing to look furious for just a moment before he crumbled and began tearing up. “He, I felt it. When I curled over in pain. The leviathan got a hit on him and he was… he was in really bad shape.”

The tears were pouring out now, and Seb couldn’t do anything to stop them. He felt so drained and terrified.

“It hurt so much Hayden. I- it felt like I was losing him. Like he was just out of my reach – dying in front of me. So I stretched myself to reach him and, and,” Seb paused to take a shaky breath. “I can't remember much of what happened afterwards. It's all kind of jumbled together, but it felt… it felt like we were combined. But at the same time, we were separated. I was fighting here and Edmund was fighting from there. It was both of us fighting against the leviathan that killed it.”

Hayden took a moment to absorb the information, while Sebastian continued to break down. Remembering that feeling – the pain and desperation that came at the beginning, the fear and adrenaline that kept him fighting through the middle, and the current overwhelming sense of anxiety for what is waiting for them in their plane.

What if Edmund didn’t make it?

“Sebastian,” somewhere in the back of his mind, Seb acknowledged that Hayden was holding his shoulders now, “I need you to take a deep breath for me. Now hold it, just a moment, then slowly breathe out again. In, two, three, four. Hold, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four. In, two, three, four…”

They repeated the exercise until Sebastian was breathing normally again. “Thank you.”

Hayden smiled woefully. “I'm sorry I didn't do anything sooner. I got too wrapped up in my own head.”

“I don’t blame you. This whole thing is batshit crazy.”

They both laughed at that statement.

“We really need to get back to our plane. I think my magic should be fine. The, um, spirits? Gave me a lot of help with the whole… you know.”

Hayden nodded. “Alright. Let’s try this again.”

They walked back over to their circle and sat down. Sebastian saw the spirits coming to surround them again. The one who had been most helpful to them was smiling in a bright and tearful way.

“Thank you, friend.”

Sebastian nodded with a smile of his own. He was glad, at least, that he’d helped someone. He closed his eyes and focused on breathing steadily as the spirits’ voices began to chant. They weren’t all saying the exact same chant, but somehow he could tell they all had the same intention. They were willing Sebastian and Hayden back to their bodies in the natural plane.

He felt his senses slowly returning. First he could feel the cold of the night air on one side of him, on the other side he felt something warm and firm. He could smell the earth – still slightly damp from the brief rainstorm that had occurred during the fight. He could also smell the horrid stench of dead leviathan – but his nose honed in on something else. Something sweet and familiar. Morning mist and wild blackberries.

The voices of the spirits’ began to fade, replaced by the familiar worried voices of his friends and family. Edmund was confused and questioning everything and Persephone was panicking – neither one coping very well with their partners being unconscious.

Finally, Sebastian felt like he could move, so he opened his eyes. “Eddie?”

Edmund, who had been holding him in his arms, looked down. “Bas? Are you back with us? What happened?”

“You’re okay.”

“Of course I’m okay.”

“Fuck, Eddie.” Sebastian used what little strength he had to cling to his boyfriend. “I thought I lost you.”

“Lost me?” Edmund inquired. “I’m not the one who just broke out of a coma.”

“He thought you died.” Hayden explained. “He felt you get hurt while fighting the leviathan.”

Ed tensed for a moment, then hugged Sebastian back tighter. Sebastian was so relieved and exhausted. Edmund was safe, the leviathan was dead, and everything was going to be okay. Because Edmund was alive; he’s okay, they both are.

Despite his exhaustion, Sebastian fought to keep himself awake. He couldn’t fully understand the conversation everyone was having about what to do next, but he was busy listening to Ed’s breathing and the beating of his heart. He needed to keep reminding himself that he was alive – he was okay – because he wasn’t sure if he could believe it just yet.

He held out until they all moved to get back into their vehicles. Edmund carried him to the bed of the pickup truck – they were both going to sit in the back while Persephone and Hayden drove. Sebastian was clinging to Ed for dear life, pressing his face into his neck as much as he could without suffocating himself. Edmund obliged him by arranging them so that they could stay clinging to each other during the drive.

Then he placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. “You can rest now, Bas. It’s okay. We’re both okay.”

And with that permission, Sebastian allowed himself to slip away. He could rest now. Edmund would keep him safe…