Lexi chewed her lip thoughtfully as she stared wordlessly at Aoife.
"Do you really think it's possible?" she asked as her heart beat just that little bit faster.
"Well, Orynn and Bella already have a plan for escaping, but none of us can do that until you're well and quite honestly, I want to make sure that you're able to access your abilities if and when you need to when we finally make a break for it. The last thing any of us want is for you to be immobilized just because you didn't wait for your body to catch up."
"But my body feels fine now." Lexi protested moodily as she glowered at the sound of Aoife's snort, "Seriously. Physically I feel fine!"
"Well, I can tell you now that physically, you are still not one hundred percent, whatever you claim you feel like. That seal right there," Aoife said, pausing as she pointed to Lexi's chest, "It's going to shatter fully sooner rather than later and when it does, I genuinely have no idea if there's going to be any after effects. So until then, stay put, do as you're told and we might actually stand a chance of getting out of here without any major casualties."
Lexi shifted uncomfortably on the bed, her eyes dropping to where her hands fidgeted with each other.
"I'm a ticking time bomb without Allen and Greyson here Aoife," She murmured, "My magick is kind of…wild, if you understand me. Allen and Greyson are mated to one soul each and when the magick threatens to overwhelm me and I get carried away…they can pull me back from the edge."
She lifted her eyes to grimace wryly at Aoife who watched her with understanding in her eyes.
"Maybe I should lose control of it just a little…maybe I could blast Eromaug a new arsehole or four while you make sure everyone gets out."
Aoife snorted a laugh and a half smile appeared at the edge of her lips.
"There's not a chance we're leaving you behind, Lexi, okay?" She said firmly reaching for her and laying a reassuring hand on top of hers, "And just so you know, your magic isn't wild. It's just untrained. Try and think of it this way, if you put an untrained dog in a room full of food and tell it to sit, there's not a chance that it will listen to you, right?"
"I mean...I guess?" Lexi answered uncertainly with a frown.
"But if you had a dog that was trained already and told it to sit in the same environment, then it would do so without question." Aoife smiled softly, "I promise you, once we're out of here, if your mother and your father can't help with training it, I may know someone who can."
Lexi's eyes widened a little as for the first time in what felt like forever, she felt a spark of hope in her chest.
"Really?" She asked excitedly as Aoife's grin broadened.
"She's a bit of a hermit ordinarily and generally hates people… but I highly doubt that she would want to miss out on the opportunity to crow about being the witch that helped to train someone who held two ancient souls within them." Aoife chuckled and sighed wistfully, "She's a cantankerous old hag sometimes though…just so you're forewarned."
"That's okay," Lexi smirked, "I can be a pretty cantankerous bitch too. I'm sure we'll bash heads and get on like a house on fire…as long as it's not me setting her house on fire by mistake." She grimaced.
Aoife nodded and squeezed her hand before standing and moving to gather her bag and the bits and pieces strewn about the room, carefully packing them in and closing it before slinging it over her shoulder.
"You're leaving me already?" Lexi pouted as Aoife laughed softly.
"I have to get back to replenish my supplies." She said, patting her bag, "I've burned through quite a bit of ointment and such getting you healed this well. Besides, you need to rest. The more you rest, the quicker you'll be well enough for…well, you know."
Lexi tried to hide her disappointment but she failed to hide it from her face entirely, eliciting a resigned sigh from Aoife.
"I'm sure you'll be fine." she said gently in an encouraging voice, "I highly doubt that Eromaug will be back tonight and if he does.."
"If I had my fucking magick I'd suck his life right out of him before he even got fucking close." Lexi interrupted, her face thunderous.
"And it's talk like that, that probably made his mind up about sealing your souls," Aoife snorted, "I'll be back first thing in the morning and I want to see if there's a way to get you down to see your mates…and your mother."
The fury seemed to leave Lexi's body at the thought of seeing not only her mates again, but also her mother.
"Oh Aoife…I swear, if it's possible…I'll be on my best behavior for as long as it takes." Lexi breathed, a sudden surge of emotion welling up in her chest unexpectedly.
If she was honest with herself, she was more excited at the possibility of seeing her mother again, rather than her mates. As much as she wanted to feel their touch, their closeness…the emotions surrounding her mother were just on a whole other level. There really was no comparison.
"I'll see what I can do but it might be tricky if Eromaug is around...but we can cross that bridge when we come to it." Aoife nodded, "Now, sleep." She added firmly with a meaningful look that had Lexi begrudgingly working herself under the covers quickly until only her head was visible.
"Happy now?" She shot with a pout as Aoife threw her a lopsided grin.
"It's a start."