We landed in Llewellyn's living room.
Llewellyn swayed on his feet and I grabbed him before he could tip over completely.
Lumos was still in his arms somehow, so I took him and put him down. He whined, looking up at us, confused.
"Bed," I told Llewellyn. "Come on."
Penguin chittered anxiously from my pocket.
"I know," I told him. "Can you get Lumos settled? So he's not scared?"
Penguin chirped immediately and jumped out of my pocket to do so.
Ah, he was the best. Even though I wished he hadn't splashed us with some unknown Magic like that. Though… that had probably been my fault.
I tried to maneuver Llewellyn properly, but he tipped forward again halfway there, his forehead landing on my shoulder.
Fuck. It was this bad?
I swallowed.
"Hey," I said, stroking his hair. "Can you get to bed? So you can rest."
Llewellyn's fingers tightened around my waist but he didn't reply. I wasn't even sure he was fully conscious.
How did it get this bad so quickly?! He was fine until a few moments ago! Maybe I shouldn't have given him that water? But the System had said it would help!
I tried not to panic—that wouldn't help here. But… Should I get him to a hospital? But what could they even do? And wouldn't that alert the press? I didn't want the Alliance to find out Llewellyn was vulnerable now! They would definitely attack if they knew.
Shit.
I rubbed my eyes.
Somehow, I managed to get Llewellyn to the bed and take his coat off.
He sank onto the mattress, but tried to sit back up immediately.
"No," I said, shrugging my trench coat off too and pressing him back down. "Hey."
Llewellyn grabbed my wrist, his grip tight but uncoordinated. His eyes were half-open and unfocused.
"I'm not going anywhere," I told him. "Just lie down. Let me take your shoes off."
Llewellyn let out a noise and tried to pull me closer instead. His other arm came around my waist and suddenly I was half on top of him.
"Stay," he mumbled against my shoulder. "Don't go."
Uh.
I swallowed.
"I've got you," I said. "I'm not going anywhere. And I live here now, remember?" Llewellyn blinked. "Just— Let me get you settled. You can't be comfortable like this."
Llewellyn's forehead pressed against mine for a second.
He kissed me, then loosened his grip.
Uh. This was really…
Somehow I managed to get up, take his shoes off, and kick mine off too. As soon as I stepped closer again to feel his forehead, Llewellyn grabbed my wrist and pulled me down until I was lying next to him. Then, he immediately curled into me, face pressed into my neck.
"…"
My hand came up to card through his hair.
I'd never seen him like this. I couldn't sense anything unusual through the bond either, which was making me spiral more.
Llewellyn's breathing was harsh against my throat. He was still burning up.
"System," I tried again. "What's happening? Is there anything else I can do?"
[System Notification: Partner Llewellyn's Vital Signs have been stabilized. Sudden stabilization triggered magical response. He'll be fine after some rest.]
What kind of bullshit was this!
"Why is he feeling worse after stabilization?!"
[System Notification: Partner Llewellyn's Magic had been overcompensating for the Destabilization for an extended period. Stabilization removed the need for compensation. His body is adjusting. Rest is advised.]
"Why did he need stabilization in the first place! And why didn't you tell me?! Couldn't you have done something?!"
There was a pause.
[System Notification: Partner Llewellyn's condition was not classified as critical. The System made sure Physical Contact with User Ryo would always carry increased Healing Bonuses.]
What the fuck. I didn't even know what I was supposed to feel about that.
"Was this part of that 67% probability of lethal outcome you kept bringing up?"
The System pinged again.
[Correct.]
Shit. Why hadn't it said anything?!
[System Notification: The System was monitoring Partner Llewellyn's situation closely. Partner Llewellyn was not in immediate danger.]
Llewellyn's grip on my waist had gone slack, but he still wouldn't let go.
I swallowed.
"And physical contact does help?" I asked.
[Affirmative.]
I took in a shaky breath.
Alright. Not that I was going anywhere, anyway.
I managed to get the duvet over us one-handed and Llewellyn immediately pressed closer, tangling our legs together.
My own heartbeat was still hammering. Between the Destabilized Whiskey and whatever had just happened, I really felt—
Penguin chirped and climbed onto the bed to come and check how we were doing.
"The System said he's stabilizing. His Magic just reacted."
Penguin chirped. I reached out to pet him.
"Is that why you splashed us?"
I'd been thinking about it. Penguin had never done anything like that before, so why? Did he know Llewellyn's Vital Signs needed to be stabilized?
Penguin let out an apologetic little chirp. He hadn't known it would get this bad, it seemed.
I sighed and stroked him gently.
"It's fine," I said. "At least now I know. The System keeps saying he's stable now, so… hopefully he just needs some rest."
Penguin chirped and nuzzled closer. It felt like he still thought he did good in the forest.
I… didn't know what to think. The System had also classified that as a blessing, so…
We heard a bark from the floor. I startled. Looked like Lumos had come to join us too.
Penguin chirped and waddled to peek down at him, then he levitated him onto the bed. Lumos turned in circles for a moment, trying to find the perfect spot against Llewellyn.
Shit. I don't know why I suddenly felt choked up.
My hand stayed on the back of Llewellyn's neck, trying to figure out what I could do here. I wanted to get up to get him some water, but he wouldn't let me go.
"Hey Penguin," I said. Penguin chirped. "Can you get him a glass of water?"
Penguin chirped and jumped off the bed immediately. A few moments later, he waddled back into the room, levitating a full glass.
Amazing.
I thanked him and took the glass, tipping it into Llewellyn's mouth.
Llewellyn drank, shuddering a bit, then seemed to relax.
I took a deep breath.
A few moments later, Penguin came back levitating another glass.
"I think that's enough for now?" I said.
Penguin chirped.
Oh, wait.
"For me?"
Penguin chirped again in confirmation.
"Thank you," I said, gulping it down. I hadn't realized how thirsty I was.
Penguin chirped some more. Apparently he'd filled Lumos's bowl too.
I put down my glass and pulled him closer, petting him.
"You're the best," I said. "Do you need anything?"
Penguin nuzzled my hand with a brief chirp. Looked like he was fine.
"Try to get some rest."
Penguin chirped again, then moved away from me to settle against Lumos's fur.
I stayed awake as long as I could, just in case, but in the end, exhaustion caught up with me too and my eyes slid shut.
***
When I woke, pale morning light filtered through the curtains.
Llewellyn was still pressed against me, face buried in my neck. His breathing had evened out, but he was still burning up.
I swallowed. My head was killing me.
"Hey," I said, pressing a kiss to his temple. "Are you feeling any better?"
No response. Looked like he was still asleep.
I tried to shift, but his arm locked around me immediately.
Uh.
It seemed like I wasn't going anywhere then.
Llewellyn's fingers flexed against my side. Then his mouth pressed against my pulse point.
…Oh.
"I'm better," he said, voice rough. "But don't go anywhere."
It was such a relief to hear him coherent again, I let out a shaky breath.
"That's good," I said. "But you're still burning up. System, can I give him anything?"
The System pinged.
[System Notification: Administering more Living Magic is highly recommended.]
No! What if he got worse again?
"Anything else?"
[System Notification: User Ryo is advised to reach out to User Gilded.]
…What?!
"Why would I do that?!" I asked. "Besides, I'm sure Llewellyn doesn't want him here."
"Mmh?" Llewellyn said, eyes still closed.
I sighed.
"The System says I should reach out to Gilded."
"No," Llewellyn said immediately.
As expected.
Maybe I could call Tiernan then? He was the most knowledgeable person we knew after all; he might be able to tell us something.
The thing was… We hadn't told him about the shard, or about Living Magic in general for that matter, and I didn't know if it was fine to talk about this stuff over the phone.
Still. I couldn't just not do anything.
"I'm calling Tiernan," I said.
"No need," Llewellyn mumbled.
"Yes, there is," I told him, trying to extricate myself a bit. "Just let me—"
I reached for my phone on the nightstand with my free hand, and pulled up Tiernan's number.
It rang twice before he picked up.
"Ryo?" Tiernan's voice was hoarse. He sounded like death. "What time is it?"
"Early," I said. "I'm sorry. Something happened after we left last night. Llewellyn's—"
"Is he okay?" Tiernan's voice tensed immediately.
Good question.
"I really… don't know how to answer that. Technically no. We were teleported to some forest somewhere and got some kind of… um… magical blessing, I guess, that triggered a response. I really don't know if I should say any more on the phone, but he's burning up."
There was a pause.
"Shit," Tiernan said. "Where are you?"
"Llewellyn's place."
I heard some rummaging from the other side, as if he was getting up.
"Did you say magical blessing? How does Llewellyn always— I'm calling Gilded."
…Wait, what? Him too? What was with everybody and Gilded!
"No!" I said quickly. "Llewellyn refused."
Besides, I was pretty sure Llewellyn didn't just give his home address away like that.
"Tell Llewellyn to stop being stubborn," Tiernan said. "Do you even know who Gilded's mother is? There literally isn't a better person for this. Text him. I'll call him myself and soften him up."
Why would I know who Gilded's mother is?! And what did his mother have to do with anything!
"His mother?" I said. "And it's 6 AM; he'd been hammered until a few hours a—"
"Text him," Tiernan said. "Now."