Chapter 446: The Question He Would Not Let Go

Chapter 445: The Question He Would Not Let Go

Sophia glared at Orion.

"You know very well I didn’t throw up because of your face."

Orion nodded slowly, like he had been waiting for that. There was a smile on his face.

"That’s true," he said mildly. "You like my face a lot."

She rolled her eyes at him but didn’t say anything at all. Orion leaned forward and gently took the bucket from her hands. He placed a kiss on her hair as he did so.

"You should rest," he said quietly. "I’ll call one of the healers to come check on you."

He turned and headed towards the door when Sophia spoke up.

"Orion," she said quickly.

He paused and turned to her. "Yeah?"

"How is Tarin?"

His shoulders dropped just a little. Once more, he wasn’t surprised that she was asking about someone else.

He released a sigh and shook his head subtly. "According to Lysander, he’s stable. He’s still unconscious because the venom messed with his system a bit... that’s what I got from Lysander, but he should be awake soon."

Sophia let out the breath she had no idea she had been holding.

"And," Orion added, his voice changing, "you shouldn’t be asking about Tarin right now."

She looked at him with a frown on her face.

"What do you mean?"

He glanced at her and shook his head. "I’m glad you are awake and you are okay, but that doesn’t stop me from being mad at you."

Her brows knit together.

"You’re mad at me?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes."

Sophia blinked in shock.

"What did I do?"

He stared at her for a moment.

Then he said quietly, "You’ll find out soon."

She frowned at him.

"That doesn’t help."

Orion did not answer her, though. Instead, he turned to leave the room.

But before he could take more than two steps, one of the nurses appeared at the doorway.

"Alpha Orion," she said to him. "I came to check up on Sophia."

Orion nodded and made way for the nurse.

"She’s awake," he told her.

The nurse’s eyes lit up. "That’s good."

She moved straight to Sophia’s bedside.

Sophia sat still as the nurse took her wrist and pressed two fingers to feel her pulse.

She lifted Sophia’s chin gently and asked her to open her mouth.

Sophia obeyed.

The nurse leaned closer, checking her mouth and her breathing.

Then she lifted Sophia’s eyelids one after the other.

Then the nurse pressed the back of her hand against Sophia’s forehead. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Any dizziness?" the nurse asked.

Sophia hesitated. "It’s just a little, and I threw up too."

The nurse nodded, taking note of that.

"There’s no issue for now," she said calmly. "I’ll inform Marta that you’re awake."

She took the bucket from Orion’s hand.

Then she walked out as quietly as she had entered.

The door closed softly behind her, and the room fell silent.

Sophia looked at Orion, who was standing near the foot of the bed. But he wasn’t looking at her. It was like he couldn’t bear to lock gazes with her at the moment.

"Why are you mad at me?" she asked quietly.

Orion closed his eyes for a brief moment.

Then he sighed and finally faced her.

"Sophia," he said slowly.

She stiffened. She did not like the way he said her name. There was an undercurrent of affection, but there was still something else there, something that screamed he was cross with her.

"Did you suck the Trihydra venom out of Tarin’s arm?" he asked her.

The moment she heard those words, she froze. She understood now why he was mad at her. Could it be that Lysander found out that she sucked the venom out of Tarin’s arm? But how was that possible?

Her throat tightened as she swallowed nervously and broke eye contact with Orion. She had tried to keep their promise about not being hurt, but she failed to do so. And knowing how deadly Trihydra venom was... he had every right to be mad at her.

Orion stared at the top of her head.

"Sophia," he said firmly. "Look at me."

She shook her head.

"No."

He exhaled sharply through his nose.

"Fine... then at least answer the question," he told her.

She pressed her lips together.

Her fingers twisted into the edge of the sheet on the bed.

"I just..." she began.

Her voice came out small.

"I just couldn’t watch him die, Orion. We were in the nest together, and I noticed how frightened he looked and how much pain he was in. The venom had started spreading too, and I... I just used what I saw in that novel you tried to take from me. He’s a child, Orion. You can’t be mad that I saved him, right?" she asked him, finally looking at him.

Silence filled the space between them.

Orion dragged a hand down his face slowly.

"I’m not mad that you saved him, Sophia. I’m mad that you didn’t think about yourself," he told her firmly.

He paced once, short and sharp, then stopped again in front of her bed.

"I understand wanting to save people," he said, his voice low. "I really do."

"I sense a but coming," she told him.

"That is because there is," Orion told her. "Why do you never think about yourself first?"

She did not answer him.

"Why do you never stop to think about what will happen to you? Why do you never think about whether you’ll get hurt or not? It’s like you don’t care what happens to you. Is your life so fickle that you’d want to throw it away at the expense of someone else’s? Can’t you be a little bit selfish?" he asked her.

"It wouldn’t kill you to think about yourself for once. You just recently learned how to fight, and though I appreciate how brave you are, have you ever stopped to think that some things may be beyond your power? Have you ever stopped to think about the situation you could put those who care about... fuck."

Orion stopped himself. If he went further, he would just pour everything from his chest. Everything he’d thought about during the days she was unconscious.

Sophia swallowed. Moisture gathered in her eyes. "I understand you being mad at me, but I couldn’t let him die."

"And what about you?" he asked her. "You were unconscious because you ingested Trihydra venom, Sophia. What if the amount you ingested was more? What if, Goddess forbid, you had taken more and your condition was worse? What if... fuck, Sophia, why are you doing this? Why do you act like your life doesn’t matter? Why do you act like you are some goddess reincarnation? Do you not think your life matters? Do you not think about what would happen if something worse happened to you? Do you not think about how those who care about you would be affected?"

There was a knock at the door before Sophia could even answer. She had no idea how the conversation had so quickly changed from something funny to something as intense as this.

They both turned and saw Marta at the door.