A Warrior’s Second Chance novel Chapter 169

SILVER HOLLOW

ALEXANDER

When I woke up, the first thing I felt was the weight of silence. No pain, no darkness. Just stillness. For a moment, I didn’t move. My eyes drifted across the room.

Then the memories came back, one after another… the summit, the ambush, Patrick, the blade, Faye’s face right before everything went black.

My chest tightened.

I sat up slowly, every muscle stiff but strangely alive. My hand moved to my stomach instinctively, to where the blade had cut through me at the side… bad enough that even the healer had said I wouldn’t make it through the night.

But when I lifted my shirt, all I saw was skin. Bruised, faintly discolored, but whole. No gash. No trace of a silver burn. Nothing.

For a second, I wondered if this was the afterlife. Maybe this was what it looked like… quiet, calm, and unbearably real.

I ran my fingers over the spot again. It was smooth and warm.

Maybe I wasn’t alive at all. Maybe this was some cruel illusion… a dream that the goddess granted to ease me into the void.

The door creaked softly, and I looked up.

Faye… she walked in, balancing a tray in her hands. The smell of food filled the room. Her hair was tied loosely, and there were dark circles under her eyes, but the moment she saw me sitting up, her face lit up like dawn breaking after a long storm.

“Faye,” I said her name before I even realized it.

It felt strange on my tongue… not because I hadn’t said it before, but because I didn’t expect to say it again.

She froze for half a heartbeat, then hurried forward, setting the tray down on the bedside table so quickly the spoon rattled against the bowl. Then, before I could say another word, she threw herself into my arms.

Her warmth hit me first… solid, trembling, real. I caught her automatically, one arm looping

around her back, the other brushing over her hair. She didn’t say anything for a while, and I didn’t either. I just held her, breathing her in, trying to understand what kind of miracle this was.

When she finally pulled away, her eyes were wet, glistening like she’d been crying. But it wasn’t sadness I saw… it was relief so raw it almost hurt to look at.

“Is this…” I hesitated, trying to find the words. “Is this supposed to be some kind of heaven or what?”

She blinked, and for a second there was silence… then she laughed. It was a soft, shaky sound, half amusement, half disbelief.

“Do you think heaven looks like this?” she asked, smiling through her tears.

Instead of answering, I lifted my shirt again, staring at the faint bruise on my stomach. “Then explain this.”

Her laughter faded. Slowly, almost reverently, she reached out and touched the spot where the blade had pierced me. Her fingers were warm against my skin, her touch feather–light, like she was afraid she’d undo whatever miracle had happened.

For a moment, she didn’t speak. Her gaze lingered on the place her hand rested, her expression caught somewhere between awe and confusion.

“It’s a miracle,” she said finally, her voice barely audible. “I thought… I thought I lost you, Alexander.”

Her voice cracked on my name, and before I could respond, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around me again.

“Don’t ever do that to me again,” she murmured against my chest, her tone breaking somewhere between anger and relief.

I rested my chin lightly against her head, unsure how to respond. My mind was still scattered, my thoughts struggling to keep up with reality. I could remember fading… the cold creeping in, my heartbeat slowing, the world slipping away. I was sure I had died.

And yet, here I was… breathing, thinking, touching her. Waking up to life felt… foreign. Like I was wearing borrowed time. There had to be some kind of explanation.

She eventually pulled away, wiping her eyes quickly, forcing a smile that didn’t quite reach them. “Do you want to freshen up first or eat first?” she asked, her tone trying to sound casual.

I studied him quietly, unsure if I wanted to accept that sentiment or not. But something in his tone made me believe he meant it.

Faye stood beside me, silent, her eyes flicking between us. The air felt strange and awkward.

་Then, all at once, something in my mind clicked.

“Damn,” I muttered. “I didn’t contact home.”

Faye looked at me, startled. “What?”

“Blood Crescent,” I said quickly, running a hand through my hair. “They’ll be worried sick. Cole must be losing his mind by now. He’s probably already planning to send a search team.”

Faye’s face fell slightly, and she shook her head. “I didn’t call either. I lost my phone during the attack,” she said softly. “I haven’t even thought about it until now.”

I sighed. “Then they’ve heard nothing from either of us.”

Jason nodded quietly, as if understanding the urgency.

“I can get you a phone,” he said quickly. Then, without hesitation, he reached into his pocket and handed me his own.

“Use mine,” he said.

I took it, a bit surprised by how willingly he offered it.

“Thank you,” I said again, meaning it this time.

He nodded once. “You’ll need to put their minds at ease.