Asra placed his hands above the soil and closed his eyes. Using his magic, he searched deep into the heart of the well for any sign of water. He had a rather ominous feeling about this drought. He'd spent enough accumulative time in Nopal to know the difference between the seasons and the average dry spell. There was something different about this.

Next to him, Aria hummed in concentration. A dry, hot wind buffered her cloak against his side. Asra had promised to let her apply herself more, to give her more opportunities to help him or to demonstrate her own abilities. The magician knew full well what she was capable of. The thing was, she didn't know what she was capable of, or at least, remember what she could do.

He had hoped that Aria's time assisting Nadia as the leading investigator on Count Lucio's murder would have built some confidence within her. To an extent, it had. Despite this, she was still looking to him for guidance. A part of him found a sort of joy in that, in being needed by her. Another part wanted for her to be the confident magician she had been once before, all those years ago, back when they would playfully argue over who was better suited to a certain task or when they would cheekily make adjustments to each other's spells.

He stole a glance at her, gauging how she was doing. Aria's eyes were closed, her lashes twitching as she mimicked his actions. The sight brought a slight smile to his lips. She always had seemed to drift off into another world when she was focusing like this.

The magician focused back on his own magic, increasing his efforts. There was something blocking the water. He could feel it, large and dormant below them. Radiating from it was something unpleasant, something dark.

Asra furrowed his brow and closed his eyes. He's felt this feeling before. He should recognize what this is. He felt his stomach shift. Dread weighed down his veins like lead. He focused harder on the blockage until the people around him start to drift away. Even Aria's presence beside him faded into nearly nothing as he honed in on the mysterious clot.

He could feel it move.

The dread turned into raw horror.

It's not just sitting there. There's an entire mass down there, skittering and scratching. His mind whirls back to years before, to the sight of red scuttling about and ravaging unsuspected victims, of vicious pincers and red water.

Plague beetles. There was an entire hoard of them down there.

Asra's heart raced with panic. He snapped his eyes open and turned his head to Aria. The blood ran cold in his limbs. Her eyes were wide open as she muttered incoherently at the dirt. The glow of her magic, usually so soft and soothing, was now harsh and saturated with a deep bloody red. Her aura shifted, darkening rapidly.

"Aria," he called. He had to get her attention. Something was horribly wrong. She needed to get to safety. "Aria, stop!"

Her eyes shifted to meet his gaze. Asra lost his breath. Aria's eyes were glowing red and unfocused, seemingly staring at a point within him rather than his face. Her mouth moved as if still muttering, but not a sound escaped her lips. The harsh sun gleamed on her sweaty skin, leaving her looking pale and sickly. Her area around her eyes were puffy, bright pink even.

She looked like one of the hundreds he had seen before, of the people caught in delirium as the Red Plague had ripped Vesuvia apart.

His heart jumped to his throat. Asra abandoned his post and went to push Aria away from the well. She needed to get away from it, now. As he shifted, the ground roared and churned below him. The magician snapped his attention back to the earth and stared in horror as the caked earth split open.

Thousands of small, red bugs poured out of the new wound. They climbed and flew and raced from deep below and darkened the blue sky with a deep, sickly swarm. The buzzing was deafening as the mass took to the skies.

Asra looked back to Aria. He needed to protect her. They couldn't take her, never. He wouldn't let them touch her. His hands shot out again, this time trying to pull her close to his chest so that he could shield her with his own body. She was still staring at him, completely unaware. "Aria," he croaked, the desperation slipping past his lips before he could suffocate it.

Suddenly, Aria looked healthy again. The red glow around her hands shivered before it evaporated into the air. Her turquoise eyes snapped back to his face. Her lip quivered. He was certain of it; Aria knew something was disastrously wrong. Her eyes were wet with tears as she looked at him, seemingly on the verge of a downward spiral. "Asra," she called back. She reached out to grab one of his arms as she tried to move towards him.

The buzzing shifted pitch. He stole a glance at the swarm only to see it gather into a tight, hungry mass and dive towards them. The fear clotted his lungs shut. He moved to desperately grab at her arm and pull her close, to shield her from their incoming onslaught.

The red cloud slammed into her side and stuck to her like tar. Asra found himself screaming as the beetles engulfed Aria, burying her below the swarm and leaving not a single glimpse of her. Her outstretched hand disappeared below a churning sea of red. She disappeared without a sound, not a scream, not a whimper.

Tears pooled in his eyes as he dove towards the the shifting mass of insects. Fury boiled his blood as he reached in and started trying to dig her out of the cloud. They couldn't have her. Not Aria. He wouldn't let them take her.

He wouldn't fail her again.

His skin boiled and felt as if it was melting off his very bones as he grabbed fistfuls of beetles and hurled them away. He gritted his teeth through the searing pain and coated his hands in water. It trickled down his fingertips and hissed against the shining carapaces. His palms were red and blistered as he continued to blindly dig towards her.

"Aria," he called through his clenched throat. "Aria, don't give up! Use your fire if you have to! I'm trying—"

His words were cut off with a yelp as a pair of hands grabbed at his arm. His eyes shot over to see a pair of ghastly hands pulling at his skin, their own covered in boils and bleeding sores. Asra yanked his arm away and continued to carve a trench into the swarm. "Get away from me," he screeched.

There was a horrendous chorus of moaning from behind him. The hair on the back of his neck rose as footsteps shambled closer to him. Tears sprung from his eyes as his body shook with fear. The air was stifling hot and reeked of death and sickness. He felt more and more pairs of hands grab at his clothes, at his skin, as he pathetically tried to free Aria. There was a small voice inside him that told him that it was the villagers of Nopal, or the monstrous echoes of them. The water from his hands surged up his arms and shot back at the attackers, earning groans and screams of pain that rang in his ears.

"Stay away from me," he screamed over the din. He could see the twilight edge of her cloak, tattered and threadbare from all the mouths that had eaten away at it. As he tried to grab it, several beetles bit into his arm. Asra hissed in pain as he dug deeper into the pile and pulled the cloak towards him. "Aria! Aria, can you hear me?"

The air was tormentingly hot as the words left his mouth. He could hardly breathe. His entire body felt like it was on fire. It had to be Aria fighting back. It had to be. Heat this intense could only come from fire.

The cloak crumbled between his fingertips.

All at once, the beetles stopped moving.

The swarm shifted and then started to fly away, peeling away from Aria layer by layer. Asra plowed his arms into the swarm, pushing and brushing them away in droves. His breathing was shallow and rushed as he clawed into them. His mouth, though dry and hoarse, kept calling her name as he tunneled through the remaining insects. Foolish hope fluttered in his chest.

It was quickly quashed.

The swarm kept flying away but as they left, all Asra could see was the sand and earth. His heart stopped as he saw them peel away from a stained patch of sand. Red blotches slowly appeared as they left, leaving his heart pounding against his ribs. Behind him, the agonized screaming suddenly ceased. It clung to the air for a few moments in the haze before it was gone entirely.

When the last of the beetles had left, all that remained were stark white bones and a single necklace, the match to his own.

Tears flooded his face as his heart stopped. His hands shook as he stared in shock. His skin burned and tingled as his whole body went numb. No. No, this couldn't be right. Asra's lungs filled with cotton as the water that had been shielding him broke and pelted the ground around him. He just stared at it as his shoulders quivered. Gingerly, he reached towards the necklace. His arms were blistered and burned, his tan skin now patches of red and pink. His palms were charred in some places. Bites lingered around his wrist and hands. Asra mournfully brushed his thumb against Aria's necklace as he cradled it in his hands, but the burns had robbed him of his sense of touch. Again, it was the only thing that stayed behind. He began to hiccup, sobs shaking his very soul.

He couldn't have failed her again. He couldn't have.

It should have been him.

Abruptly his stomach shifted. Asra curled into it. An intense wave of nausea washed over him as his world spun.

Asra bolted upright and gasped for air. His sides heaved as he struggled to catch his breath. His eyes, still wild with panic, struggled to adjust to the dark. Heartbeat thrumming at his neck and blood rushing in his ears, he searched the room.

The first thing he could see was the shelf of succulents and protection charms. He calmed for only a moment before the hysteria set in again. Nopal? No. It couldn't be here. Don't let that have been real. Please. Please.

His gaze fell to the space beside him. His breath caught in his throat. There, sleeping directly in a beam of moonlight, was Aria. Her cloak was haphazardly pulled over her head as she snoozed. She was flat on her stomach, her face angled towards him just enough so that she could breathe.

Asra finally caught his breath. The fear fell to his feet as he laid back down beside and stared at her face as if she had appeared in a plume of fire. She was safe. His hand shook as he cautiously rested it on her shoulder.

So, it had been just a nightmare. He struggled to remember the events of the day as he rested beside her, watching her sleep, completely unaware of him or what he had just witnessed. That swarm... He thought back on it, focusing on it before the events of the nightmare melted in with his memories. He had torn her away from it and held her to his chest, but they had turned and flew towards Vesuvia. He and the villagers had watched the red streak slowly disappear over the horizon.

First Lucio, now these infernal beetles. Why was the past haunting him like this?

Regardless of the lingering dread, his chest fluttered with relief. The beetles may have returned, Lucio might still be lingering on, but Aria was safe. She wasn't just safe, she was close. She loved him again. The thought of it brought him great comfort. Absently, he brushed the hood off of her head. Just as a fingertip brushed against her skin, her body jolted and her eyes fluttered open. Asra held his breath as she looked around before her turquoise eyes settled on him.

"Asra," she murmured, her voice low with drowsiness.

A small twinge of regret plucked in his chest. He hadn't meant to wake her up. It was unusual for her to be such a light sleeper. Asra hoped that the events of the past few days hadn't shaken her too much. He smiled and softly brushed the back of his hand against her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, making his heart squeeze in his chest. "It's alright," he whispered to her. "I'm right here."

Aria hummed something, but her words were incoherent. The bed creaked as she scooted towards him in hesitant increments, as if worried he would startle. Asra just watched as she slowly snaked an arm around him and pulled herself into the curve of his body, tucking her head under his chin.

Asra's heart swelled. It had been so long since they could be close like this. He could feel her breathe against his collarbone. He let a small laugh pass his lips. He felt her hair brush under his chin again. A puff of air hit his neck, making his skin tickle. She hummed again, almost as if she were trying to find her voice.

"Asra," she whispered again, her voice a bit clearer this time.

"Yes, Aria," Asra asked, his voice soft. After a few moments, he rolled onto his back and looked at her. She was just barely lifted off the bed, her elbow dug deep into the mattress. She stared at him for a while, her eyes warm but uncertain. She bit at her lip as she looked at him, her eyes scanning every corner of his face as if she wanted to commit it to memory. The arm across him fell back a bit, her hand lingering on the bottom of his ribcage. He lifted a single eyebrow, imploring her to speak.

"Can... Can you h-hold me, please," she stuttered uncertainly. Her cheeks burned a bright pink.

Asra's eyes widened just a bit, his mouth opening slightly. Then, he pulled his lips back into a smile. A warmth fluttered in his chest. There was nothing he wanted more in that moment than to keep her close. His hand drifted back up to her cheek and he cupped it gently, letting his thumb graze her skin. Her shoulders eased just a bit as she looked into his eyes.

"Of course," he breathed back. He slowly moved his other arm towards her. His palm rested against the space between her shoulder blades. "Come here."

Aria's eyes widened in joyful disbelief. He simply continued to smile. Carefully, she moved closer to him until she was practically hovering above him. She lingered there for a few heartbeats, the blush still lingering on her cheeks. The magician slowly tightened his hold, coaxing her just a bit closer. The woman smiled before she laid down. Her head came to rest on his chest while her arms snaked down to his sides. Asra closed his eyes for a moment and let the hand against her shoulder blade drift upwards to her hair. He twisted it gently and curled it around his fingers.

He drew in a sleepy breath, slow and heavy. The push of her weight against his ribcage was achingly familiar. How often had they rested like this, before everything went so wrong? The warm glow in his heart momentarily darkened. Asra practically glared at the ceiling. As good as it felt to be like this again, he couldn't endanger it. Lucio was too dangerous to leave to his own devices for long. Perhaps worse than him was the return of the plague beetles. If they overran Vesuvia again... He feared there wouldn't be a way to escape their ravenous destruction.

He'd need to keep Muriel safe. He'd need to help Nadia.

Maybe he'd even save Julian, too, if he let him.

Aria's weight shifted a bit closer to his neck as she scooted upwards just a bit. Asra glanced down at her to find her chin resting against his breastbone, her eyes heavy with sleepiness as she regarded him. He gave her a lopsided smile and wrapped his arms around her just a bit tighter. "Is everything alright," he whispered to her, his purple eyes warm but concerned.

She slowly leaned forward and let their lips brush together. He could feel her heartbeat quicken against his chest; he was sure she could feel his do the same. Her brow furrowed. Unsatisfied, Aria pushed herself closer with her elbows and pressed her lips against his and held them there almost defiantly. Despite that, it was a soft exchange, one where the tenderness loosened the anxious knot in Asra's stomach. When she pulled away, she lowered her head to rest on his chest again. Her cheek pressed into his shirt.

"I-I love...you," she mumbled, the words hardly audible through her drowsiness.

Asra's lips started to move on their own to echo her words, but he stopped himself. Painfully, he recalled the reaction Aria had had when he had said those words to her before in the fountain of the palace gardens. She had nearly been ripped apart by her migraine as he watched on. As much as he ached to tell her, he wanted to spare her that pain again. He bit his lip and kept his mouth shut, even as the words filled his lungs and tightened his throat.

Instead, the magician settled for squeezing her with a hug. Asra then gently carded his hand through her hair, his fingertips occasionally brushing against her cheek or temple as he did so. His actions would have to say it for him, for now.

After a while, Aria's breathing slowed to a peaceful melody. He smiled softly and leaned his head back into his pillow. She was asleep again. He was thankful that she had fallen asleep again. She needed the rest.

Asra's gaze wandered over to the window. The sky outside was still dark, though the stars were plentiful and bright. As much as he had wanted to whisk her away from the dangers of the city, of the threat of Lucio, he knew in his heart that he couldn't stay here in Nopal. He needed to try and stop things from getting worse, from letting things spiral out of control. He needed to keep Muriel and Nadia safe, too.

For a faint moment, he entertained the idea of leaving in the night, letting Aria stay in Nopal, where it was safe. Asra's heart ached as he remembered how tightly she had clung to him when he had arrived at the palace, of how thrilled she had been to see him again, the tears slipping down her cheeks. No. He couldn't leave her alone again. She needed him now.

And truthfully, he needed her, too.

Asra let his eyes flutter shut. Perhaps the best way to keep her safe was to let her help him, even if the thought of her being in danger scared the air from his lungs. They needed to keep Lucio in check. They couldn't let the plague come back.

But for tonight, Asra would shut his eyes and pretend that this house in Nopal was the only thing in existence. He'd allow himself to imagine that this moment, with Aria asleep in his arms, was the only thing that mattered. In the morning, they'd return to Vesuvia and reunite with Faust and Nadia.

For now, he'd drift off to sleep again and pretend there was nothing else in the entire world.

Author's Note: Whoops I wrote bittersweet angst again. I would apologize but writing trippy nightmare sequences is sorta my thing and I'll definitely do it again in the future XD Hope you enjoyed reading!