Tess panted heavily as she looked at her mother's fallen form on the ground. She was suddenly very fatigued. The door to the room opened and closed. The other sirens must have left the room. She stumbled backwards, feeling lightheaded.

"I've got ya," a soothing voice whispered in her ear as someone caught her falling form.

Tess looked up at her savior's face. "Tom?" She whispered, as her vision blurred.

She heard his familiar chuckle as he scooped her into his arms.

"Go to sleep," the voice whispered as she closed her eyes, exhaustion finally claiming her.

——-

Tess woke up to her curtains drawn. She groaned as she sat up. Every single part of her ached. How had she made it back to her room? She couldn't remember anything after crying over Tom's fallen form. She slowly swung her legs out from under the covers, uttering small groans of pain as she did so. What did she do last night? She hobbled over to her vanity and sat down.

Tess pulled at her eyelids, examining the bags that had formed under them. Did she not sleep well the night before? Sighing, she reached for her hairbrush to brush out the night from her hair. She looked down when she didn't find it right away.

Where was it? She always left it on the vanity. "Looking for something?" A familiar voice whispered into her ear, startling Tess. She hadn't heard anyone come into her room.

She looked up into the mirror to see Tom standing behind her. Tess gasped, a hand flew to her mouth, as she whirled around to face him. "Tom?" she whispered, reaching a shaky hand, not daring to believe he was alive.

"It's me," he whispered, opening his arms to her, tears brimming in his eyes. He had finally found Tess, and he could hold her.

Tess sprang to her feet and fell into Tom's arms, relishing the feeling of them wrapped around her. She pulled away slightly to look at him. He had an angry red line where she had slit his throat the previous night. "I saw you take your last breath," she whispered, gently tracing the line. "How are you still alive?"

Tom brought Tess back into a tight hug, his nose in her hair, breathing in her scent as he swayed them both back and forth. She still had her siren features but they didn't seem to dominate her other features like they had before. "I don't know," Tom replied, not caring for the answer either way. "But I'm not questioning it." Tom took Tess' chin in his hand and gently pressed his lips to hers. A slight warming sensation began to fill him, starting at his lips and working it's way down his body. She still had her poison and probably didn't realize what she was doing, Tom reasoned. "Tess," he groaned as his knees gave out.

He collapsed into Tess' arms as she gave him a horrified look. "Tom?" she whispered. Trying to help him regain his feet. It was too good to be true, he was dying now. Of course he wouldn't stay alive.

"You still have your poison," Tom gasped, collapsing further to the floor when Tess couldn't hold his weight anymore. His legs felt heavy like lead.

Tess looked in the mirror after she got Tom settled on the floor and saw her lips glistening. "I'm so sorry," she went back to his side. "I had forgotten all about it."

"It's fine," Tom gave a weak smile, even though he didn't think it was. "Do you have something to get rid of it?"

Tess thought for a moment. "It doesn't affect sirens like it does everyone else," she finally said, pushing back some of Tom's hair. "It's more of a paralysis than a poison. But it should wear off in time. Nyx would probably know a better solution than me. The sirens don't exactly like their prey getting away." Tess ended with a slight smirk that looked almost hungry.

Tom's heart rate spiked, a sudden wave of fear ripping through his body at Tess' smile. "Should we find Nyx?" He asked, trying to ease the sudden fear in his mind. Tess didn't complete the ritual so she wouldn't stay a siren, he reminded himself over and over as the warmth finished spreading over his entire body. It was an accident, she forgot about her sirens kiss, he pleaded with the part of his mind that was trying to convince him that she was too much of a siren. He didn't think he'd be able to make it far on his own, let alone shout for help if he were to need it.

The couple looked towards Tess' door when they heard a knock. A troll servant stood at the door, not making eye contact as he cleared his throat. "Priestess, your presence is requested in the dining hall." The troll bowed and began to walk away.

"Wait!" Tess called, making the servant stop. "I need the troll named Nyx to attend to my friend. Can you either bring Nyx here or bring my friend to him?"

"Certainly," the troll bowed, then walked towards Tom to pick him up.

"I'll check on you as soon as I see what's going on," Tess whispered, putting her hand under Toms chin as his head began to slump forward.

"I'll be counting down the minutes," Tom responded, surprising Tess with another kiss.

Tess looked towards Tom with a concerned look once they separated. Tom chuckled, "I doubt a double dose of your kiss will do anything worse to me."

Tess ruffled his hair while he couldn't do anything about it. "I'll see you in a bit," she nodded towards the troll who picked Tom up and carried him off towards the kitchens.