“Deep breaths, my love. Breathe with me now.”
He finally looks into her eyes, and the utter despair in his expression makes her own breath hitch, but she pushes past the fear.
“We’re going to breathe together, my love. And then you’re going to tell me what’s going on, all right? You’re not alone. I’m here now.”
“I don’t know how I ever lived without you.”
“Just breathe, my love. Together.” She breathes slowly, and he copies her. Deep breaths, over and over, until he’s no longer panicking.
“Thank you,” he murmurs as he draws her close again. He doesn’t crush her this time.
“I promised to care for you, Rominy. This is part of that, remember?”
He exhales slowly and nods as he lets her go. They sit on the deck of their little sailboat, rocking in the calm water. It’s still twilight, as if everything has paused. It’s intriguing, but Elowyn doesn’t ponder it for long. Rominy needs her full attention now.
“Jonas woke me,” Rominy eventually says. “It was almost noon.”
No wonder it felt as if they’d been here for so much longer than usual.
“I couldn’t wake you, so I sent for Dr. Fulton,” he continues. “But he’s not sure what’s wrong, and he doesn’t have the right training to doctor elves, and he said I had to choose, and I didn’t know—”
“Breathe, Rominy. Stay with me.”
He takes a few more deep breaths, and she pulls his head onto her lap.
“Just relax, my love.” She brushes back his golden-brown hair and caresses the lines on his forehead until they soften. “Now tell me the rest of the story.”
“Your body heals differently from humans. And Dr. Fulton thinks your wound is infected or you’re reacting to something. But your wound has already closed aroundthe stitches. He wasn’t sure he could get them out without...without...”
Rominy shudders as Elowyn tries not to give a foothold to her growing worry over that doctor and the stitches. Rominy needs her to be strong now.
“He was afraid he’d render your arm useless if he tried to cut into it to remove the stitches.”
“Useless? I wouldn’t be able to use my arm?”
“That’s what he said.”
Elowyn stuffs down her own panic. “And...what did you tell him?”
“I told him to give me another option.”
Relief fills her, but she keeps her expression neutral.
“Then he suggested amputating.” Rominy covers his eyes as Elowyn rolls the word over her tongue.
“I’m not familiar with that word.”
“He wanted to cut off your arm, Elowyn.”
She stills. Then her own breath comes rapidly.
No, no, no. This can’t be happening.
Rominy sits up and takes her face in his hands the way she did to him moments ago. “Stay with me, love. I didn’t let him.”
She closes her eyes as relief fills her once more.
“But he told me I had to decide, and I didn’t know what to do. I-I tried to choose the option I thought you would want, but Dr. Fulton says it was a gamble, and what if I chose wrong? What if you die because of me?”
