He sets the mug aside, and Elowyn looks at it longingly. Maybe she’ll be able to talk Cerian into sneaking her more later.
Of course, Tharios might make her sleep again if she doesn’t follow his instructions. That’s the last thing she wants.
“How does your arm feel?” Tharios asks more seriously as he prods at her some more, and Cerian returns to Arisanna’s side.
“Strange. I feel it there, but it’s a dull sensation, and I can’t move it. Occasionally, it tingles a bit.”
Tharios nods, and Elowyn eyes the sheet covering her. What is she wearing? Her shift? She pushes that thought away. It hardly matters. Clearing her throat, she says, “I might need someone to help me to the water closet soon. All that ice yesterday seems to have caught up with me.”
What an awkward thing to ask for help with. Frustration creeps up on her. She feels so helpless, and it’s not a pleasant sensation.
Before Tharios can say anything, Rominy squeezes her hand. “I’ve got you, love.”
Rominy. She looks into his eyes, and heat threatens her at the thought.
And not the delightful kind of heat.
It hadn’t occurred to her that he might help her. There’s nothing but love shining in his eyes, though.
“Unless you’d rather someone else help you,” he adds softly.
It might as well be him, though.
“I can get Viala if you wish,” Tharios offers quietly, but Elowyn shakes her head.
“Rominy is fine.”
Rominy kisses her hair, and she leans against his shoulder.
The other half of her heart. He’s seen her at her best and her worst. And he looks at her the same here, with her hair a matted mess and her skin pale, as he does in the heartlanding. With a love so all-consuming that it steals her breath away.
“As long as we’re awkward together,” he whispers near her ear, and a smile sneaks up on her.
Yes. As long as they’re together, everything will be all right.
WhenElowynattemptstoswing her feet off the bed, it’s all Tharios can do not to roll his eyes. “If you try to stand now, you’ll end up in a pile of Elowyn on the floor, and I’ll just say I told you so.”
“Isn’t that all you are?” she asks sweetly, though she can’t hide the dizziness swimming in her eyes. “A pile of Tharios on the floor?”
Cerian snorts behind Tharios, and Tharios shakes his head. “You will be a very short pile of Elowyn.”
“Let’s avoid that,” Rominy says as he sweeps Elowyn into his arms. At least one of them seems determined to follow Tharios’s instructions.
Rominy carries Elowyn to the water closet as Tharios watches. They should be fine. Stifling a yawn, he eyes thatcoffee again. Perhaps he should ask the kitchen to send one that hasn’t been drowned in sugar. Did he even eat breakfast?
His eyes land on the full tray at the table. It seems he did not.
When Cerian clears his throat, Tharios turns. Cerian has that look he gets right before Father drags him to a more private place to talk.
“Is something wrong, Cer?”
Cerian glances at Arisanna before looking down at his hands.
Something is bothering him.
“You can talk to me,” Tharios says gently. “I know I’m not Father, but—”
“I turned our suite into a jungle, and I don’t know what to do about it,” Cerian blurts out.
