“We can’t.”
She slowly shakes her head, and he pulls her to his chest and lets his eyes slide closed. For a few minutes, he holds her as she clings to him.
Then the light dims, and his eyes flash open.
Stars above. They’re waking up.
He finds her eyes, but they’re full of an uncharacteristic fear, and his chest tightens.
“I’m not waking up,” she says.
But he knew that from the look on her face.
Did his touch do this? What was he thinking? If he hurt her, he’ll never forgive himself.
Then her fear disappears, replaced by a fierceness. “I am fighting, Rominy. I will never stop. So don’t you stop fighting for me. You are strong. And you will continue to be strong. Promise me! And don’t you dare blame yourself for anything. Do you hear me?”
He gulps in lungfuls of air and nods, pushing away the guilt filling him. For her, he’ll be strong. For her, he’ll do anything.
“I love you, Elowyn.” His words drown on the wind as she fades away in his arms.
Disoriented
Episode 94
Arisannalowersherselftothe edge of the bed beside Rominy when King Lorial lays a hand on her shoulder, and she looks up at him.
“It may be safer for you to sit a little farther away,” he says softly. “Waking from the heartlanding after such a long sleep can be disorienting. It’s likely been days for him. Perhaps even weeks. It’s impossible to say, and he won’t be able to tell us. I don’t wish for you to be injured if he doesn’t realize what’s happening as he’s coming back to us.”
Arisanna frowns. It’s hard to imagine Rominy hurting anyone, though she heard he tackled the man who threw a rock at Elowyn.
“Weeks?” Cerian asks as he lifts Arisanna and settles her in a chair a few feet from the bed, where she won’t be in danger if Rominy starts flailing. Cerian’s protectiveness makes her smile even as heat creeps up her neck and onto her cheeks.
“It’s possible,” Cerian’s father says. “Days is more likely.”
“Is he prone to stomach upset?” Queen Nestraya asks from near the head of the bed beside Tharios.
“Sometimes,” Arisanna says. “When he’s...overwrought.”
He lost his stomach contents the day he had to speak at his graduation ceremony in front of all those people. He was so nervous.
She tried to calm him in the private room assigned to the Crown Prince of Nunia for his protection while the crowds were milling about before the ceremony started, but he ended up vomiting all over her shoes. At least he missed her gown. She never told a soul why she was barefoot during the ceremony. Mother was horrified when she saw Arisanna’s bare toes peeping out from beneath her skirts.
Nearly as horrified as Rominy was when it happened.
But Arisanna carried on the way she always does, after she dumped her shoes and stockings in the nearest trash receptacle.
And Rominy did fine when the time came. He’s far more capable than he realizes.
King Lorial hands his wife an empty basin, and she sets it nearby just in case. Hopefully, Rominy won’t need it.
It’s better than a flower vase, at any rate.
Or Arisanna’s shoes.
“What about Elowyn?” Cerian asks. “Will he accidentally hurt her?”
“I’ve shielded her,” King Lorial says. “Just in case.”
