Then Tharios’s brows furrow, and he glances at Rominy. “Is your heart racing?”
“Sorry. I’m sorry. I was nervous about you checking her, and—”
“It’s fine. Let’s take some deep breaths and think of pleasant things that don’t involve Elowyn, all right? Mother, can you—”
“Of course. Deep breaths, my youngling. Just as Elowyn taught you.”
Together, they breathe, over and over, and Rominy lets his eyes close.
He’s a lot better at calming down now than he used to be. That’s for sure. At least Arisanna wasn’t fond of those shoes.
Elowyn is so good for him.
Soon, he looks very relaxed, and Tharios sets Elowyn’s arm back on the blankets at her side. “That’s better. Are you ready to try talking?”
Rominy nods. “I don’t know what I’ll be able to say, but I’ll do my best.”
Outsmarting the Magic
Episode 95
Rominyjustwantstogather Elowyn in his arms. She was so strong in the heartlanding. Vibrant.
Breathtaking.
How can she still be so ill here?
But Tharios said she would make it through this, and Rominy holds on to that.
“Do you wish to hold this conversation in private?” Tharios asks as he moves back to Rominy’s side of the bed.
How Tharios thinks he’s going to outsmart the magic of the heartlanding is hard to imagine, but Rominy gives him the benefit of the doubt as thoughts of his last moments with Elowyn flit across his mind.
He’d rather not talk about that to everyone in the room.
“If that’s all right,” he says quietly, and Tharios nods.
“I’ll go find Mother and Father. Let them know you’re doing as well as can be expected,” Arisanna says.
“Thank you, Sanna. For being here when I needed you.”
She tucks her loose hair behind her ear and nods. “If you...if you need to talk...”
She doesn’t finish her thought, but he understands.
And she understands how broken he is without Elowyn. How hard it is being awake while she slumbers. How much he wants to send everyone away and curl up beside Elowyn,as if his presence and touch might draw her back to him sooner.
Arisanna and Cerian let themselves out of the room, and Elowyn’s father hovers near. “I’m here to talk as well, Rominy. I have felt what you feel now. You are not alone.”
“Thank you,” Rominy says. “I...I may take you up on that.”
“Any time, you send someone, and I’ll be here. All right?”
Rominy nods as he struggles to control his emotions, and Elowyn’s parents soon join Arisanna and Cerian in the hallway.
“I’m not heartbound,” Tharios says as he pulls up a chair, “but I’ve studied the heartbinding a great deal. I’m also a safe person to talk to. Anything we discuss here will stay between the two of us. Now, I’m going to ask some simple questions. I want you to try to answer them.”
“All right.”
