Mal.
He’d gotten into bed with me and was holding me while I cried. His hand found mine and threaded our fingers together as he nuzzled into my hair.
“I’m here, Wen. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you.” His voice was a murmur against my temple. Soft and desperate and full of promises. “I promise. I swear on everything I am. I’m not leaving you.”
I cried harder at those words. Couldn’t stop the fresh wave of tears that soaked his shirt. All the tears I’d held back over the years came pouring out in a flood I couldn’t control.
He just held me through it. Didn’t try to shush me or tell me it was okay or make it stop. Just let me soak his shirt with my pain while he kept murmuring promises against my hair. His thumb traced circles on the back of my hand. His other arm tightened around my waist to pull me closer against his chest.
When I finally ran out of tears (when my body was physically incapable of producing more) he pressed a kiss to my shoulder.
“What hurts?” he asked quietly.
“My head.”
He kissed my cheek. “I will be right back.”
He slipped out of bed and I immediately felt the loss of his warmth. Heard him walk to the door. Heard him murmur something to someone outside in a voice too low for me to make out the words. The door closed.
A few minutes later he was back, climbing into bed with a steaming cup.
“Healing tea,” he said. “It will help with the headache. Drink.”
I sat up with effort and took the cup from him. Sipped carefully because it was hot. It tasted herbal and bitter but warmth spread through me immediately, starting in my stomach and radiating outward. The pounding in my head eased to a dull ache.
I drained the cup and handed it back to him.
“Want to talk about it?” he asked gently.
I shrugged. “It was a nightmare. Same old, same old.”
“You never had one of those when I was in your apartment.”
I glared at him. “Well. I wonder what happened to trigger them back.”
Guilt crashed through the bond with enough force to make me gasp. His guilt. So strong it made my chest ache in sympathy.
“I am sorry, Wen. Please.” He dropped to his knees next to the bed and looked up at me with teary eyes that gleamed in the firelight. “I hate this. I hate what I have done to you. I will choose an heir tomorrow. We will go back to your Earth. I will fix this.”
I sighed. “It’s not that simple.”
“Why not?”
“Because there are still threats to you. Andreas might have yielded, but that doesn’t mean everyone accepts you as king. You heard the nobles. Some of them were openly disrespectful. You have to fix that before you can leave. Otherwise, you’re just abandoning your kingdom for real this time.”
He winced. “I know. You are right. But I do not know how to fix both. How to secure my kingdom and keep you happy.”
“I don’t know either.”
“What can I do for you? Please. Tell me what you need.”
“Just give me time,” I said quietly. “I need time to process. To figure out what I want. What I can handle.”
He nodded slowly. “Time. Yes. I can give you time.”
He stood and walked toward the bathroom. Paused at the door.
“I love you, Wen. That has not changed. Will never change. No matter how angry you are. No matter how badly I have failed you. I love you.”
