“No, nonsense is ‘blah blah, blee blah,’ that was a word. He saidswan. More than once.”
“Stop, Daniel,” I warned. I pursed my lips.
But thenCyrus said,“Sv…an…a.”And we both looked.
“Thatwas clearly your name,” he stated. “That was ‘Svana.’”
“Was it?”I asked. “I didn’t hear that. It sounded more like-”
“Come to think of it, Svana is pretty close to swan? Is he–”
“Where am I?”Cyrus asked. He rocked his neck wildly, still fighting the fever.
I was on my knees, at the side of the bed, pulling his hand against my chest, lace through mine. I shook him with the free one, panicked.
“Cyrus, stop,” I said. “Don’t say that.”
“Don’t say that?” Ser Willoughby knelt beside us. “Cyrus?” he said to him. “Cyrus, can you hear me, mate? You’re in the Palace. It’s Daniel. Svana’s here.”
“Where….Where’s Sah…” Evergreen’s voice faltered. “Sa…Vanah.”
I shut my eyes, anxiously. “Don’t say that,” I said. “Please.”
Willoughby scowled, then pushed me toward the bed. “Don’t discourage him. Why would you discourage that? Talk to him, you idiot!”
“What?” I asked. “But he– What if someone hears him?”
He made a face and gestured obnoxiously to the empty room. “Talk to your Cyrus, Svana.”
“W-What do I even say?” I asked. “What do I–?”
“Svana,”my Sword said again, crystal clear.
“Cyrus?” I asked. I inched closer.
“I…”He said the single word then stopped. There were several seconds between that and,“I, I… I will be your brave… bravest knight.”
“Damn,” Willoughby cursed. “Damn. I’m sorry, Princess. I thought that would be more profound. Perhaps he is just mumbling.”
But my heart had come to a stop. I couldn’t breathe. Then I did, all at once. Shaky. Needy. Scared.
“Whatdid you say?” I asked him, drawing even closer.
“I said I thought it’d be more profound,” Willoughby said.
“Not you! Him. God, Willoughby. Honestly.”
He shrugged. “He said, he said he’d be a knight,” Willoughby explained. “He’s probably confused with me here next to him. I’m sorry. I really thought the swan was going to mean something.”
“No,” I said. “He–He didn’t. He couldn’t have. He–”
“Brave,”Cyrus exhaled.“Bravest knight.”Then he left me for some other dream, deep in sleep. His grip loosened in mine.
“I think you should get some rest,” my cousin said. “Why don’t you go on then? I’ll–”
“Daniel,” I cut him off sharply. “I…I need you to do something very strange for me and without asking me why. Can you do that? Can you follow orders?”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” he said.
