Declan rolled over onto his side, burying his head in the soft pillows. He opened his eyes fully against them. Darkness. Blessed darkness. He could see the faintest outline of light at the edges where his skin and the pillow met.
“Sunglasses? Do we have them?” Finley suddenly asked.
“I would spell him, but, again, that would not be wise,” Rhalyf said.
“No spells!” Declan hadn’t meant to shout. “Please. No spells. I need to get used to the light.”
He lifted his head millimeter by millimeter from the pillow. The golden light from the single wisp that Gemma held almost lovingly on her palm was the only light in the room. He was in the Eryas Palace. From the size and grandeur of this bed…
“Is this Aquilan’s bedroom?” He asked as he shaded his eyes and glanced around.
“It is and he was right by your side until a moment ago,” Shonda said as she gently stroked his back.
“Vesslan needed him,” Michael said dryly. “For something. He didn’t say, did he?”
So he did not abandon me upon seeing proof I am the Night Prince. And what about everyone else? What will they think of me?
Hesitantly, Declan turned around to face everyone in the room. Michael and Shonda were sitting on the edge of the bed together. There were tears in Shonda’s eyes and Michael looked like he had been holding himself together for some time. Gemma’s eyes were huge as they stared at his face, gaze flickering all over it as if to be certain it was really him.
Helgrom was smoking his pipe by the fireplace where some low embers gleamed. Snaglak stood opposite him with Glom sprawled out between them, farting and snoring softly. The naki needed to be taken to the garden soon or fangs would be spraying from his backend any moment now.
Rhalyf was seated in an armchair within easy reach of him. His glamour was firmly in place and Declan wondered if he intended to tell anyone he was a Night Elf too. And then there was Finley. His best friend was, in fact, behind him, on the opposite side of the bed. He had a hand on Declan’s shoulder. Declan blinked rapidly as his eyes strove to get used to even that single wisp and faint firelight.
“You’re all here,” he found himself saying.
“Of course, we are, sweetheart,” Shonda said as she reached over and touched his nearest hand.
“We wouldn’t be anywhere else,” Michael assured him.
“It’s still me, Gem,” Declan said, shortening her name in a way that only he did.
Gemma swallowed hard, but she was smiling through tears. “I know. It’s weird, but you look like…”
“Like what?” he asked.
“Like what I remember,” she murmured.
He closed his eyes for a moment. She was thinking about the war.
“I remember peeking out when you were fighting and… and I remember,” she whispered. “You look like that. Like… you. Our protector.”
Declan’s throat felt tight. Protector. Not monster. Protector. That was all he needed to hear. He opened his eyes and found himself meeting Rhalyf’s gaze. The other Night Elf’s shoulders looked more relaxed than before. He doubted most people would have noticed there was any tension in Rhalyf’s seemingly languid sprawl. But there was. He was an excellent actor.
“I think I’d like to see myself. I don’t remember…” Declan reached up and drew a hand down his own face. “I don’t remember what I look like. I don’t remember much.”
“We know, honey,” Shonda assured him. “Aquilan, Finley and Rhalyf explained things to us.”
“As much as we know,” Finley added.
Declan nodded and slid his legs off of the bed. His boots had been taken off. He wriggled his toes against the warm wood. Finley offered him a hand up. He gratefully took it and even accepted Finley’s offer to put his arm over the smaller man’s shoulder. They hobbled towards the bathroom together.
“How do I look?” Declan asked softly.
“Ugly as always,” Finley assured him with a smile.
“Great. That’s what I wanted to hear,” Declan grinned.
“You… you look like you, Declan. It’s still you,” Finley told him firmly. “And everyone sees that and knows it.”
