“That’s it.”
“It’s much too vague.” She glanced down at the book. “What else would you like me to try to read?”
“Nothing.” I rubbed her arm. “Sleep. We can dig into it tomorrow.”
Her slow nod jerked her head up and down. “I’ll keep it in my pack, and you can take it any time. It’ll be inside the closet.” She leaned back against the cushions and her eyes slid closed before she snapped them open again.
I slid off the sofa. “Go to bed. Sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“You’re claiming your court’s core tomorrow. I mean swallowing it.” Her head tilted and she studied my face. “What do you think that means?”
“I’m going to find out.”
“Yeah.” She got up and her body swayed. I latched onto her, holding her steady. She really was tired. So was I. All of us were.
And we’d barely gotten started.
“Watch out for yourself tomorrow,” she said softly, her eyes locking on mine.
“I will.”
“Good.” She eased past me, and I followed. I stayed behind her until she’d climbed into bed, where I tugged the blankets up to her throat.
“A kiss on the cheek, Mother?” she whispered, her eyes already closed and a sweet smile on her face.
I leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Sleep well, Reyla.”
“You too, Tempest.”
“Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I swore she’d drifted off before I left the room.
Rather than flitting, I crept through the halls. There’d be little sleep for me tonight. I had too much to do and not enough time to get it all done.
Brodine was leaning against the wall outside my door.
“Hey,” I said as I approached him.
He turned, and relief spilled onto his face. “I knocked, but you didn’t answer, and I was worried. No way you could’ve slept through my banging.” His cheeks pinkened. “I figured you’d left, that you had something to do. I decided to wait.” He strode over to me, and we paused beside the railing. “Are you alright? You look sad.”
“I’m fine.” No, but I was keeping most of my mourning to myself.
“If you need to talk or just sit and stare at the fire, I’ll sit with you. I won’t chatter or make you share if you don’t want to. I just want to be your friend.” He sounded so earnest that my heart cracked wide open.
“Thank you.” What I had to do needed to be done alone.
“I wanted to tell you that. I know I . . .” His swallow workedits way down his throat. “I want our friendship more than anything. It means the world to me. I won’t push for anything else.”
“I appreciate it.”
His nod jerked out. “Remember that. Any time you want to talk or take a walk or make cookies or something, I hope you’ll come to me.”
“You know I can’t bake.”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t make cookies. I’d still eat them. I need what we had before; it’s worth everything to me.”
