“Tory?”
Gabriel’s voice came sharp with relief. He was slouched in the chair beside the cot, his tunic clean at last. His eyes werered, sunken, shadowed by exhaustion. He had not slept—Viktor could see it in the twitch of his jaw, the tremor in his hand where it gripped the edge of the bed.
“You’re awake.”
Viktor turned his head toward him, throat raw. “Amerei.”
Gabriel leaned forward in the chair, eyes hollow but alight now with relief.
His hand clapped down on Viktor’s shoulder, fingers biting through the bandages.
“She doesn’t know. Not yet. But we’ll bring her home.”
Viktor’s lips quaked into the ghost of a smile, eyes closing as if the sound of her name alone could steady him.
Gabriel huffed, shaking his head.
“Dask, Tory. You’ve burned yourself to ash again. Your body’s wrecked—and hers isn’t faring much better… not after what you put it through in Westport.”
Viktor tried to smirk, but it twisted into a wince.
The door creaked open.
Saecily swept in, braid slung over her shoulder, arms already full of bandages. She caught the tail end of Gabriel’s mutter and shook her head.
“How either of you found time for that—with a war on your backs—I’ll never know.”
Gabriel didn’t miss a beat.
“Even our hero only needs a few moments out of his day.”
For the first time in what felt like years, Viktor’s laugh cracked the silence—weak, raw, but real.
Saecily bent over him, fingers cool against his burning brow.
“Fever still climbs. You’ll take broth and rest—nothing more.”
She dabbed his cheek with a damp cloth, her touch brisk but careful, before sweeping toward the door.
The moment she slipped out, Viktor’s eyes flicked up to Gabriel.
“Get me out of here,” he rasped.
Gabriel blinked at him, half a laugh breaking in disbelief.
“Where are we going, Tory?”
Viktor’s cracked lips twitched.
“Amethyst.”
Gabriel leaned back in his chair, dragging a hand down his tired face.
“Perhaps we aim for sitting upright before storming palaces, hm?”
The door creaked open again.
Saecily had returned, arms folded tight across her chest, eyes narrowing as if she’d heard every word.
