“Aye,” she said softly. “Perhaps ye should be as well.”
He rubbed a hand over his hair, exhaustion lining his face. “Too much tae do, lass, and with Kaiden not there tae guide, the tasks fall on me.”
Ferra drew in a breath. “I’m certain he would be if his body hadnae decided otherwise.”
“Aye, I know,” Erik replied, blowing out a breath. “I’m glad tae see he’s resting. I’ve never seen someone train as hard as he did. He pushed himself far more than he should have.”
“That was what I tried tae tell him as well,” she answered, reaching over to touch Kaiden’s hand. “But he’s too stubborn.”
Erik chuckled, dropping his own hand. “Aye, lass, that he is. We all are. ’Tis lasses like ye that are the balm that keeps us from doing something truly stupid.” He then looked at Ferra. “Unless ye are just as stubborn.”
She swallowed, knowing he was talking about her coming to the battlefield, even though she had been told to stay behind. “I couldnae let him die,” she admitted. “He wasnae ready, and now look at him. Wot if he hadnae survived? Wot if I hadnae?” Ferra couldn’t go on. The alternative was far too painful to think that she could have lost her husband, her love, like that. They had come so dangerously close to losing him.
“Aye.”
The second-in-command didn’t elaborate on his words, but Ferra could see the same fear etched on his face that she had felt in her heart seeing Kaiden out there, barely able to stand.
“Why dinnae ye go get some rest?” he said after a moment. “I can watch him, though I do think he would prefer yer lovely face over mine if he happens tae wake.”
Ferra wanted to protest, to be here when Kaiden did wake, but the pull of exhaustion was far too great. “Ye will wake me?” she asked as she stood, stretching out the kinks in her own body.
“Of course.”
Ferra leaned down and brushed her lips over his forehead. “I will see ye soon, love,” she told him, saying a small prayer for her words to reach him somehow.
When she finally made it to her old chambers, Ferra was barely able to remove her boots before she fell into the waiting bed, her eyes shutting nearly immediately. It seemed that Kaiden wasn’t the only one who needed to rest.
Ferra awoke to a dark, cold room, swearing that she hadn’t lit the fire in the fireplace before she had fallen asleep. How long had she been asleep?
“Ye’re finally awake.”
Startled by the sound that sounded like her husband, she sat up in bed, searching the small chamber for his form. “Wot are ye doing out of bed, Kaiden?” she demanded, locating him near the dark fireplace.
He chuckled, and she heard the sound of flint scraping across the stone before the fireplace exploded in light, illuminating Kaiden’s form. “I’ve never been one tae be in bed alone, Ferra.”
He didn’t try to push himself out of the chair he was settled in, so she climbed off the bed to go to him instead. “Ye’re awake,” she breathed, reaching out to touch his stubbled chin.
“Aye,” he replied, his eyes searching hers.
There was pain in his depths, but some of the ghastly paleness of his face had dissipated, leaving the weariness she knew he felt.
“How are ye feeling?”
“Bloody wonderful,” he replied, giving her a hint of a smile. “Iona has been giving me some of those foul-smelling teas ye prefer. Says it will dull the pain.”
“And has it?”
“Aye,” he answered, reaching out to touch her cheek. “I’ve forgotten how lovely ye are, Ferra.”
She smiled at the tenderness in his voice as she perched herself on the arm of the chair. “Ye scared me, Kaiden.”
He loosened a breath. “Aye, I know, lass. And I am vera sorry. I should have...I wasnae ready.”
Ferra felt no justice for hearing him admit it, instead pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “I know, but ye had tae, and I can understand why. Ye’re a warrior first. It would be like someone telling me tae stop healing. I could never.”
His arm snaked around her waist, and he pressed his face into her side. “When I saw ye on that battlefield, mah bloody heart stopped, Ferra. I’ve never felt fear as I did then, and the mere thought of ye being injured—even one hair on yer head—made me want tae slaughter them all.”
“I should have never gone,” she admitted. “’Twas selfish of me tae do so when ye already had so much tae worry over. I was...I just couldnae lose ye, Kaiden. I love ye.” There, she had said it. And the moment the words left her mouth, Ferra felt the weight of them inside. She would do anything for her husband, anything at all.
