“You’re sweating.”
“It’s warm in the corridor.”
“You’re swaying.”
“I’m not.” I glance away. “Only a little.”
Lu’ma steps back as Kailorien walks up to me. His gaze takes in everything. Seeing everything. His eyes fall to the dress. He steps even closer, and without asking, touches the seam above my hip. Just with his fingertips. Just enough to feel where the thread had been mended, where the fabric had warped.
“Why are you wearing this again?”
I tense. “So youdidnotice.”
“Of course I did. You’ve been wearing this same dress fordays.Auryn, where are your others?”
I hesitate for one more moment. “It’s the only one I have left.”
Kailorien’s jaw clenches visibly. He steps back from the edge of his own temper. His fists curl and release. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s another burden.”
The silence between us is white-hot. Thick. Tangled with words unsaid.
“Starlight, go back to my wing.”
“No.”
“Auryn.”
“I saidno.” My voice is hoarse but steady. “The Grand Festival is coming in less than three weeks. I have to see the platform myself. I need to—”
“Auryn,” he cut in, stepping closer. “You will sit. You will drink water. You will order Lu’ma to call the Noctrist.”
A flash of panic in my gut. “The Noctrist won’t know what this is.”
“Sweetfire, you’re wearing a fever like armor and calling it resolve.”
I turn my face away. “This is what they all expect. For me to break. For me to hide. If I cannot do my duty today, if I miss another report, the Council will deem me unfit.”
“They already say that,” he snaps. Then, softer, “But not because ofyou.Because they fear you. Because they don’t want you strong.” His hand hovers near mine. “You are not weak for needing rest. Letmebe the one to defy them.”
I sway on my feet, enough that Lu’ma steps close.
Kailorien nods to her. “Help her back. I’ll come soon.”
“No,” I insist, shaking my head. “Don’t…please don’t stop me, Kail.”
He steps forward and touches my waist, guiding my body against his. “Today, I must. Don’t make me carry you, starlight.”
I lean into the shelter of him. Into the temptation of the safety he wields with his words alone.
“I am not ill. Something is out of balance in this unknowable body, but it will stop soon.”
Kailorien exhales. “Then rest until it does. And do not speak such things. This body has carried you through storms. Be kinder to it.”
“Simple to say for someone that walks in a living aegis.” I frown.
“If I could give you my strength, I would.” His arms tighten around me. “I thought if you stopped,” he whispers, “if you stoppedWeaving,your body would heal.”
