Renny nodded, a little furrow in her brow. “I’m not going to drink it.”
Perian frowned. “But—”
“It tastes terrible. I don’t want it. I suppose someone had bettersupervise.”
Oh, right, an anvil-shaped hint.
“Yes,” Perian agreed, clearing his throat. “The doctor said I’d better make sure you take it.”
They both looked at Molun, who rolled his eyes.
“You need to work on your delivery,” he told them, before he winked and pulled the door mostly closed again.
Perian hurried across the room, and since Renny was struggling to sit up, he perched on the side of the bed and leaned in so he could wrap her up in a hug. She clung to him, but she definitely didn’t feel as strong as she usually was.
“Oh, Renny, I’m so sorry.”
A sob welled up, then another, and a moment later, she was crying in his arms, and he shifted higher onto the bed and just held her, letting her cry it all out. He could only imagine how scary and upsetting it was to have your body not work the way you wanted it to. It tugged at his heart to hear her crying like this, but he wasn’t about to force her to keep these emotions inside.
“I can’t ride anymore,” she sobbed into his chest.
He patted her back, running his hand up and down it, trying to soothe her.
“We couldn’t bear it if something happened to you,” he said gently. “Right now, there’s a risk that you’ll have a spell while riding. That doesn’t mean you won’t get well and be able to ride again.”
Perian was sure he wasn’t the only one imagining what would have happened if she’d had a dizzy spell while on her horse. He suspected the Queen wasn’t going to let her daughter ride anytime soon.
Renny sniffed loudly, and he was sure she was getting snot all over his coat. He smiled to himself and just patted her back some more.
“Do you think so?” she asked.
“You’ve gotten well before,” he pointed out.
She scoffed. “Do I ever get well?”
Perian grimaced. “Well, we don’t know what the future will hold, but you’ve seemed very well in the weeks I’ve known you, and while this is a setback, it doesn’tmean you’re back to zero. You’ve been healthier than you said you were in months, so it wouldn’t surprise me if you recovered from this even faster than usual.”
She tilted her face up to meet his gaze. Her eyes were red and puffy, her face covered in tears.
“Do you really think so?”
And Perian, who didn’t know anything of the sort, poured every ounce of belief that he possessed into his words.
“I’m sure of it,” he told her. “Why wouldn’t you? It took you a long time to recover when you were very unwell. But you’re only a little unwell now, so it should only take you a little while to recover. I know it’s a terrible blow, but that happens in life sometimes; things seem to be going so well, and then something happens that makes you question everything. The important thing is what you do with that challenge. I don’t mean that you should fling back the covers and scale the wall out your window.”
Her lips tipped up into a faint smile.
He continued, “But you should believe in yourself. Maybe you won’t be back on a horse tomorrow or next week. But I’m sure we can get you back to a picnic outdoors in not too long.”
Her face fell. “Our picnics.”
“You know what the amazing thing about picnics is?”
Her brow furrowed. “What?”
He leaned closer, like he was imparting a great secret. “You can have them anywhere. Even in a princess’s sitting room. Or on her bed.”
Her eyes widened, and then a giggle escaped. She clapped her hand over her mouth, like she wasn’t supposed to be laughing when she was ill. Her eyes were dancing, and Perian was delighted to see that light in them again.
