I stepped out from the corner and into view. “Are there any updates?”
“It was a long night. He’s stable, but depleted,” Fyn said.
My hand slid to my mouth as I caught my breath. Fyn’s eyes were bloodshot, and his hair was disheveled. Had he been there with him all night?
The red-headed woman looked the same. A pang of guilt ran through me for sleeping while they waited with him.
“We made it…in time.” I steadied my hands at my sides.
“Lady Cora, Lord Fyn, his highness has asked to see you both.” A slender fae man approached. “Keep your visit brief. He requires rest more than he needs visitors right now.”
He was awake.
My lips parted, but what I wanted remained unsaid.
I couldn’t bring myself to ask to go with them. Would he even want me there? I leaned against the wall, watching them as they left for the infirmary. Fyn didn’t look back at me.
My body sliddown the wall.
“Aelira, Lioran would like to see you.” Fyn crouched down to get eye level with me.
Our footsteps echoed down the quiet corridor. I grasped my gemstone, embracing its gentle warmth. My breath held as we entered the infirmary wing.
Cora tucked her hair behind her ears. She hovered over Lioran from a nearby chair. His hand was in hers.
A hint of pink brushed across Lioran’s cheeks. “I need a…moment…with Aelira,” he said.
He struggled as he attempted to sit. The healer pressed against his shoulder, her eyes narrowing on him. Cora hadn’t released his hand. Fyn tugged on her arm. She finally let him go.
“You…do not let him sit up. If he doesn’t listen, you come get me,” the healer warned me as she pointed to the door. I nodded. “Your Highness, do not overexert yourself.”
“Rowena has a point. Maybe I should stay to help.” Cora hesitated at the door.
“Cora.” He groaned. “I’m not…asking.”
She watched him until she slipped through the door.
He was so large, yet so frail in the infirmary bed. “Aelira…” He strained to lift his hand. “You’re…okay.”
I sat beside him. “Yes, I’m fine. How could you possibly worry about me?”
His laughter was fleeting—a moan soon followed.
“I’m so incredibly sorry. I would have never put you and Fyn in that position had I known.” Tears rolled down my cheeks.
He wiggled his fingers, lifting them ever soslightly.
“Don’t…be sorry.” He gasped as he tried to adjust himself in the bed.
“You need rest.” I instinctively grabbed his hand but pulled back. If he and Cora were something more. If they were together, this was overstepping.
“I wanted you…here.” He reached his hand toward mine, straining. “Thank…you.” He was reaching for me, the way I reached for him.
“Why are you thanking me?” I rested my hand next to his until our fingers brushed. Warmth flooded me.
“Fyn told me…how you…” He tried to shift in the bed, then clamped his jaw tightly, groaning through his teeth. I laid a hand on his shoulder, gently steadying him. “Took care…of me.”
“It was the least I could do. You saved me.”
