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Rymedur wiped away the blooming blood with the tip of his thumb, and her mouth moved beneath it. She mumbled a response in her still-delirious state. It was incoherent, and had Rymedur not had his thumb on her lips, he would have missed it.

‘I love you.’

Those three words had him frozen in a second, and had he not already been kneeling beside the tub, he was sure it would have brought him to his knees. She would have brought him to his knees—she already had. Even in her delirious, worn-out state.

Chapter 28

Areanel

Areanel shifted under the sheets, and a huff left her lips. She was still in pain.

Blinking away the sleep, she felt something move beside her, and turning her head, Areanel gazed down to find a head of midnight blue.

Rymedur sat on a stool—dragged over to her side—and wore only leather pants, his shirt discarded. He had fallen asleep, and his head lay on the bed, facing her. His hair was unruly, like he had been running his fingers through it. One hand lay delicately on her inner thigh; the other clutched her right hand, which had been brought to rest against his full lips.

His breathing was soft, his face calm and peaceful. Areanel did not want to disturb him, so she took to silently observing the damage done to her body.

Moving what she could without waking Rymedur, she noticed that her broken bones and dislocated shoulder had been reset and healed—nothing but a dull ache remained. Lifting her left hand to grab the sheet that covered her, Areanel noticed her nails had been cut and filed down, so they were no longer chipped and broken.

Peeling back the cover, Areanel found she was naked save for the bandages littering her bruised body. She had been cleaned; thick blood no longer coated her skin. Her left shin, thigh and her right hip were wrapped in bandages. She went to lift the end of the bandage with her left hand when her right wrist was suddenly squeezed.

‘Don’t.’

Her eyes darted to the side, meeting the emerald gaze she had grown to adore.

Rymedur’s lips were a featherlight touch as he kissed her knuckles. Raising his head, still trying to blink the sleep from his eyes, his long eyelashes fluttered. The hand that rested on her inner thigh began drawing soothing circles against her hot skin.

Areanel pulled her hand from his grasp to move the stray strands of hair that clung to his forehead. Then, gently, she used her thumb to rub the dark circles that had appeared under his mesmerising green eyes.

‘How long?’ Her voice sounded harsh, like rocks grinding together. Her breath rattled, and it took most of her energy to push out those two simple words.

Rymedur’s eyes seemed to shutter at the sound of her voice, and Areanel noted that a muscle in his jaw feathered as he moved to sit beside her. ‘You should try to rest some more. You have not yet fully healed. Sleep, my love.’

‘How long?’ she repeated, wheezing.

With a defeated sigh, his head hung low. ‘One week,’ Rymedur whispered. ‘Your brothers visited. They explained what happened. What he ordered his Soldazt to do to you… They feel guilty for not stopping it.’ Loose strands of hair fell into his eyes as he shook his head, and Areanel found herself missing the sight of the green gems, even if it was for a second. His anger brimmed. ‘They should have stopped it.’

‘They could do nothing.’

‘But why you? Why must you always suffer?’ Rymedur clutched her hand to his chest. ‘I cannot bear to see you hurt. It tears my heart in two.’

‘I can take it. More than my brothers, I can take the pain. I have learnt to live with it, to endure it. And after everything…’ Pausing, she heaved a breath, collecting herself. ‘Even if I told you all the things that frighten me, nothing compares to the thought of my brothers in this type of pain. That is something you would never be able to understand. And you may say that I don’t know about life beyond this kingdom’s borders and its horrors, but trust me when I tell you—I know enough. And it is nothing compared to this feeling. If I can protect them, shield them from these horrors—even by giving myself up—I will do it in a heartbeat. I can fix everything, like I always have.’ Areanel spoke with conviction, even as her voice cracked and emotion poured through.

‘You needn’t always be so strong, love. Your brothers can handle themselves. You won’t always be able to distance them from pain. And what of your pain? How do you think I feel—your children feel—when we see you suffer?’ Rymedur held her face in his hands, breath hot against her cheek.

Tears streamed down her face, and she furiously tried to wipe them away. ‘I’m sorry. I—’

Rymedur didn’t let her finish. ‘Do not apologise. Pain demands to be felt, or it will fester and grow until someone is ready to feel it. And you cannot heal the pain you are in if you refuse to feel it, little demon.’

‘Can you hold me?’ Her voice—full of pain and despair—cracked.

Rymedur didn’t reply, simply climbing over her to sit on the bed. His back rested against the headboard; one arm tucked under her legs whilst the other curled around her waist, lifting her body onto his lap; Areanel felt weightless as he cradled her to his bare chest.

It was silent as she rested her head against his shoulder, one hand around his waist, tracing the lines of his muscles along his back. The motion was easy—natural.

Her other hand clutched the silver chain dangling from his neck—his father’s. Rymedur had told her it was the last and only thing he had to remember his human father by. Now, she held onto it like a lifeline, like the cold bite of metal would ground her.

Had it only been a week? It felt like a lifetime had passed.