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Another stab of pain coiled in his gut, and he stifled his groan. He didn’t want to wake Jalissa from the little bit of sleep she’d managed to snatch.
Jalissa stirred, her fingers sliding against his stomach. “Edmund?”
He rested his arm over hers. “Go back to sleep. You need your rest.”
She pushed to an elbow and rested a hand on his forehead. “Have you gotten any sleep?”
“Some.” He was not sure if what he’d gotten was sleep or slipping into unconsciousness. He laced his fingers with hers, the metal of her wedding ring warm against his finger. “I love you.”
He hadn’t said that nearly enough. And if he didn’t survive tomorrow, he had to make sure she knew that tonight.
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I love you too.”
He could not rest. Not yet. He rolled, wincing, to better face her. “I’m sorry, Jalissa.”
“Shh, you said that already.” She lightly ran her fingers through his hair. Even in the faint light of the stars above, her face was drawn in pained lines unlike her normal, ethereal elven beauty. “You should be resting.”
Probably. But he needed to say this. Just in case. “I’m not just sorry for the past few days. And the poisoning. And everything you’re enduring in the heart bond. But I’m sorry for how this mission turned out. For all the gambles and lies and…”
Jalissa pressed her finger to his lips. “I know, darling. I know.” She settled on the bedroll with her head on his shoulder. “We will get through this.”
It was becoming their mantra for this trip.
He just had to survive one more day, then he could start sorting out his life so he didn’t do this to Jalissa ever again.
But until then, he would have to be smart. They had been so busy fleeing for their lives that they hadn’t had much of a chance to talk. Nor had he shared everything he’d learned with Jalissa. Back in Mongavaria, he’d hoped to protect her in case they were caught and interrogated.
But now they were safe across the border in Escarland. And it was becoming clear that he would have to trust her with the information now.
He rested his hands over hers once again. “Jalissa, I need to tell you what I learned in Mongavaria, just in case—”
She shoved to her elbow again, pressing a hand over his mouth. “Do not talk like that. You are going to survive, got it?”
He reached up, hating the way his fingers trembled, and clasped her hand, pulling it away from his mouth. “I was going to say in case I am unconscious when we reach Aldon.”
“Oh.” Jalissa eyed him, clearly not believing his lie.
Well, it was only half a lie. He had been about to say in case he died, but it was also important that she knew in case he was unconscious when they arrived.
He grimaced and sucked in a sharp breath at the pain lancing through him, especially in his gut. But the pain was worth it as he tugged Jalissa back down, holding her in his arms against his chest. “I’ve seen a heart bond in action before. When Essie kept Farrendel alive, she passed out doing it the first two times. But when Essie was shot, Farrendel was awake and alert as he kept her alive. There’s a good chance I might not be very alert when we reach Aldon. But you’re the elf. You will be, and it’s vital that Averett is warned about Princess Bella and that General Bloam is given the information I discovered as soon as possible.”
Jalissa tensed in his arms, but she nodded. “All right. I can see your logic, even if I do not like it.”
“I know. I don’t really like my logic at the moment either.” He took her hand and guided it to his shirt. “I have a hidden pocket on the inside of my shirt where I’ve stashed the papers I took from the king’s hidden study. They will need to be given to General Bloam.”
Jalissa nodded in his arms once again, then she traced her fingers over the edge of the folded papers beneath the thin layer of fabric. “I will make sure he gets them. Anything else?”
Edmund picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles. “A few more things.”
By the time they finished talking, he curled tighter around Jalissa, pain shuddering through his entire body. Blackness that wasn’t caused by the night danced at the edges of his vision, blocking out the light of the stars.
When his voice trailed off as he was forced to grit his teeth and breathe through another wave of pain, Jalissa’s fingers rested on his cheek. “Is that all? If it is, you should rest. Morning will come soon enough.”
He gave a nod, only then registering that his eyes had already fallen shut of their own accord.
ChapterEleven
Jalissa gripped Edmund’s hand and listened to the steady clacking of the train wheels as it carried them closer and closer to Aldon.
