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“As soon as Esta is recovered,” I offered. I only hoped it wouldn’t be that extensive every time, the weight not as heavy. Otherwise, I was going to have to train a few others to help. I was man enough to admit that the thought of having to do that a hundred times was terrifying.
John was gone again, and I picked up a book to read while I waited for Esta to come around.
No doubt about it, things in Dra Skor were about to get a whole lot more interesting.
* * *
“Keir.”
I jerked awake to the sound of Emric’s voice. He was sitting at a table using his magic to show enough light to read a book, taking his turn watching Esta, while I slept atrociously curled up on the couch. I had at least grabbed a pillow off the bed. I wasn’t a total masochist.
I sat up slowly and looked in his direction, to see him nod toward Esta.
She was sitting up in bed, disoriented, looking at the tops of her hands, switching to the palms, just to flip them over again.
She was awake? She’d slept for more than a day, so I supposed it was time.
“Your Highness,” Emric said nicely. “Amory thought it best to bring you to Keir’s room and demanded we look out for you round the clock. Shall I ring for her?”
The queen shook her head aggressively but didn’t say a word.
I stood, threw my shirt back on, and slowly made my way for the bed, grabbing the water off the nightstand and handing it to her as I did.
She took it with shaky hands and took a quick drink, breaths heavy and uneven.
“Esta,” I offered gently. “Please breathe.”
Her eyes went to mine, and she took one more drink before handing it to me.
I took it from her and grabbed hold of her hand. “Breathe, please.”
She shook her head, a tear falling from her face before she bolted past me and into my bathroom. For someone who looked so worn, she sure as hell could move quickly.
“Should I call for Amory?” Emric asked.
“Let’s see if we can get her calmed down enough to tell us if that’s what she wants or not,” I offered. For Amory’s master plan of keeping this a secret, it sure would be suspicious if Amory came to my room at this hour of night.
“Esta?” I asked. “I’m walking in the bathroom.” I turned the corner to find Esta standing there, both hands on the edge of the bathroom counter, looking at her reflection in a mirror and still breathing heavily. I leaned against the doorframe, not wanting to spook her.
She looked at me in the reflection of my bathroom mirror.
I smiled at her. “Hi.”
She took a deep breath of air. “Hi.”
“How can I help?”
Her green eyes welled with tears as she took a gasp of a breath.
“Esta?” I asked again, taking a step. Had she woken in the middle of the night having forgotten we got her switched back? Because I could see how jarring that would be.
“You already helped,” she got out as the tears picked up in speed. She looked at herself in the reflection and gave her head a shake. “I never thought I was going to see myself again.”
Just when I thought Dra Skor couldn’t break my heart any more than it already had, she had to go and say that.
And there, right there in my lavatory, one of the strongest women I knew, the queen of Dra Skor, slumped to the ground and wept. Though I knew we could have no future together, I was not about to leave her alone like that.
I got on the floor with her and wrapped my arms around her. She clung to me, sobs wracking her body. I said into her hair, “Listen, I know you’re not used to being able to feel much. If me hugging you gets to be too much, please just say so.”
