Alaric had instructed them to leave him to rest. He was stable for now. "He needs peace," he'd said. "And Bren needs treatment too."
The room felt heavy, the silence around them pressing in. Alaric had left shortly after, heading to treat Bren's injuries. Lyra and the rest of the group were given rooms to rest as well. Alaric asked Elara to stay with kealen so as to monitor his health.
The room was still, save for the faint sound of the crackling fire.
Kaelen lay motionless in the bed, his chest rising and falling in shallow breaths. The poison had been slowed, but the battle for his survival wasn't over. His face was still pale, and the once vibrant energy that radiated from him now seemed distant.
Elara sat beside him, her hands busy with preparing some fresh herbs she had gathered earlier, still moving mechanically as if she could do something to help even though there was little more left to be done.
Time passed slowly.
The quietness of the room felt like a cocoon around them, and Elara was lost in her thoughts when she heard a soft sound.
At first, she thought it was just her imagination.
But then—
"...Elara."
Her heart skipped a beat, she froze hearing Kaelen's voice.
She turned abruptly, her eyes wide in disbelief, her heart hammering in her chest.
"Kaelen?" she whispered, stepping toward him quickly.
His eyelids fluttered slightly as he tried to focus. Weakly, his hand reached out, fingers trembling.
"Elara..." His voice was barely a breath, weak but unmistakable.
"You're awake!" Elara's breath caught. "Let me fetch my father," she said urgently, but Kaelen's hand weakly grasped her wrist.
"No," he said softly, a faint, weak smile forming on his lips. "Stay."
Elara's chest tightened at the softness in his voice. She didn't move, only standing beside the bed. She watched him, unsure of what to do next.
Kaelen's eyes met hers, the usual fire in them dimmed but still there .
"You're the reason I was fighting," he continued, his voice hoarse but filled with sincerity. "I don't know if I could've made it without you here."
Elara's throat tightened as she felt her heart swell at his words. She hadn't expected him to say this, to acknowledge the strength she had tried so hard to hide.
He shifted slightly, weakly raising himself from the bed with effort. Elara moved to help him, but Kaelen gently held her back with a shake of his head.
"Let me…" he whispered.
Slowly, but with determination, Kaelen managed to sit up, closing the space between them. His movements were slow, but there was a deep, burning desire in his
eyes that made Elara's breath catch in her throat.
"I've been dreaming of this," he said softly, his voice strained, but genuine. "Of the day my lips will touch yours…"
Elara's heart raced, her breath quickening. She could feel the heat between them, the pull that had been there since the moment they first met. She reached up instinctively, her fingers brushing against his hand.
"Maybe today is the day," she said softly, a tender smile playing on her lips.
Before she could say anything else, Kaelen closed the final distance between them. His lips brushed against hers, soft at first, testing, almost hesitant—but the moment they touched, everything else fell away. The world outside of the room seemed to stop. The fire crackled faintly in the background, but nothing else mattered. In that moment, it was just them.
Kaelen's lips were still against hers. They sound of approaching footsteps was heard, it was faint at first but now getting closer.
Elara pulled back instantly, her breath catching. Her eyes widened slightly as she turned toward the door.
"Someone's coming," she whispered.
Kaelen's gaze lingered on her for a second longer, like he didn't want the moment to end.
Then the door opened. Lyra stepped in.
Her eyes went straight to Kaelen.
For a brief second, she froze.
"You're awake!" she rushed forward immediately, her voice filled with relief.
Elara stepped back quickly, putting distance between herself and the bed, her heart still racing.
Kaelen leaned back slightly, his strength clearly not fully returned, But he managed to form a faint smile, though his energy was clearly fading.
"I'm fine," he murmured, his voice hoarse, barely above a whisper. "Just need rest."
Elara stood up quickly, stepping back from the bed, suddenly feeling out of place in the room.
"I'll fetch my father," she said softly, her voice barely audible. She couldn't meet Lyra's eyes.
Before she left, she glanced back at Kaelen, her heart still racing in her chest. Their eyes met briefly, and he gave her a weak but meaningful look, as if thanking her for everything.
Elara turned and left the room, leaving Lyra alone with Kaelen.
Lyra's eyes watched Elara's retreating figure, her lips pressing into a thin line. She turned back to Kaelen, her hands smoothing over his blanket.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, her tone softer now, but still holding a trace of something sharp beneath the surface.
Kaelen shifted slightly, his hand weakly reaching for hers.
"I'm okay," he said, his voice more awake now. "Just… tired."
Lyra held his hand gently, her gaze flicking toward the door where Elara had just left.
"I didn't expect her to be here," Lyra said quietly.
"She was watching over me."
Lyra's fingers tightened slightly around his hand, though she said nothing.
Meanwhile, Elara stepped out into the hallway, her mind racing, her heart still unsteady from the kiss. She didn't know what to make of it. She hadn't expected him to say such things, let alone act on them. It felt like everything was changing. She needed to focus. But the heat in her chest—the overwhelming feeling that something was shifting between her and Kaelen—made it hard to think straight.
Her father was given a room in the palace to stay while treating Kealen. As she reached her father's door, she paused.
Her heart beat harder. Was it too late to go back?
Was it too late to make things right?
She knocked on the door softly, taking a deep breath to steady herself before entering.
"Father," she said, her voice a little softer than usual. "Kaelen's awake. He's stable."
Alaric looked up from the papers he was writing. He set them aside and stood up quickly, his expression serious but not panicked.
"That's good news," he said, his tone calming her. "But we need to make sure the poison doesn't return."
Elara nodded, but her mind was elsewhere. Her gaze shifted to the door, and for a brief moment, she thought she saw a shadow pass through the corridor outside.
She didn't know what she was feeling anymore.