Chapter 84: Sneaking Around

Esme:

I could hardly believe what I was doing.

It was thirteen minutes past one in the morning, and instead of sleeping peacefully in my dorm like any sensible person would, I was sneaking through the corridors of Moonveil’s infirmary like a criminal.

The fourth floor was almost completely silent at this hour. Most of the lights had been dimmed, leaving the long corridors illuminated by the faint silver glow of moonlight filtering through the tall windows and the occasional enchanted lamp placed along the walls. My footsteps made no sound as I moved forward, my presence hidden beneath a simple concealment spell.

All because I couldn’t sleep.

Three days.

It had been three days since Elara’s attack. Three days since she had been found unconscious outside the academy. Three days since no one had been able to give us a proper explanation for what had happened to her. And earlier that evening, the news had finally reached us that Elara had woken up.

I should have felt relieved.

I did feel relieved. But apparently, knowing she was awake wasn’t enough to calm the restlessness that had been sitting inside me for the past few days. I kept wondering how she was doing. Whether she was truly alright. Whether she remembered what happened. Whether she was scared. And most annoyingly, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

So here I was.

I told myself I only wanted to see her. A single glimpse, enough to confirm with my own eyes that she was alive and breathing and that the girl who had somehow managed to become the center of our lives within barely a month was truly awake.

Then I would leave.

I rounded the final corner leading toward the private rooms when I froze. Someone had just stepped out of Elara’s room.

My body reacted before my mind did. I immediately stepped backward into the shadows beside the wall and held my breath, instinctively pulling a concealment spell over myself. A thin veil of magic spread around me, dulling my presence until even someone with sharp senses would have difficulty noticing me unless they were specifically searching.

The figure walked away from the room, walking down to the opposite end of corridor. I stared at his back, and for a second, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Then my brows slowly pulled together.

That looked like Lorien.

It was Lorien.

I watched the Headmaster walk down the opposite corridor with his usual calm steps, his dark clothes blending into the shadows. He disappeared around the corner without once looking back.

I remained exactly where I was.

The Headmaster visiting an injured student wasn’t unusual. He was the Headmaster, after all. Students got injured. Students got sick. Sometimes he checked on them personally.

But at one in the morning?

That was different.

Then again, Lorien probably wasn’t free enough during the day to visit whenever he wanted. That poor man had more responsibilities than the rest of us combined. He had the academy to manage, the council to deal with, and an entire family line depending on him.

Maybe the middle of the night was simply the only time he could breathe.

I waited for several more minutes. Finally satisfied that Lorien had actually left and there was no one else lurking around the corridor, I stepped away from the shadows and continued toward Elara’s room.

My heart had no business beating this fast. I was literally just going to look at a sleeping woman. That was it.

Outside her door, I stopped and extended a small thread of magic toward the room. It slipped through the crack beneath the door and returned to me moments later, confirming what I had expected.

She was asleep.

I quietly pushed the door open and stepped inside. A small alert spell settled around the entrance behind me. If anyone else came down this corridor, I would know before they reached the room.

I turned toward the bed, and nearly forgot how to breathe.

She was sleeping. That was all. Nothing more. Yet seeing her lying there somehow made the knot in my chest tighten instead of loosen.

Silver moonlight spilled through the large window beside her bed, falling across her hair and the pale sheets. Her silver and black strands were spread over the pillow, and the peacefulness of her face made her look completely different from the girl I had grown used to seeing around the academy. There was no stubborn glare. No sarcastic response waiting behind her lips. No challenge in those silver eyes.

She looked fragile. Far more fragile than I had ever seen her.

There were no visible wounds on her body. The healers had cleaned everything. Yet they still hadn’t discharged her, and that alone was enough to tell me how serious it had been.

I stood beside her bed.

One minute passed. Then another. I had no idea how long I remained there. At some point, time simply stopped existing.

I watched the slow rise and fall of her chest, watched moonlight move across her face as clouds passed in front of the moon, and watched her sleeping form as though I needed to convince myself she was truly here.

I had entered the room intending to leave immediately. Instead, I stood there rooted. Eventually, my feet started getting numb. I finally took that as a sign that I needed to leave before someone caught me standing over an unconscious princess like a complete lunatic.

I turned around to leave, when a soft sound stopped me and my entire body went still, making me immediately turn back.

Something had changed. The peaceful expression on Elara’s face was gone. Her brows had pulled together, her lips parting as a small sound escaped them.

I moved closer just as another sound escaped her lips. Immediately followed by another. Pain twisted across her face.

My heart immediately picked up speed. I was beside her bed in seconds, watching as beads of sweat appeared along her forehead.

Was she in pain? Should I call a healer?

My hand was already halfway toward the alarm beside the bed when I heard it.

A sob.

It was soft and broken. My movements stopped as I watched her lips tremble before a word escaped through.

"Mom..."

The single word nearly froze me.

She sobbed again.

"Mom..."

A tear slipped from the corner of her eye. Then another. And another.

My heart clenched so tightly it actually hurt. She wasn’t experiencing physical pain. She was having a nightmare.

I stood there, staring at the girl who was strong enough to stand against Reign Valemont without trembling, but who was now crying in her sleep while calling for the mother she had lost barely months ago. At least I believed it was her human mother.

Before I could stop myself, before I could think about whether I had any right to do it, my hand reached toward hers. My fingers hovered only a few inches above her skin.

And then I took her hand.