Chapter 70: A Gray Afternoon

Corvin found the children tucked away in a corner that had been hastily converted into a makeshift play area. Valen sat on the window seat, knees drawn to his chest, staring out at the grey afternoon sky.

Daerys was beside him, his wooden block long abandoned on the floor, his small head resting against his brother’s shoulder.

The other two, Rynan and Soren were tangled up in each other, Ryan trying to sleep.

Corvin paused in the doorway, taking in the scene. He had served Zarek for over a decade, had seen the worst of what the beast kingdoms could produce. But children were different. Children were innocent. And these cubs had been through more in the past few weeks than most saw in a lifetime.

He cleared his throat softly.

Two sets of eyes turned toward him. Valen’s gaze was the most guarded, though even he couldn’t quite hide the flicker of hope that crossed his face before he masked it.

"The King is awake," Corvin said. "He is stable. The healers say he will recover, though it will take time."

Valen’s shoulders dropped a fraction of an inch. Daerys let out a small breath. Rynan stirred on his cushions but didn’t wake.

Valen didn’t move. Instead he looked away, back toward the window.

In truth, it was a relief. A ridiculous, guilty sort of relief that sat strangely in his chest. He had spent so many nights lying awake trying not to feel anything about his father at all, trying to convince himself he didn’t care one way or the other whether the man lived or died. It had been easier that way.

But then his father had come home covered in blood, and Valen had discovered, horribly, that he cared even a little.

"He asked about you," Corvin said quietly, watching the emotions flicker across the boy’s face. "Before Zarek made him lie back down. You were one of the first things out of his mouth."

Valen’s head turned back sharply. "...He did?"

"He did." Corvin allowed himself the smallest, wry smile.

A small, surprised huff of laughter escaped Valen before he could stop it, quickly muffled behind his hand. Beside him, Daerys stirred at the sound, a smile gracing his face.

Valen looked back down at his little brother, then out the window again, his small hands twisting anxiously in his lap.

He wanted to see his father. He wanted stupidly, to march down that hallway right now and demand to see him with his own two eyes, to prove to himself that the blood and the stillness on those courtyard steps hadn’t been the last time he’d ever see him breathing.

But he was also, quietly, terrified of what he would find if he did.

"I..." he started. "I don’t want to see him. Not yet," he said quietly.

Corvin inclined his head. "That is your right. No one will force you. You can take your time, alright?"

Once Valen nodded, Corvin turned to leave, closing the door behind him.

~

Karina was pacing.

She had been pacing for the better part of an hour, her heels wearing a groove into the thick carpet of her private sitting room. Her hands were clasped tightly behind her back, and every few minutes, she would stop, stare at the door, and then resume her relentless circuit of the room.

Sophie sat on the edge of a velvet chaise, wringing her hands, her eyes tracking the Empress’s movements with growing concern. Fayora stood by the window, arms crossed. Joan was the calmest of the three, seated in a high-backed chair with a cup of tea that had long gone cold, her hazel eyes following Karina with quiet patience.

"He’s going to be fine," Sophie said for what felt like the hundredth time. "The healers said the wound missed anything vital. He just needs rest and—"

"I know what the healers said." Karina snapped. She stopped pacing, pressing her palms against her temples. "I know what they said."

"Then perhaps you should sit down, Your Majesty," Joan said gently. "You’ve been on your feet for hours. You haven’t eaten. You haven’t—"

"I can’t sit down." Karina resumed pacing, her skirts swishing violently around her ankles. "I can’t just sit there and do nothing while he’s lying in a bed covered in bandages. While some madman is out there—"

She stopped. Her voice cracked, and she had to take a breath before she could continue.

"While some madman is out there, planning to kill me and my son."

The room fell silent. Sophie’s hands stilled in her lap. Fayora turned from the window.

"No need to worry, Empress," Fayora said. "Aldric has men on every corridor, every entrance. No one is getting in here without going through an army first."

"I know." Karina’s voice was tired now, the anger bleeding out of it. "I know. I just... I can’t stop thinking about it. The way he looked when they brought him in. The blood. All that blood. And Valen saw it. He saw his father like that, and he just—"

She broke off, her throat closing around the words.

Joan set her teacup aside and rose, crossing the room to gently take Karina’s hands in her own.

"Your son is stronger than you give him credit for," Joan said softly. "All of your sons are. They have you for a mother. How could they be anything else?"

Karina let out a shaky breath, her eyes stinging. "I don’t feel very strong right now."

"Strength isn’t the absence of fear," Joan said. "It’s what you do despite it. And you, Your Majesty, have done more in the past few weeks than most do in a lifetime."

The door to the sitting room opened, and Karina’s head snapped toward it. Zarek stepped inside. He had cleaned himself up at some point, the blood washed from his hands, his sleeves rolled back over his forearms.

He paused just inside the threshold, his pale green eyes finding Karina’s immediately.

A strange sensation flickered through his chest. It was uncomfortable and unfamiliar. He had never felt particularly protective of his wife before. She had always seemed so wrapped up in her own misery. But now, seeing her standing there in the middle of the room, her red hair disheveled, her face pale, her eyes bright with unshed tears, he couldn’t help but feel some way.

It was instinct. It had to be instinct. The same instinct that drove him to protect his son, his territory, his people. Nothing more.

He cleared his throat.

"He’ll live," Zarek said. "The wound was deep, but it missed the vital organs. He’s weak, but he’s awake. Rafael is just weak, but he’ll recover."

Karina nodded, swallowing hard. "Good. That’s... that’s good."

Zarek crossed the room slowly, his long legs eating up the distance between them. He stopped a few feet away from her.

He looked at her. She looked at him. For a long, awkward moment, neither spoke.

Zarek had never been good with words. He had never been good with people. He had spent most of his life avoiding emotional entanglements, preferring the cold, quiet comfort of solitude.

But now....seeing the empress, his soon to be ex-wife standing there, trying so hard to be strong, trying so hard to hold herself together, made him want to reach out.

He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what to do.

So he did something entirely unexpected.

He stepped forward, closed the remaining distance between them, and wrapped his arms around her.

Karina stiffened, her body going rigid with surprise. For a moment, she didn’t know how to react. They had had sex once, just for an heir, and after that, he had never touched her again. He had never hugged her, never held her, never offered her any physical comfort whatsoever.

And now, here he was, his arms wrapped around her shoulders, his chin resting lightly against the top of her head.

"You don’t have to be strong right now," he said quietly. "This is a scary situation, and it’s fine if you want to cry."

Karina’s breath hitched. The tears she had been fighting so hard to hold back finally spilled over, streaming down her cheeks. She stood there, shaking, letting Zarek hold her while the emotion poured out of her in a shuddering tide.

Thankfully, Zarek didn’t say anything, nor offer any platitudes.

After a long moment, Karina pulled back, wiping at her cheeks with the back of her hand. She felt exposed, but also strangely lighter.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Zarek nodded, stepping back, giving her space. "I came to tell you. He’s awake. He wants to see you."

Karina’s heart lurched. "He... he wants to see me?"

"Only if you want to see him," Zarek said. "I told him I wouldn’t force you."

Karina hesitated, her mind ruminating over everything that had happened in the last few weeks.

I’m not forgiving him or anything. This is just a...terrifying situation and....

"I’ll go," she said quietly.