Her mouth fell open, and her eyes bulged. She quickly snatched some supplies, stuffed them in a satchel, threw it over her shoulder, and rushed past me out the door. I followed behind her and we ran out into the storm, my hysteria only urging it on.
We rounded the corner of the castle and a shaky breath escaped me.
He had managed to land on the ledge instead of the choppy sea. Glancing past him, the waves were crashing mercilessly. They would have swallowed him whole and refused to ever give him back.
Icy terror shot through me at the thought, sending a fresh wave of tears and panic through me.
We darted to the circle of guards. My breath caught in my throat as we pushed them aside and saw Rogue sitting up, propped up on one hand.
I stammered on words that wouldn’t form as I dropped to his side. The rain was torrential, soaking everyone to the bone, thunder rumbling overhead.
“I-I am so sorry. I didn’t—” My eyes frantically searched him for any sign of injury. He leaned forward, placing his hands on either side of my face, and turned my gaze to his.
“Breathe,” he commanded and I did. “I’m fine, Ara. It’s alright.”
I held his gaze, my breaths matching his, and the rain slowed to a drizzle.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. Another tear escaped my eye, and he wiped it away with his thumb.
“I’m sorry too,” he said, his voice strained. He rubbed his thumb along my cheek again. “For everything.”
His gaze was intense, sincere, and I nodded slightly, understanding. The rain stopped altogether. We stilled, his eyes darting to my mouth, and my lips parted slightly, breaths heavy.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Iaso said.
I jumped, jerking from his grasp and to my feet. Turning away from him, I wiped the remaining tears from my cheeks as they flushed furiously.
“Drink this.Thatwill have done some damage, even to you,” she insisted, shoving a vial into his hand. He drank obediently, coughing and sputtering as he downed it.
“Hell, Iaso, what is that?” he said, wiping his mouth.
“You’ll thank me when you live to see tomorrow.” She winked at him and picked up her bag. “Now, go to your chambers and rest. That tea will knock you out soon enough.” She glanced around, scowling at the guards.
“You’re lucky Ara came to find me and didn’t leave your life in the hands of these fools.” She jerked her thumb at the guards surrounding him, still frozen in shock.
His eyes found me again and my chest constricted under the weight of his gaze. My breath hitched and I turned, rushing to the castle door. Iaso gave him a look and followed behind me.
“Ara, wait,” she said as we entered. I paused, taking a breath before facing her.
“Iaso, I promise I didn’t mean to do that. I was standing in my room and I was… I was just overwhelmed with everything and the next thing I knew, there was a storm…And then… And then it all happened so quickly.”
I brought my hands to my forehead, trembling with exhaustion, and swayed. Iaso reached an arm out to steady me.
“Trust me, child. I know you didn’t. Your magic is strong,” she said, looking me over. “It’s drained you, hasn’t it?”
I nodded and the room swayed with the movement.
“Alright, let’s get you back to your chambers. You’ll need the tea to help you rest and recover too.” She guided me up the stairs and to the bed. After I laid down, she reached into her bag and pulled out a similar vial to the one she had given Rogue. As she handed it to me, her eyes glowed golden, illuminating her face.
“Just giving it a little extra oomph,” she winked. I tipped it back and drank gratefully, desperately craving a release from the utter exhaustion. I knew it would at least grant me that.
As I downed the last bit, my eyelids became heavy, and I laid back, slipping into the darkness.
* * *
It was well past morning when I woke up the following day. As I stirred, the tiredness in my muscles lingered, reminding me of the night before.
My mind wandered to Rogue, worry bubbling in my chest.Iaso would be tending to him. He would be fine.I stifled the rising emotion with a sigh and rose from the bed, walking to the window. It was still cloudy outside, but no rain. Thankfully.