Chapter 94
I’d barely had a moment to process the quiet morning when I heard footsteps padding down the hall, followed by a chorus of giggles and shushing sounds. The sound stirred something warm and familiar in me, and I sat up, wondering what Arsen was up to this time.
The door swung open, and Arsen stepped in, his mouth curved into a smile that reached his eyes. But he didn’t come in alone.
“Surprise,” he murmured, stepping aside to reveal four familiar faces: Cain, Sage, Nova, and Lotte. Each child wore a grin that stretched from ear to ear, and the second they saw me, they lit up with uncontainable excitement.
“Aelin!” Lotte cried, dashing forward with all the speed of a tiny whirlwind. She scrambled onto the bed, her tiny hands grabbing mine, and soon enough, the others followed, filling the room with laughter and chatter that chased away the lingering shadows.
“Did you miss us?” Cain asked, his wide grin revealing the gap where he’d recently lost a tooth. He climbed up to sit beside me, looking up with eager eyes, waiting for my answer.
“Of course I did,” I said, smiling down at him. “It’s been far too quiet around here without all of you.”
Nova, the youngest of the group, held up a handful of wildflowers she’d gathered, the petals slightly crushed but still beautiful. She presented them to me with a shy smile, her small hands outstretched.
“I picked these for you, Luna,” she said softly, her eyes wide with innocence.
I accepted the flowers with a warmth in my chest, lifting them to my nose to inhale their sweet scent. “They’re perfect, Nova. Thank you.”
The room buzzed with energy as Sage found a place on the edge of the bed, crossing his legs as he settled in. “We brought stories to tell you,” he announced proudly, puffing out his chest. “Lotte says she saw a dragon in the forest, but I don’t believe her.”
Lotte’s face scrunched up in protest. “I did see a dragon! It was small, like a lizard, but it breathed fire!” She crossed her arms, looking at each of us with a defiant little frown. “It was a dragon. Right, Aelin?”
I laughed, nodding solemnly. “Oh, I believe you, Lotte. Dragons can come in all shapes and sizes.”
Her face lit up with triumph, and she stuck her tongue out at Sage, who rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath but unable to hide his grin.
“So, what’s the plan today?” I asked, glancing at each of them. “Are you here to tell me stories, or do you have something else in mind?”
Cain leaned in, eyes bright with excitement. “We thought we could play a game. Maybe hide-and-seek? We’ll hide, and you have to find us.”
“Oh really?” I said, feigning surprise. “But I’m supposed to be resting. How will I ever keep up with all of you?”
Lotte giggled, squeezing my hand. “You don’t have to move! We’ll hide, and you just have to guess where we are.”
Before I could answer, the kids were already scrambling off the bed, scattering to find hiding spots around the room. Sage dove behind the curtains, pulling them closed around himself with a bit too much enthusiasm. Cain slid behind a large armchair in the corner, his feet sticking out just enough to give him away. Nova found a spot beside the dresser, peeking out with a mischievous grin, while Lotte simply crouched behind the bed, her tiny hands covering her eyes as if that would make her invisible.
I sat up, pretending to look around the room, tapping my chin thoughtfully. “Hmm… Where could they be? I don’t see anyone here…”
A muffled giggle escaped from behind the curtains, and I stifled a smile, making a show of inspecting each corner of the room. “Could they be… behind the dresser?” I asked, catching Nova’s wide-eyed expression as she realized she’d been found.
She let out a squeal, running over to the bed and climbing back up beside me. “You’re good at this, Luna!”
“One down,” I teased, glancing around the room as if I hadn’t already spotted the others. “Now, where could the rest of you be hiding?”
It didn’t take long to “find” Sage behind the curtains and Cain behind the armchair, each child bursting into laughter as they emerged from their hiding places, feigning surprise at my “skill.” Only Lotte remained, her tiny frame crouched low behind the bed, her hands still covering her eyes.
“Oh dear, I guess I’ll never find Lotte,” I said, shaking my head dramatically. “She’s much too clever for me.”
Lotte giggled, peeking over the edge of the bed and revealing herself with a triumphant grin. “You didn’t find me, Aelin! I win!”
I gasped in mock defeat, reaching out to tickle her. She squealed, curling up in laughter as the others joined in, their laughter filling the room, making it feel warmer, brighter.
Once they’d calmed down, they settled around me, leaning in close as if they couldn’t bear to be even an inch away. Nova placed her head on my lap, her small hand clutching mine, while Sage nestled beside her, his eyes filled with quiet contentment.
“Tell us a story,” Cain said, looking up at me with hopeful eyes. “A story about when you were little.”
“Hmm…” I thought for a moment, reaching back to the stories I’d grown up with. “Once upon a time, there was a little girl who believed she could fly. She would climb up the tallest trees, spreading her arms out wide and dreaming of the sky…”
As I spoke, the children listened with rapt attention, their eyes wide with wonder as they imagined the girl soaring through the clouds, chasing after the sun. I told them about her adventures, how she’d made friends with the birds and learned their songs, how she’d met a fox who promised to teach her to fly if only she could catch him.
When I finished, they clapped, their laughter ringing out, filling the room with a joy that was contagious, a lightness that pushed away every worry, every fear. For a while, I forgot about everything—Ascian, the healer’s warnings, even the restless ache that lingered in my chest. For a while, it was just me and them, wrapped in a world of stories and laughter.
Eventually, Arsen reappeared, his smile soft as he watched us. “All right, little ones,” he said, his voice gentle but firm. “It’s time to let Aelin rest.”
The children groaned in protest, their faces falling as they realized it was time to go. Lotte clung to my arm, her face a mask of pure defiance.
“But we want to stay with her!” she insisted, her voice filled with all the stubbornness a five-year-old could muster.
I chuckled, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry, Lotte. You can come back and visit me anytime.”
She pouted, but after a little more coaxing, she finally relented, giving me a quick hug before joining the others by the door. One by one, they waved goodbye, each of them promising to come back soon, until the room was quiet again.
As the door closed, the laughter faded, leaving me with a lingering warmth, a reminder of the joy they’d brought. But just as I began to relax, a strange chill settled over me, an odd emptiness I couldn’t explain. I took a deep breath, trying to shake it off, but the feeling only grew, a gnawing sensation that left me feeling hollow, like something essential had slipped away.
I leaned forward, pressing my hand to my chest as if that would chase away the strange ache that had settled there. But the cold remained, a dark shadow creeping in at the edges of my awareness, unsettling and relentless.
“Everything okay?” Arsen’s voice broke through the quiet, and I looked up to see him watching me, his eyes filled with concern.
I managed a small smile, nodding. “I’m fine,” I said, though the words felt hollow even as I spoke them. “I’m just… tired, that’s all.”
He didn’t look convinced, but he nodded, moving closer to sit beside me, his hand resting on mine. “Get some rest,” he murmured, his voice gentle, a quiet reassurance that wrapped around me like a warm blanket.
I leaned into him, closing my eyes, letting his presence chase away the shadows, even if only for a moment. But as I drifted off, I couldn’t shake the lingering sense that something was wrong, something I couldn’t yet name.
And as sleep claimed me, the warmth of his hand in mine was the only anchor I had against the darkness that seemed to be gathering just beyond my reach.