By the time I arrived at my own suite, Darian had already departed for his duties with the enforcers. I washed with water from the basin and lay upon the divan, hoping for rest. Yet just as sleep began to claim me, the sharp chime of the signal bell at my desk cut the quiet. Darian’s message had found me.
Liora, he pressed, the tension in his thoughts unmistakable, my… my head aches.
I murmured a brief reply, though fatigue weighed heavily on me. Before I could rise, sleep dragged me under again. In my dreams, I thought I heard him calling my name through the city streets, but the sound dissolved like smoke in the night, and I let it fade.
Later, the door creaked open. I awoke to find Darian standing near the divan, his expression taut with frustration and exhaustion.
“Liora, why have you grown so distant? When I was ill before, you would rush to my side with remedies, remain through the night until I recovered. You would never leave my chamber until the pain eased.”