Chapter 101

Author’s POV

Rhea hadn’t gotten any better.

The healers had tried everything they knew, they hadn’t stopped for a moment.

They burned herbs that filled the infirmary with a thick, bitter scent. They whispered old words passed down through generations, words meant to call wandering souls back to their bodies. They stayed by her side all night.

One of them pressed two fingers to Rhea’s temple, another held her wrist, counting her pulse. They wanted to make sure she was alive and fine. She was but she wasn’t there at the same time.

Rhea lay still beneath the sheets, her chest rising and falling in shallow, measured breaths. She wasn’t cold like dead bodies were. She wasn’t dying either. Her body, by all visible measures, was alive and functioning. And yet she might as well have been dead.

Cassian stood near the wall, arms crossed tightly over his chest, his eyes were on her, unwavering. Lucian remained closer, pacing the length of the room lik