Page 57 of Crown of Hearts
“What other matters require your attention today?”
“Nothing,” I confessed. “My only plans were this.” I gestured to where we were sitting.
“Good.” Cai pushed himself back against the wide tree trunk so that we were sitting next to each other, shoulders touching. “Do you have anything else for us to read in that picnic basket?”
“What about all your paperwork?”
“It will still be there tomorrow.”
Chapter 16
Cai
I found Rhen standing guard outside Elara’s room.
“Good evening, Your Majesty.” He bowed his head.
“Good evening, Rhen.” I could see the question in Rhen’s face, his uncertainty at my presence there. I couldn’t sleep, and I’d been wandering through the palace and somehow found myself at Elara’s bedroom. I didn’t know what I was doing there. It wasn’t like I was going inside. On the other side of the door, Elara was probably sound asleep.
“Couldn’t sleep, Your Majesty?” Rhen broke the silence.
“It would appear so.” I opened the nearest hallway window and looked out, my arms resting on the edge. The night air was cold, the gardens quiet and asleep along with the rest of the world.
“She doesn’t sleep much either.”
“What do you mean?” I turned to look at Rhen. His expression was blank, or maybe there was a hint of a smile.
“I can hear her pacing her room at night.” I could believe that. Elara often paced in Fairfrith as well.
“When do you retire for the evening, Rhen?” It was very late and he was still standing guard.
“I’m about to change shifts, Your Majesty.”
“Oh.” I turned to look out the window again. The moon hung low, as if watching us through the glass. “Well, goodnight, then.”
“Goodnight, Your Majesty.” The new guard on duty had yet to arrive but Rhen bowed and left me alone in the hallway outside her door.
I’d always thought him to be a good man. He’d saved my life, after all. It was clear that Rhen and Elara had grown much closer since her coronation. I could tell he cared about her wellbeing.
I stood alone in the quiet hallway for a while before I started heading back to my rooms. When I was about halfway down the hall, a scream erupted through the quiet of the night. Elara was screaming. My mind barely had time to register the thought before I burst through her chamber doors, half expecting to find someone in the bedroom, attempting to kill her. But Elara was alone in her bed, thrashing around with her eyes closed. She was having a nightmare.
I hadn’t realised how fast my heart was beating until I let out half a breath of relief. I stalked over to her bed, taking a seat next to her on the mattress.
“Elara?” I tried to keep my voice as calm and soft as possible. She didn’t wake.
Her hair was damp, her forehead sheened with sweat, and I didn’t even want to imagine the kind of dream she must have been having.
“Elara,” I said again, placing a hand on her shoulder. This time, her eyes flashed wide open and she sat upright with a start, immediately reaching around as if looking for a weapon of some kind.
“Cai,” she breathed out. “What are you—?”
“You were screaming.”
“Oh.” She looked down at her nightclothes in embarrassment, her fingers digging into the sheets.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to just burst into your rooms, but I thought something had happened to you. Are you all right?”
“Yes.” Elara brushed the hair away from her face. “It was just a dream.” She said it dismissively, but based on her state, I knew some sort of hell must have visited her in her sleep.
