Eyes flying open, Remy gasped.
* * *
“Remy.”
He whispered her name through the night, like a chanted prayer.
A fever had gripped her through the long, dark hours. She remained half conscious, shivering through the blackness, unable to speak.
It had been too late in the day to flee the forest and in Remy’s delicate state, she couldn’t move. Hale had set up their camp again in the same spot they had camped the night before.
He had held her through it all, breaking his hold of her only to add more logs to the roaring fire. By the time her fever broke, sweat soaked through her clothes. She felt Hale’s arms finally loosening, like he had been holding her from dropping off a cliff all those many hours. Sleep claimed him then as the adrenaline ebbed and he knew she would survive this night.
The promise of another day lightened the skies when Remy’s body purged the last of the poisons burning through her veins. Her body had survived the toxic waters without an antidote. The blood in her body fought it off better than any other could. There was so much she needed to tell Hale. So much she had regretted not saying sooner, but for now they would sleep.
She would worry about all the truths in the morning.