Elara's POV
The light had changed, evening now, the room dimmer, a candle lit by someone at some point, when the door finally opened and Lena walked through.
I was on my feet before I registered moving.
"Where have you been?"
She stopped. She looked tired, I noticed distantly, tired and slightly pale, her hair less neat than usual, something careful about her expression. She was still wearing the same dress from this morning, but it was rumpled now, like she'd been sitting somewhere uncomfortable for a long time.
"I'm sorry," she started. "I didn't know–"
"Where were you?" My voice cracked on the last word and I didn't care, didn't care how it sounded, how it looked. "I came back and there was, there was a note, and blood on my bed and I screamed and there were guards everywhere and I asked for you, I asked for you immediately, and no one could tell me where you were, no one could find you–"
Her face went pale. "Blood? What do you mean blood?"
