The heavy velvet curtains were drawn back just enough to let a soft, pale ray of morning light slice across the room. Two full days of agonizing silence had hung over the royal bedchamber, broken only by the crackle of the hearth and the steady, quiet breathing of the sleeping Odesse.
Valex hadn't left the bedside. His posture was slouched, frame folded into a heavy wooden chair pulled flush against the mattress. His eyes, lined with deep shadows of exhaustion, were fixed entirely on Odesse's face, watching for the slightest flicker of movement.
Then, her eyelids fluttered.
A tiny, dry gasp parted Odesse's lips as her eyes slowly opened, squinting against the soft ambient light. The darkness that had clouded her mind for forty-eight hours receded like a retreating tide.
Valex was on his feet in a heartbeat. The heavy chair scraped loudly against the floor, but he didn't care. "Odesse?" his voice was rough, gravelly from disuse and sheer relief.
