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I gasped, and put my head on his lap.Oh fucking Gods.Bile rose in my throat and I clutched tighter onto Rook’s hand.

“The necromancers had sliced open my wife’s belly and reanimated our -” He cleared his throat. “Our son. He was so tiny. So helpless. They put him on the floor outside my cell, and left him there for a week.”

I clenched my eyes shut, quashing the tears that wanted to fall.

“For a week, I listened to him screaming, and listened to him dying.” Rook’s voice had become vacant and hollow. “I fought against those chains. Gods, did I fight them. I broke both my arms, my shoulders, most of my ribs, every bone in my hands, trying to get out of those chains. I called out to him. I tried singing to him. Anything, anything to try and soothe his cries. To do what a father…” He broke off, sucking in a shuddering breath. “And then I heard them kill him, for the final time. Those desperate screams just… stopped.”

I looked up at him. “Oh Rook.” I didn’t know what else to say. Words were useless and pale in the face of suffering such as this. What could I possibly say?

He inhaled deeply. “After that, I was broken. I was nothing. A shell, for years. I was Theron’s assassin, a killer. Nothing more.” His gaze met mine, and he raised a hand to my cheek. “And then, my enemy’s daughter showed up. I thought I’d hate you, I should have hated you. I wanted to. I wanted to make you suffer for all the suffering I had borne. I wanted to despise you as much as I despised your father. But I couldn’t. There was air in my lungs again. For the first time in years. Someone looked at me, spoke to me,me. Not a Night Demon, not a ghoul, not a killer. Me. I found myself again. In you.” He pulled me up to sit beside him on the bench, and put his arm around me.

“What was your son’s name?” I asked quietly.

Rook pressed his face against the side of my head, and his shoulders quivered. “Orion,” he whispered. “We’d picked out the name Orion, for a boy.”

I smiled as I sniffled. “That’s such a beautiful name.”

“I’ve never spoken it out loud before.” Rook tipped my face up to his. “Thank you. Thank you for asking me. Thank you for - for making him real, for the first time.”

I leaned my forehead against his cheek, a tear rolling down my face. “Thank you for saving me today.”

“I had no other choice,” he replied, brushing his lips against my temple. “You’re my heart, princess. Without you, there is no air, no life.” He put a hand under my chin, lifting my mouth to meet his, and kissed me deeply.

“We have to be careful,” I said, my eyes remaining closed as we parted. I curled my fingers around his. “Regan is just outside.”

“Probably gathering the cavalry to get you out of here,” Rook said, “they’re all terrified of you now.”

“Good.” I nuzzled into him.

Rook moved to hold me tighter and winced. “Fucking Nav, that Arachne was a right bitch of a thing to get hit by.”

“I really wish you’d let a healer see you.”

“No, it’s alright,” he said, smiling at me. “I’ll be all healed tomorrow morning, you wait and see.”

“Theron said I could have something to comfort me.” I held Rook’s face in my hands. “I want to ask him if we can go for a ride together, out into the forest.”

“You think he’ll let that happen?” Rook asked, cocking his eyebrow cynically.

“I’ll tell him I’m going mad, locked up in the palace, and need fresh air and exercise.” I was almost giddy at the prospect. “He can put a binding spell on us, we won’t be able to go far. But we’ll be able to be alone.”

“That is a rather tantalizing prospect,” he said.

There was a sharp knock on the door. “Your highness,” came Regan’s voice, “I think a suitable amount of time has passed.”

“I’m coming!” I looked back at Rook and rolled my eyes.

“I hate this place,” he muttered, tracing a hand down my back.

I stroked Rook’s cheek and kissed him gently. “We’ll be out of here soon, I swear it.”

He smiled weakly. “Of course we will, my love.”

“Get some rest,” I said, backing towards the door as thunder growled loudly overhead.

He nodded. “You too.”

I tore open the door to find Regan and four guards waiting anxiously.