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Now she needed to find Enid and tell her she was leaving this moment for Lesern.

Chapter 39: Enid

Golden light poured into the room, hitting off the whites and blues of the walls and bedding. Enid stood in the doorway for a moment, staring at her brothers. Kaemon sat in the chair next to Dryston, who lay unconscious in the bed. It had been hours, and he still hadn’t woken. One of the last remaining witches, Aleen, tended to him.

Kaemon looked at her, his expression softening. “Aleen said that he would recover. It was just the spells used against him that’s making it take so long.”

Enid nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat, and walked forward. Kaemon smiled at her, patting the seat next to him.

“I’ll sit with him for a bit,” she said. They’d been taking turns, not wanting him to wake up and be confused by everything that had happened. But also, they were scared. Scared that he wouldn’t wake at all.

Kaemon stood and stretched. “Sounds good, I’m hungry.”

Kaemon squeezed her shoulder, then left. Enid sat in the chair and examined Aleen’s careful movements as she checked Dryston’s vitals and used a spell to give him liquids.

“I appreciate you helping Drys,” Enid said.

Aleen gave her a soft smile. “I’m done for today. But come find me if you notice anything with him.”

Enid nodded, and Aleen left.

Enid stared out the window. There were too many things to think about. What they would tell Leeth when they found him. Vasu had decided to remain in Evolis and do more research, getting the go ahead from Junie to have full access to all the books in the library. The acolytes welcomed him as well, though she could tell he felt some awkwardness about the temple, now knowing what he did about the Holy Mother.

She wondered if Dryston would head back to The Darkened City right after this. Surely, he would need to be there soon. And she and Avenay hadn’t talked about their future together. It felt clear, but what if it wasn’t? Avenay lived in Lesern, and Enid in The Darkened City. Would they be able to make it work? Would Avenay even want to? She picked at her cuticles, stomach knotting.

“Why the long face?” a rough voice asked.

Her gaze whipped down to Dryston, and she let out a cry of joy. “You’re awake.”

He nodded, grimacing as he tried to sit up. She placed her hands on his shoulders.

“Stay still, I’ll get you help.”

He grabbed her wrist. “No, just stay a moment with me. What happened?”

Enid explained everything to him, forcing him to drink water at intervals, and he relaxed with the confirmation that Kaemon and Avenay were safe.

“What of Onora?” he asked.

She cocked her head to the side. “Yeah, she’s safe too. When I asked her if she’d seen you, she said yes and she hoped you were dead.”

He rolled his eyes. “Of course she did.”

He raised his arm and pulled his sleeve back. The nurses had cleaned him some, but had left him mostly as he was, so as not to jostle him too much. He pulled a piece of dusty blue cloth off his arm, covered in blood. They must have missed that because it was disgusting to look at.

“What’s that?” she asked, knowing what it was, but curious about his reaction. His eyes took it in carefully, too carefully.

He shook his head. “No telling.”

Silence swelled between them. So many unspoken words. The words she’d said when drunk hung between them like a wall of impenetrable stone.

“Enid,” Dryston finally said, his voice pointed. She braced for the impact. “What you said—”

“Can we forget about that?” she said and laughed.

He didn’t laugh. There was a deep sorrow in his eyes, and she wanted to erase her words from his memory. “I can’t.”

She nodded. Of course he couldn’t. What she’d said had been horrible.