The screams don't stop until Eadlyn has thrown her body over Kile's, planting her cheek against his chest and gripping his shoulders with desperate hands.
"Oh God," She cries into him, only stopping to gasp through her sobs. "Oh God, it's you."
He looks torn between horror and relief. I watch, careful to stay in the doorway as if I'm only partially intruding on their privacy. Kile's screams fade into tortured breaths so deep that I can see Eadlyn's little frame rise with his inhales. He's shaking, every single part of him that I can see, which isn't much with the white sheets pulled up to his chest and my daughter obstructing the view. His body seems to fidget with such a minute rapidity that it's almost like looking at movie in 3D without the glasses. The lines seem to blur. It takes a full minute of Eadlyn repeating her exclamations before his hands leave the sheets and find her waist, and even then he doesn't hold her the way I anticipated. His fingers dust over her faintly, from her waist up her spine until they find rest in her hair, softly landing, and holding her to him.
His eyes still hold a fearful wonder and he casts them around the room, finding Aspen and I. He nods slowly at each of us.
"So it's true?" He whispers, eyes zeroing in on Aspen, who now stands at the foot of the bed.
"I told you so myself, Sir Woodwork. All are safe and sound."
Eadlyn lifts her head enough to search out Kile's eyes. He's looking at her, but not really. His eyes drift over her without seeing, like she's transparent. A ghost.
She pulls away to sit beside him and his fingers clamber to keep a hold on her, knotting into her ruined dress. Eadlyn's hand rises to his forehead as if she's checking for a fever. It is quite possibly the most affectionate gesture I've ever seen her offer. Her eyes pool with worry.
"I don't understand," She whispers. Her hand falls to his cheek. "What's wrong? Look at me, Kile."
He stares at where his fingers clutch the tattered ribbons of a dress around Eadlyn's middle. Only his hands shake now, but Eadlyn places her own over his to still them.
"I'm here now." She whispers. Her thumbs stroke gently over his knuckles.
Even when Kaden and Osten had been babies, Eadlyn was never this gentle. She was my own little hurricane. She was a confident character who knew her title and owned it. Now she could be mistaken for any young woman on the street. There is no prestigious air consuming her. She's just a scared little girl.
"You're safe and I'm here."
Kile starts to cry.
It's a strange thing—seeing a grown man cry. It's the ultimate act of emotional submission. When you can't take it anymore, there's no other release, and the overwhelming sensation consumes you without conscious consent. I know the feeling well.
Kile's tears seem familiar in a terrible way. I know heartbreak on a first name basis.
Eadlyn eases his head into her lap, combing her fingers through the hair around his ear in a rhythmic way that could only develop from practice. I imagine past circumstances didn't include such tearful distress, though. She whispers to him now, leaning her lips next to his ear, and speaks so low that I can't hear. By the way Kile clings tighter, I'm glad of my inability to eavesdrop. Some things are too private, and if there wasn't a matter of the country's security at risk, I would have left the two alone to begin with.
When he does speak, it comes out heart-shatteringly clear.
"You were dead."
Eadlyn's hand freezes mid-circuit through his hair. "What?"
He pulls away, briefly making eye contact with Aspen and I, then turns his tear-kissed face back to her. His voice is hollow and steely, like wind chimes. Eerie wind chimes. "You were dead. I watched you die. Over and over and over. That's all I did. For two weeks, Eadlyn. I watched you die."
"But…" Eadlyn looks at me for the first time. She's a buoy adrift in a whirlpool, rain hurtling down and throwing her every which way. Utterly lost. "But I'm fine, Kile. See?" She takes his hand, holds it over her heart. "Alive."
He shakes his head adamantly. The wet trails on his cheeks shine. "Not to me. That wasn't what I saw. They chased you through the palace, down corridors and stairs, out to the gardens. You were screaming the whole way. Awful screams." He has to stop, catch his breath, and blink hard before continuing. His hand grasps hers. "And then there were guns. So many guns. They were everywhere. On the roof, in the woods, behind the bushes. And they fired. Every last one. And you fell and the blood—" He stuffs a fist into his mouth, choking back the ugly sobs that burst forth. His eyes weld shut painfully tight.
Eadlyn loses it. The tears that flow are uninhibited, undammed, and unyielding.
I can't watch anymore. Just seeing their pain hurts. It twists a knife already deeply thrust into my gut. I turn and walk out the door.
This is super short, I know, but I really wanted to get something out for you guys after that mega-mean cliffhanger from the last chapter. Coming Soon: more Kaden character development, explanations of Kile's torture, WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO THE OTHER ELITE, Aspen's personal problems, and so much more. Stay tuned lovelies, and Happy October! God Bless!
~SpaceNut