Dalinar sat down in his favorite chair and gratefully accepted the wine Navani handed him. "Storms, I needed that," he said after taking a large sip. "Are you sure the effect of the fabrial will wear off? And how long will it take?"

Navani sat down next to him. "Honestly, I don't know. I never expected it to have any effect on a human at all so I don't know how long it will take."

"Can't you make a fabrial to reverse the effect?"

Navani frowned. "I don't think that is a wise idea. We should give it some time." She put a hand on Dalinar's arm. "Your son is going to be fine. Lirin said he's as healthy as ever. Why does this upset you so much? Is it because it's Stormblessed he wants?"

Dalinar got up and walked over to the window. The storm had passed and the Plains looked quiet and peaceful. "Yes. And no." He sighed. "What if it isn't temporary? I want my son to be happy. I know how much it means to have someone at your side during these times of darkness. And I don't care whether the person who will make him happy is a man or a woman. But Stormblessed?" Dalinar shook his head. "I highly doubt our Radiant is interested in my son. In anyone, for that matter. Besides, this isn't really real, is it?" he said as he turned to look at her.

Navani hesitated. "Maybe it was lingering somewhere and the fabrial just...increased it…"

Dalinar looked at her with a look of disbelief on his face. "Storms, woman. I need more wine when you start saying things like that."

"Why? Would it really be so awful if they would end up together?"

"No. Not at all. In fact I think it would be a perfect union. But it's Kaladin Stormblessed we're talking about. You should have seen the look on his face when Adolin hugged him and didn't want to let go. Besides I think Kaladin deserves someone who truly loves him. Not some artificial affection brought on by a fabrial. And so does Adolin"

Navani nodded. "I agree. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. This might be over by tomorrow."

Dalinar sat down again. "I hope so, because this is giving me a serious headache."

…

Kaladin stood in front of the door to Adolin's room. He couldn't bring himself to knock. Syl hovered beside him. "What is it, Kal? Afraid he's going to drag you into his bed?" she giggled.

Kaladin threw her a glare. "I'm glad you find this so amusing but you don't have to deal with it."

She huffed. "I have to deal with your death glares."

"You wouldn't have to if you wouldn't make it so obvious you're enjoying yourself way too much."

"Come on, Kal, it is kind of funny. Besides, you like Adolin don't you? And he's been there for you. He always stood by you when you were struggling. Don't you owe it to him to help him through this?"

Kaladin sighed. "I know. But it's just….. When he looks at me like that I don't know what to do."

Syl smiled. "Just go with what feels right."

"What if he tries to kiss me?"

"You might enjoy it." And to her surprise she didn't receive a glare at that. In fact he looked a little unsure. "Just knock. You'll be fine."

Kaladin took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

….

Lopen and Drehy were standing guard on top of the Tower. It was a warm night and the skies were clear. Lopen sat down on the ridge, his legs dangling over the edge. "What do you think, Drehy? You were closest to them when it happened."

Drehy sat down next to him. "I don't know. It happened so fast. I could hear the Highprince gasp and I could have sworn that I heard some kind of music. There was a bright orange light and then it was over. It only lasted a second. Kal didn't seem to be affected at all but the Highprince was acting strange."

"Strange how?"

Drehy shrugged. "I don't know. Different. But nothing that made me think that he'd changed into some bloodthirsty warrior. To be honest I thought he was just airsick."

Lopen stared into the distance. "I'm worried. I keep thinking about Teft."

"This is not the same. Adolin isn't Moash. Not even close."

Lopen turned to look at him. "How do you know? You have no idea what that fabrial did. Maybe it turned him into something that sees Kal as the enemy."

"Moash was broken. It didn't take much to push him over the edge. Everybody from Bridge Four has been there. Don't tell me that there were moments you just wanted to give up. Adolin is nothing like that. He isn't broken. And I think he's the sincerest Lighteyes I've ever met. He has a strong sense of justice. He likes Kal. He won't hurt him."

"Moash loved Kal."

"It still isn't the same. And we both know that if Kaladin had been in that room with Teft, Moash wouldn't have made it out of there alive."

Lopen nodded. "True. But I'm not leaving this Tower until I know for sure that the Highprince is back to normal."

"Neither am I."

….

Adolin opened the door. A smile lit up his face when he found Kaladin standing there. "I'm glad you're back. I missed you."

Kaladin stepped inside. "It's only been fifteen minutes," he muttered.

"Way too long," Adolin grinned and gestured at the table that was filled with food. "We can have dinner together."

"Maybe we should invite your father and Navani to join us," Kaladin tried.

Adolin sat down. "No, they're probably already having dinner together. Besides, there's a banquet tomorrow so this will give us an opportunity to spend some time with just the two of us."

A banquet? Kaladin would make sure Dalinar wasn't going to let his son attend. Not in this state. He put his bag in the adjoining bedroom before sitting down at the table.

"I had them make Rock's stew. I know how much you love it. But it's probably not as good as the original though."

Kaladin smiled. Adolin had always been the thoughtful one. "Thank you. I appreciate that."

Syl was sitting on Kal's shoulder and she could feel how tense he was. She decided that her Radiant could use a little help. So she moved away and sat down on the table next to Adolin's plate. "Tell me about the Honorspren, Highprince."

Adolin leaned back. "Are you sure you want to hear this, Syl? It must be hard for you to be rejected by most of them."

She cocked her head. "In a way it is, but I still know I made the right decision. And I have to learn to deal with loss. Kaladin said he would help me with that. So please, tell me everything."

Kaladin gave her a soft smile. He knew she found it hard to hear these things but he also knew that she was doing this to distract Adolin and give him some time to adjust.

Syl managed to keep Adolin's attention on her until they finished their dinner and the servants had cleared the table.

Kaladin got up. "It's been a long day. I think I'll get some sleep."

"I understand that you want your own room for now," Adolin said. "But can you stay with me for a while?"

Kaladin tried to ignore the 'for now' part and nodded. "Sure." He could keep the man company for a little longer. But what he hadn't expected was that Adolin began to take off his clothes.

"Uh...High...I mean Adolin...what are you doing?"

Syl was studying a leftover piece of bread on the table. Kaladin was almost sure he could hear that little giggle again.

"Getting ready for bed," Adolin smiled as he took his pants off. He was now only wearing his underwear.

And Kaladin couldn't help but notice that the man's body was absolute perfection. Even though Adolin had fought many battles his body looked almost flawless. "Uh...so I better leave then?"

"No, of course not," Adolin grinned as he climbed in bed. "You said you were going to stay with me, didn't you? And get those boots off. I don't want to mess up my sheets."

Syl seemed mesmerized by the breadcrumb but he could see her shoulders shake a little from barely contained laughter. Kaladin guessed that after helping him by listening to something that must have been painful for her she deserved a little fun.

So Kaladin hesitantly took off his boots. Was he really supposed to get in bed beside Adolin? Storms, this was getting more complicated by the minute. He reached for the buttons on his shirt, not certain what to do.

"Come on, Kal," Adolin smiled at him. "I won't bite. And if it makes you uncomfortable you can keep your shirt on."

But Kaladin decided he wasn't going to let this get to him so he stripped down to his underwear as well and got in bed next to Adolin. Thank the Almighty that the Highprince had an insanely large bed. He settled against the pillows and before he could protest Adolin rested his head on his chest and wrapped an arm around him. "Mmm, much better," he sighed happily.

Kaladin froze and for a moment he didn't know what to do. But then he remembered what Syl had said. How this man had helped him through his struggles. So he wrapped Adolin in a protective hold. It was his duty to protect the man after all. "It's going to be alright, Adolin. Just try to sleep. I'll watch over you."

Adolin felt a warm shiver at those words and he closed his eyes, feeling like he could finally relax now that he was in Kaladin's arms.