It had been a long night; it seemed time had slowed and the sun failed to rise as Alder sat there with Aria engulfed in his arms. He had created an orb of light to ward off the voices that plagued her, and he had kept it on till her eyelids twitched and fluttered open. He let the pale blue light dim slowly till it faded completely.
He offered her a warm smile as her gaze met his.
“You’re awake”. He said.
Aria stared up at him, and though she had only just woken up she could tell that he was exhausted; his eyes were weary, proof that he hadn’t been sleeping properly, or perhaps he hadn’t been sleeping at all.
“You’re exhausted”. She said quietly, her throat still hurt but she truly didn’t care at the moment.
She had tried to sacrifice herself in the first place because she had wanted t
