When consciousness returned, it came slowly. Voices drifted in and out around me, blurred and muffled, like they were underwater.
“She collapsed from emotional shock—”
“No, there’s something else.”
“Are you certain?” I slowly recognized Kael's voice.
“Yes.”
The last voice belonged to an elderly healer. Probably, Darlah?
A strange heaviness sat in my body. Warm blankets covered me, and the faint scent of herbs lingered in the air. I blinked weakly.
Immediately, movement exploded around the room. “She’s awake.”
Lucien was at my bedside first. Relief crashed across his face so hard it almost looked painful. “Hey,” he breathed. “Hey, easy.”
My father stood abruptly from the chair beside the bed. Judging from the exhaustion carved into his face, he hadn’t moved from there once. He quic
