Gilded Cage (On Hold)

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The low hum of male voices on the other side of the room woke Cleo from her slumber. She wanted to sleep longer, her body and mind both needing the rest, but it had only been an hour or two by the dull light coming from outside the window to her right. Rain splattered against the glass, though not as hard as it had been earlier.

She watched every single drop of water drip down the pane, mind still swirling with the knowledge of what they had gone through and where they were now.

They were in the past.

The same past where her mother and father were alive and whole and healthy.

And yet she still wanted to be back home. Back home with the rest of her family, back home in Arloerin, back home with Kav.

She should have been more prepared. She knew this would happen. Had known for years since Elys had hinted at it. What she didn't want to comprehend was that it was going to be two years before she had her life back.

Before she would see Kav again and everyone else she loved.

"Cleo?"

Elys's voice sounded far away, her eyes tracking toward the direction it had come from. He and Eamon were seated at a small table in the corner of their rented room above the tavern they'd taken shelter in. She slowly pushed herself up to sit as he walked over, kneeling beside the bed and reaching forward to take her hand.

"Are you all right?" he asked her quietly.

She nodded, but Elys could tell she didn't mean her reassurance.

"Two years, Elys," Cleo whispered barely loud enough for herself to hear. "Two years."

"I know. I've told you about it for almost as long as I've known you, haven't I?"

"Yes, but...now, it's really here and I...I don't know..."

Elys's hand gripped tight to hers as he smiled at her. His lips wavered only slightly, but just enough for her to notice. "Everyone will be all right. I promise. You're not the only one I've told from Arloerin, you know. Janan and Urell have known and came up with a plan for Arloerin on how it's to be run in your absence. Renna knew, too. She's going to be the guiding hand for them when she learns of what's happened to us. Now, though, she'll have Evander with her as well. And Kav...he's at the center of it all. Good practice for him whenever he's eventually named King Consort whenever you two finally marry, right? Let him do some of the work for a while...and no, Arloerin's not going to be run into the ground."

That had Cleo laughing despite herself. "I wasn't thinking that."

"No, but Eamon was," Elys grinned, glancing over at the male behind them.

Eamon snorted. "I've known the male since we were kids. How could I not be thinking that?"

She looked back and forth between the two males. "You two seem to be doing better than before."

"Now that we're not falling through space and time and getting separated from everyone else without knowledge of where they are," Eamon nodded. "But we both know Milena and Dessa are all right. Mating bonds, you know?"

"Can you get much from them?" she asked, looking back at Elys.

He nodded once. "Dessa is...she's all right, thank the gods. From what I can get from her, I think she's unconscious and healing and peaceful. There was a little while there where I didn't know what was going on, but now..."