Underwater

Chapter 36: The Closure

"Where's Reina?" Delwyn demanded the moment he got back. He had gone through three portals, braving the ensuing motion sickness, as well as ridden on a kelpie to get back as soon as he could. He got off at the entrance to the palace, not at the gates, racing down the path to the entrance on the kelpie's back.

"She's in the emperor's quarters, your highness," Osharus answered, catching up to him easily.

Delwyn didn't respond as he sped through the hallways, not even pausing to acknowledge any of the staff bowing to him. He was experiencing a severe case of tunnel vision as he searched out his wife. He didn't even notice Osharus following close behind him. Using magic, he threw the doors to his room open.

In the emperor's quarters, he found Reina sitting up in bed, Laiken sitting in an armchair by her bedside. Esnal was several feet away from him, holding Cadeyrn in her arms.

Reina's eyes lit up at the sight of her husband in their doorway.

"Reina!" He launched himself onto the bed without any consideration for their audience, pulling his wife into his arms so that he could hug her. He tasted deeply of her scent, savoring the feel of his wife in his arms. She laughed and he committed the sound of her joy to memory. After a moment, he pulled back and cupped her face. "Are you okay? I heard you were unconscious." He hadn't even been able to enter her dreamscape. He had been worried half to death thanks to that.

"I'm fine. Summoning Stiadrius just took a lot more out of me than I thought, is all."

According to the reports, Reina had been unconscious for a few days after the leviathan-class spirit she'd summoned had finally disappeared, after wreaking so much havoc for the Chiwyth that the Dawn Knights wondered if the Chiwythians would ever try to attack them again.

Many of the soldiers on the Chiwyth frontline had perished, destroyed by Stiadrius. Their forts lay crumbled, including the one overlooking the Chiwyth kingdom, which they had taken from the Aquina soldiers. From the reports, apparently even half the kingdom of Chiwyth had ceased to exist. It was while Stiadrius was rampaging around the kingdom of Chiwyth that it had vanished without a trace – Reina had run out of mana.

Delwyn recalled receiving the report in his office with Kirean, not long after they returned to Fort Moirde, only to learn that the monstrous behemoth they had encountered was of his wife's doing. Not only that, but she'd summoned it to protect herself and their son against an assassination attack.

He'd nearly fallen out of his chair.

After that, he'd stayed one more day to determine the state of the war and the necessity of his presence, then rushed on home to look for his wife, ignoring usual traditions that specified that he return with the war procession, where they would be greeted warmly in the streets by the people.

"Is she fine? The twins? Cade?" Delwyn asked his cousin.

"Everything's fine, Delwyn. Take a deep breath," Laiken said, his voice full of mirth.

Delwyn did as his cousin advised, only because he was starting to feel light-headed, having finally attained his goal of getting home to his wife's side. Esnal moved forward as the baby held out his arms towards his father. Automatically, Delwyn reached out for his son and held him in the crook of one arm, while his other arm curled around his wife.

He was so relieved he thought he would faint on the spot.

"They're really fine?" He needed the confirmation from Laiken. His cousin nodded.

"They're really fine," Laiken affirmed. "Well. I'm done here, so time for me to go and leave these two to their reunion." Laiken nodded to Esnal, who bowed to the royal couple and left. Osharus, seeing that he was not needed either, excused himself and closed the door behind him.