Jaime sat quietly by Elena's bedside in the healer's hut, the flickering candlelight throwing long, trembling shadows across her pale, bandaged form. Her breath was shallow but steady. A fragile rhythm tethering him to hope, even as sorrow gnawed at his chest.
He had insisted Aurora and the other healers get some rest- their exhaustion clear on their faces. They had shuffled out with heartfelt thanks, Aurora placing a reassuring and grateful hand on his shoulder before leaving for the night.
He reached out and gently took her hand, marveling at how small and delicate it felt against his roughened fingers. Her skin, warm yet fragile, was a cruel reminder of what had been stolen, shattered, and dishonored. How violently and unfairly she had been torn apart, body and spirit alike.
His throat tightened. He swallowed hard, forcing down the surge of fury that threatened to tear him apart.
Niegal.
The name burned like a brand, twisting his gut with a rage so raw it left him breathless. The man they once called family was no longer human. Instead, he had become something monstrous.
Jaime's eyes flicked to the window, where the Sanctuary slept uneasily beyond. The streets he had once walked freely now felt foreign and broken. Doors were shuttered. Mothers clutched their children. The market, once filled with laughter and trade, was silent. He had never known a place that felt like home- and yet this had been it, the first place he could call his own after escaping the Inquisition. And now… it, too, was fractured.
His gaze returned to Elena. She stirred, eyelids fluttering open, violet light flickering faintly like fragile flames in the dim room.
She saw the storm brewing inside him. Heard it in his sharp intake of breath, felt it in the trembling of his fingers.
"I know," she whispered, voice hoarse, trembling on the edge of tears. "I feel it too."
Jaime leaned closer, brushing a damp lock of hair from her forehead, careful not to touch her wounds. "I swear, mi Doña," he breathed, voice raw with emotion, "I won't leave you. Not now. Not ever."
A faintest smile spread across her lips. "That means more than you know."
Tears glistened in her eyes, and she whispered, "Please… lay with me?"
Without hesitation, Jaime eased himself onto the narrow cot, careful not to jostle her fragile form. She winced at the ache in her collarbone but allowed herself the comfort of his presence. He threaded his fingers through her curls and hummed the faint tune of the church hymn they had once shared beneath the stars. The melody, familiar and steady, softened the jagged edges of pain just enough for them both to breathe.
Beneath the tenderness, the hunger for justice clawed at Jaime's mind. Coatriskie hissed in the spaces between heartbeats:
The lion must pay. You must end him before he destroys what remains. He killed me before. Now he's nearly killed our Nanichi and her vessel.
Jaime closed his eyes, torn. His body curled around Elena, offering warmth and safety while his spirit braced for war. Then a thought struck him- the Sanctuary. The children. The people. They would not survive another strike like this if the corruption remained unchecked. The balance had shifted.
Coatriskie's voice softened, nearly a whisper:
Take her to the Wellspring of Coabey. Heal her fully. Heal her spirit. The bond must be restored.
Jaime remembered that shared vision he and Elena had had. The Wellspring, the flood of divine light, the memory of loss and the gods' wrath. It had been their promise once. And now, it offered a way forward.
"I will speak with Señora Behike," he murmured. "We'll make the arrangements. I'll take you there, mi Doña. You will heal."
Her eyes glimmered faintly, a ghost of trust and relief. She nodded, weak but certain. "It's healed me before. Maybe it can help again." She winced, her throat still aching.
He pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. "I will stand beside you, always. Not before you. Not in front of you. Beside you. Whatever comes, I will not leave your side."
Elena slipped back into sleep, smiling softly, "I love you, Jaime"
He kissed her hand, eyes misting again, "I love you, too"
The night held its breath around them. In that quiet, fragile moment, Jaime swore to himself, and to the goddess within her, that he would walk with Elena through the darkness and the storm, a steadfast protector and guardian, until the dawn broke.