I wrapped my arms around Arthur from behind, holding him like I could physically pull him back from the brink just by wanting it enough. My tears wouldn't stop. They streamed down my cheeks, hot and fast, like someone had finally opened a valve I didn't know existed. Dignity? Gone. Royal decorum? Irrelevant. I was a Saintess and a princess, yes, but right now I was just a girl who'd found the boy she loved bleeding into her lap.
I hadn't seen him in so long.
I'd imagined our reunion differently. I was supposed to surprise him—sweep into Lumiaren City with the northern reinforcements like a heroine out of an old epic, kiss him breathless, tease him, maybe steal his cloak just because I missed the way it smelled. I'd imagined the way his eyes would light up at the sight of me.
Not this.
Not... this.
He looked half-dead.
Across from me, Seraphina knelt, her silver hair falling forward to hide her expression as she clutched Arthur's hand with white knuckles.
