Rhaegar slowly lifted his head and looked at Caelith.
There was weariness upon her beautiful face, and though the faint red trace upon her brow had all but vanished beneath the daylight, something brighter had taken its place within her eyes—a light that belonged wholly to her. A strength no hardship could extinguish.
Rhaegar kept watching her, and in that moment, something within him stirred beyond restraint.
He reached out suddenly and drew her into his arms, holding her close—firmly, as though unwilling to let her slip beyond his grasp again. As though she might forever disappear if he did.
"Caelith," he murmured at her ear, his voice roughened with emotion, "I am really proud of you."
Resting against him, she let out a soft, quiet laugh.
"For the first time in a long while, I am proud of myself, too."
***
The following day.
