Inside the chamber, Rhaegar reclined against the carved headboard, one arm resting lazily at his side as he waited for her return. The candlelight burned low beside him, casting a warm amber glow across his sharp features and the dark silk of his robes.
The moment the door opened, his gaze lifted toward Caelith.
"What took you so long?"
She walked toward him without hesitation and settled naturally within his embrace, as though that place beside him had long since become her own.
"I spoke with Erian for a while."
Rhaegar remained silent.
She tilted her face upward and searched his eyes. "Rhaegar."
"Mm?"
"He means no harm."
Rhaegar looked down at her quietly for a long moment. His expression revealed little, yet the faint tension in his eyes softened almost imperceptibly.
"I know."
Caelith rested her head against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath the fabric of his robes.
"Then do not be so anxious around him."
