Vania awoke, gasping, feeling her hair and clothes stick to her sweaty skin. Eddin's arms held her tightly in place against his chest. Eluri and Prant both paced nearby, chittering and whining.

"Eddin?" Vania whispered, then swallowed against the soreness in her throat.

His arms relaxed and he sighed. "Vania."

As she slowly pulled away from him and sat up, trying to adjust her robe from sticking to her skin, she looked over at his serious face. As he also sat up, she caught a glimpse of angry red dots across his chest, a flurry of bruises in various shades of black and blue, all clustered around the spots. Angry red lines like claw marks also crossed his chest. "Are... you all right?"

"I'm fine," he replied. He leaned back against the side of the bed.

Prant and Eluri first peered at her, then jumped into his lap, whining and crooning. Eluri nuzzled against his chest. Eddin winced and gently held up his hand to stop her.

"That... doesn't look fine," Vania said quietly, long fingers toying with the threads of the rug. The colors of the rug blurred as her eyes filled with tears. "Did I hurt you anywhere else? Did I hurt anyone else?"

"No," he replied. He reached over and drew her into his arms. "You didn't hurt anyone. It's all right. It only last a few minutes. Ten at the most."

"Why... didn't I wake up before it happened?"

"I don't know," Eddin replied softly. "If I had to guess... You were probably just too tired."

"Then how come... I could attack you at all?"

"I don't know." Eddin sighed and kissed the top of her head. "It's all right."

"How?" she demanded as she sobbed. "How is this all right?"

"No one was hurt. The episode was short. It was only your second one, so the time between them is long." He chuckled. "You weren't armed this time, so you could only attack with your hands and your teeth, and I luckily had forgot to remove my earplugs, so your screaming hurt, but didn't damage my eardrums."

Vania sobbed again and gasped out with shaky breath, "This isn't funny."

"No, it's not," he agreed quietly. "But, all in all, it could be worse."

She sobbed, saying nothing.

As he gently held her, he asked softly, "Would you like me to ask Derry to come?"

She shook her head.

He sighed and held her in silence.

After her sobbing finally stopped and she managed to take a normal breath, she sat up and asked, "Do we need to worry the servants called the authorities, thinking I was murdering you?"

"No."

"Or that we have really weird... fetishes?"

"No." He pointed toward the door, where a set of runes were etched. "The doors and walls are spelled to block sound. No one can hear what we say or do in the room unless we want them to."

"Oh." She sighed, letting her head sag against his shoulder once more. "That's why none of them came knocking, asking if we're okay."

"Right. Plus, you know, we uppity nobles like our privacy. The servants are trained to ignore strange sounds coming from bedrooms."

She blushed as she snickered. "That's awful. You're horrible."

He smiled at her. "Yes. But, at least it made you smile."

She sighed, one hand very gently touching the red marks on his chest. "Does any salve or something help?"

He shrugged.

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault."

She looked at the darkest bruising, at the top of his breastbone. "Um. Is... your eye okay...?"

The eye opened, streaks of red running through it. "I'm sure it's fine," he replied. "I can still see through it."

"Oh, gods, Eddin, it looks terrible. Maybe you should see a doctor...?" She reached up and wiped away a drop of blood pooling at the corner of the eye.

He gently took her hand, pulling it down, away from his chest. "It's fine. I'll just need to be extra attentive about wearing my eye patches."

"You don't usually need them to go to bed."

"It'll be fine." He sighed. "And, let's be honest, it's extra anyway. I can afford to lose it." The eye on his chest closed. "Another episode or two, and we'll be able to predict when they're going to happen."

She sighed, sagging against him. "I just... wish this wasn't happening..."

"Me, too," he murmured. "But... we'll get through this together."

In her mind, the woman laughed. "Maybe, if you stopped fighting me, I'd help you. Maybe I could stop these bouts of violence for you. But, you need to stop fighting me, first."

Vania squeezed her eyes shut tightly, swallowing against a whimper from the intense pounding in her head. "Why should I trust you? You've been nothing but trouble."

"Vania?"

She glanced up at him. "Not you, Eddin," she whispered.

He nodded and hugged her tighter.

"Eddin?"

"Hmm?"

"Tomorrow, will you go with me to see Aleira?"

"Yes, I can escort you there. But, I can't actually be at the meeting, not being an enforcer anymore."

"You mean you're not going to ask for your job back?"

"I could," he admitted. "But, I won't get to work with you anymore, with us being married and all. Not sure I'd want anyone else as my partner."

"Who was your partner before you worked with me?"

"No one. I used to work solo." He frowned. "I was... too volatile when I first started. And that was after Mother deemed I'd recovered enough to finally be let out of my room. So, after I completed training, I worked alone. Then, I just grew accustomed to it."

"We both have a lot of dark places behind us, don't we?"

"Yeah," he agreed quietly. "Maybe we can stumble through it together."

"Yeah," she echoed. She swallowed a yawn.

"Well, if you're done trying to kill me, I think we should both get to bed."

She sighed and mumbled, "Yeah..."

"Well, if you want to stay up, we can go sit by the fire..."

"The stone floor isn't as comfortable as the old wood one?"

He chuckled. "Now that you mention it... no. Must need a better rug."

"My floor didn't even have a rug."

"Didn't need one."

"Now you're just being silly."

"Only now?"

Vania giggled. "Okay. You're silly a lot."

Eddin smiled. "So, are you feeling a little better now?"

She nodded. "Yes, thank you."

They stood, Eddin stepping away. Vania shivered at the air surrounding her in her sweat-moistened clothes.

"Cold? I can throw a log or two into the fire." Eddin took a step toward the hearth.

"No, that's okay." Vania grabbed his arm. "I'll just... use a blanket."

"Okay. If you're sure." He looked at her. "We have plenty of wood. Or, there's heat stones, too. Should I grab a couple for your hammock?"

"No. Thank you." She sighed and leaned against him, her arms still wrapped around herself. "Can I just... stay here a moment?"

"Of course." Eddin slowly brought his arms around her. "Maybe you... want to sit by the fire a bit?"

"No," she whispered. "We should get some sleep."

"Okay," he agreed. He waited, but she didn't move. "Vania..."

She swallowed. "Um. Can I..."

"You know, we could sleep over by the fire," he suggested. "If the chair would be comfortable enough for you."

"No." She sighed and slowly pulled away. "I'm sorry." She rubbed her arms as she shivered. "I'm gonna lie down... and hopefully, I won't try to kill you this time."

"Okay," he said, one hand gently massaging his bruises. He gestured, turning the dim wizard lights back off. "Sleep well." He sat back down on the edge of the bed with a sigh. He looked at where she stood, her silhouette vague in the glowing red light from the coals in the fireplace. He slowly settled back into the bed as she finally climbed into the hammock and wrapped herself tightly in the blankets.

He sighed and stared up at the darkness in the room as the embers in the fireplace slowly dimmed.

Whimpering caught his attention, then the sound of Vania's feet hitting the floor.

"Eddin?" she whispered, taking a few steps toward the bed.

"Vania, what is it?" he asked.

"I... didn't wake you, did I?"

"No." He turned onto his side to face her in the dark. "What is it?"

She rested her hands on the bed. "Can I... join you for a minute?"

"Of course."

She climbed into the bed, long fingers reaching out blindly.

He reached over to her and drew her closer. "I'm right here. What happened?"

She shivered and settled closer to him, letting her head rest on his shoulder. "Just... a nightmare." She sighed. "It's silly, I know. But..."

"It's not silly. I have nightmares a lot, too. Hopefully, I won't scare the hell out of you when I start shouting and thrashing." He let one hand rest on her back, above her wings. "Do... you want to talk about it?"

She sighed. "Not really." After a moment, she mumbled, "You were hurt. Dying. And I couldn't save you, because that bitch was in control. She just stood over you, laughing. And... she was holding a bloody dagger..."

His arm crept further around her and he pulled her closer. "It was just a dream, wasn't it? Or do you think...?"

"I don't know," she whispered. "But... I'm so scared it might come true..." She sniffled in the dark.

"It's all right," he whispered.

When she finally stopped shaking, she whispered, "Can I... stay here? For tonight?"

"If you want to," he replied, cocking at eyebrow at her in the dark. "But, I thought regular beds hurt your back?"

"They do." She bit her lip. "But... I'd rather deal with that than be alone right now."

"You're not alone, Vania. I'm right here, whether you're on the bed or the hammock. Prant's here... Eluri's here... You're not alone."

She nodded, placing an arm around him. "I know. But... I... just want to be near you right now."

He nodded and gently kissed the top of her head. "It's fine. Stay here as long as you like."

She sighed, leaning against him, her head resting on his chest. As a hand came up to rest on his shoulder, she murmured, "Oh. Am I hurting you?" Her fingers brushed the edges of the bruise cloud on his chest.

"You're fine."

"It doesn't hurt?"

"No. It went numb about an hour ago."

She sat up. "Eddin!"

"It's fine; this is how it happened last time, too." He reached up and gently pulled her back down to rest in his arms. "The numbness will fade sometime tomorrow. It's nothing." He murmured into her hair, "Try to get some sleep."

"But... but... are you sure?"

"Mm-hmm."

She swallowed and fidgeted.

"I had it checked last time; it's just a temporary effect. It's not a sign of any issues. No toxins. Nothing serious at all. Don't worry about it."

She sighed and whispered, "I'm sorry I hurt you."

"It's not your fault." He let his fingers gently twine through her hair. "It's all right." He gently kissed her forehead. "Try to get some sleep."

She sighed, shutting her eyes against the darkness, enjoying the warmth of being in his arms. She whispered, "I love you, Eddin."

"I love you, too, Vania."