Mia didn't know how long she stayed on the ground, sobbing before the medical unit arrived with a moveable bed. They carried the king onto it and took him into the medical unit of the warrior's institute.

Mia turned to Commodore Ian. "I will much appreciate it if the king's state of health is kept here and not spread."

He bowed his head to her, showing her the respect she didn't deserve after what she had done. "Yes, my queen, the warriors are sworn to keep the secret of the king; you have nothing to worry about."

"Thank you," she said, and she followed those who had come to take the king with them.

She stood at the door and watched as the head of the unit attended to Xavier, trying to stabilise his heartbeat. They stayed a while to achieve their goal, and once they attained it, they departed the room, leaving the king to get enough rest.

"The king shows extreme signs of fatigue; a few hours' rest is all he will need to help himself. That would be the best time to return to the capital and not wear him out, my queen." The chief physician at the institute explained before walking away with her helpers.

With the physicians gone, Mia was left with Xavier, whose eyes stayed shut on the bed. She didn't go near him; she stood at the door, watching him and wiping the tears that creeped out of her eyes.

She was a mess, but she would stay here for as long as he needed to wake up.

"You cry as though I am dead," Xavier said, and his lashes fluttered slowly in bed.

She shook her head and whimpered. "I am sorry."

"For what?"

More tears ran down her face, and her trembling hands did a poor job of wiping them off. "Everything."

He chuckled. "I know it feels like the right thing to do, but don't be sorry. You didn't give me the shadow sickness, my love." He joked.

She couldn't believe he found the energy to joke about this, but then that was the man she married. It still didn't make her feel better; it made her feel worse.

"I am your mate; I should have known." Her voice faded towards the end of her words.

"You knew about the blonde lady in white." He pointed it out.

She did, but she had interpreted the signs in the wrong way. Xavier never acknowledged her and got so furious with her when she called the blonde lady his mistress and whore.

What was she to think?

She felt a change before then, and seeing the blonde lady in white became the reason she had been looking for. She knew what she saw and believed it; the blonde lady in white had Xavier under her mercy in the study.

Interpreting it this way made her understand she had him under her mercy like a slave.

That was what the shadow sickness did.

She was also with him longer today, and it meant her presence in Xavier's life had gotten stronger.

Interpreting it this way now makes her feel so miserable. She should have known there wasn't anyone for him but her, but she was hurt and believed the wrongest thing ever.

"How long has it been?" she asked.

He didn't hesitate: "Six months ago. I felt it, but I thought it was just something that would pass in time. It wasn't, and it didn't pass. Four months ago, after my return from Jade, I had a bleeding nose. That was the confirmation. I had the sickness that took my mother from me. I began seeking help, but it worsened two months ago."

She entwined her fingers. "You should have told me. I have thought the very worst of you in the last month. I have been so blinded to the truth, but you could have told and made me see it. You were dying right before my eyes, and I couldn't even see it." She said that, and tears ran down her face like a streaming river.

He lifted his hand to her, and despite feeling unworthy to be beside him, she moved her leg forward and took his hand. "None of this is your fault, and yes, I could have told you, but this is what I wanted to avoid," he squeezed down on her hand. "A part of me preferred you resenting me to this; you were still strong and full of energy-it was mostly anger, but energy regardless. One thing I hate more than death is seeing you cry."

"I can't help it; I do not want to lose you, and I feel responsible and burdened," she told him.

His weak hand lifted and wiped off the tears on her face. "Do not burden yourself, my darling. I do not want that."

She held onto his hand and kissed the back of it. "You have been treating it?"

He nodded. "I did the first three months, but I can no longer go that far, so I had them come to me."

She remembered him leaving for days, not telling her where he went, and keeping her in charge until his return. All that started four months ago. She did not know why, but she hated that he kept things from her.

They now visit him in their chamber. That was why he sent her out, not because of the blonde lady in white. It was, but not in the way she thought.

"I have survived it this long because I am the alpha king." He continued speaking, pulling her out of her thought: "But the shadow sickness is a cruel plague. I saw it take the life of my mother in only a few months of its arrival; I saw it wreck her, but I am still here." He laughed.

Finding humour in this didn't sit well with her.

"You're dying, Xavier." She said it with a calm voice. "I do not want you to die." A painful tear slid down her face.

He smiled, and the wrinkle at the side of his face came on display. "I do not know what to say. But I am still here and fighting to live for you," he tells her.

He had had the shadow sickness in the last six months and yet was able to go about with the affairs of the kingdom as if nothing was wrong with him.

"It's been decades since your mother's death, and the kingdom has advanced in healing and magic. There should be some intervention already."

"If Edward was here, we could have stood a chance against it, but he isn't here." He answered, "We can pray that the moon goddess shows us her mercy, but then again, she doesn't do things our way."

"I do not want you to give up on me, Xavier." She reached out her hand and stroked his face.

He nodded. "I won't."

"Good."

They wandered into silence, but she didn't think about anything; she just wanted to be here with him.

After a while, he said, "I am sorry; you are right; I should have told you."

"Then why didn't you?"

"At first, I wanted to beat it and then tell you of my victory and put no burden on you. Then I realised I had already hurt you with my actions. Then I decided I was more content with you hating me than with you being hopeless and in pain over my helpless situation. I knew how I felt beside my mother all those years, and I didn't want you to feel that hopelessness with me. When you wanted to return to your father's house, I couldn't grant you what you wanted because I didn't know what state I would be in when-if you'd return. You have contributed to my survival, even without knowing it yourself. I should have been honest from the very beginning, and for failing to do that, I am sorry."

"I hold nothing against you, Xavier; I have always loved you, and I always will."

"Goodness, you are so beautiful, Mia. Did I ever tell you that?"

She couldn't help the smile that came onto her pain-filled face at his words.

"There is the smile I have missed." His hand lifted and traced over her lower lips. "Do not let it go, no matter what happens."

"A war is coming; I can't do this alone. I don't want to do this on my own." Her hand tightened around his own. "I can't rule this kingdom without you by my side."

"I am not dying yet; I am a tough one to kill. Look at me," he told her, and she followed his instruction: "We will win this war. You can best believe me."

According to their calculations, the war was a few months away; the king was gravely ill, the odds were no longer in their favour, and hope was hard to hold on to now. Yet she felt assurance in his words.