lying there, pale and unconscious, kept her here. She couldn't abandon Cat when she was so defenseless.
The castle seemed horribly large and imposing with her friends gone. Elena had said it would take a good two months before the couple woke. So Loi waited while feeling as if on a knife edge. Wishing Cat would wake, and then dreading the day she did.
Because once Cat woke, their lives would be forever altered.
Sabyn lifted Loi to her feet, and led her back to their chambers. Standing beside the bed, he watched as Loi removed her robe and felt desire rise at the sight of her, naked, dark hair hanging past her waist allowing a glimpse of derriere. The timing was inappropriate and he wouldn't use her in that manner.
Seeing his cousin laying there in the dimly lit room unnerved him each time he walked in. The almost stale air in that large room, and the still figures, were a constant reminder of his own mortality.
It left Sabyn with the urge to run, to call Tomiar and take Loi far, far away from all this. That of course, was out of the question as Loi refused to leave. She knew he found it hard to stay and had used sex as a diversion for the last month. As distracted as he was, Sabyn hadn't realized at first. He shuddered at the memory of the vacant glaze in her eyes. It had the same effect as a bucket of ice cold water and promptly stopped any intimate relations between them for the time being. As much as Sabyn desired Loi, he loved her more.
Leaving his night shorts on, he climbed into bed beside her while inwardly growling at his cousin.
Hurry up Alek—there's only so much a guy can handle.
'Siiiaaannn?'
'Coming!' Sian answered automatically and sat up in bed, blinking.
Oh shoot, I've overslept again.
Throwing some clothes on, she hurried to Citaan and Gredel's bedroom. As she entered the room Sian found her blue-haired friend struggling to get slippers on.
'Don't! Let me,' Sian said, while fumbling for the slippers.
Once they were on, she stood and offered both hands to Citaan, carefully easing the woman up from the bed, then helped her to the bathroom.
You wouldn't believe Citaan is seven months pregnant, Sian thought. Not that the end is far away, but she looks huge.
But if you consider Gredel's height and build, as well as Citaan's siblings and father, it isn't surprising that the baby is big.
Sian had met the whole family the previous month at a ceremony for the unborn child. Every culture had its own traditions and for those of water-sprite heritage, like Citaan, a blessing ritual when the mother-to-be was six months along, was required.
Meeting all of Citaan's family had been daunting. Sian finally understood Gredel's apprehension when it came to Citaan's father. A large, imposing figure, he looked more than capable of putting even Gredel in place if he suspected his darling daughter wasn't happy. Citaan's five sisters and her mother, however, were very welcoming and plainly adored Gredel. Brece, Citaan's brother and Melanite's husband, was such a contrast to the father—easy going and talkative.
The family had stayed at the estate for close to a month, and it had made the spacious manor feel small. Gredel was fussed over by Citaan's sisters to the extent that he took to attending Council meetings to get away from it all. Daron had been very amused. Usually, no one attended the meetings voluntary. But then, with Alek and Cat unconscious, the men were taking their roles even more seriously than normal.
The image of Cat and Alek, laying as still as corpses within the Royal Chamber, caused Sian to shudder. The memory was seared in her mind.
I hope they wake soon, she thought. It feels as if we're treading water at the moment, just waiting. The bathroom door opened and Sian forced a smile, 'How are you feeling this morning?'
'How are you friend?' Nesha thought.
It was a while before Daron finally responded.
'Fine.'
Nesha waited for him to continue but he didn't. A wind current hit them, and Nesha and Loushka rose with it, Daron and Gredel shifting in their saddles as they dropped lower again.
'Sorry, Loushka, he's really hard to get anything out of at the moment.' Nesha thought.
'It's okay. I'm just trying to keep a track on them all. Does he have any idea what it is that Elena's told the girls'?'
'Honestly, I don't know if he's even paying attention to Sian at the moment. He gets