I still couldn’t sleep, not after my watch, not after the conversation with Thom. He drifted off and I lay awake, staring upward, listening to him breathe in the darkness.
We were lucky, he and I. Sure, we’d had our share of problems—we still did in some ways—but they were nothing compared to what was going on between Sif and Thordin.
Then again, it took almost losing each other to make us realize that being together was more important than anything else—that having the other with you was more important than any disagreement we’d ever had or ever could have, more important than any belief we might have held dear.
I rolled onto my side and pressed my face into his neck. Thom stirred, but kept on sleeping, his arm wrapped around my waist. He was right about there not being anything we could do, though, except wait. They’d have to solve their own problems, once Thordin woke up.
If he woke up.
A shiver shot through me and I pressed closer to Thom. Something was tugging on the edge of my consciousness, tickling the back of my brain. I tried to push it away. I was tired, even though I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t have the energy.
It didn’t go away.
“We knew it was only a matter of time,” Jac said softly, staring at her hands. “There were just too many signs pointing in that direction. We just didn’t want to believe it.”
“Then you understand.”
“No,” she admitted. “And I don’t like it, either. But sometimes you’ve got to let go. You have to step back and let the chips fall where they may—to let God or whatever’s out there make the call.” She gave me a brave, if weak, smile. “But that doesn’t make it any easier.”
“No,” I whispered. “No, it doesn’t.”
