Twenty-seven – 03

[This post is from Marin’s point of view.]

Once he was gone and long out of sight, I secured the gate again but lingered near it, trying to sort through the maelstrom of emotions his departure caused. Cariocecus had almost killed me more than once—had killed Kellin for a few seconds before Jacqueline managed to bring her back—but somewhere along the line after he’d thrown his lot in with us, I’d begun to give a damn about him. Maybe it was the moment when he’d collapsed bleeding at my feet months ago. Maybe it was before, or after. I didn’t know for certain. I wasn’t certain it mattered.

Once the gate was secure, I turned and headed back, intending to go back to my room and relieve Thom—I had let him and the baby asleep, but I was sure one or both had to be awake. Thom’s fever had ebbed, but he was far from recovered. Despite that, it would only be a matter of time before he was pushing his body and his luck.

At least, I suspected it would be. I wouldn’t mind it too much if he proved me wrong.

Thom was reading in bed when I slipped inside, our son still fast asleep in his cradle. I smiled faintly at the sight and tugged the door shut behind me. “Hey.”

“Hey.” He closed his book and set it down, looking at me with a faint, crooked smile. “Where’d you go?”

“Out to the wall to think,” I said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. I leaned in and kissed him gently, fingertips grazing his cheek and jaw. “I don’t think I’m any more clear-headed now than I was when I went out there, but at least I tried.”

“Mm,” he said softly, running his fingers through my hair. “It was a little disorienting to wake up and not find you here. I wasn’t sure what time it was.”

“Midmorning,” I told him. “You could have gone back to sleep.”

“I’ve been doing a lot of that lately,” he murmured. “It’ll be a problem if it becomes a habit.”

“When you’re hurt, you’re allowed to make it a habit,” I told him, then smiled. “I want you whole.”

“Probably a good thing.”

I nodded. “It absolutely is.”

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