Chapter Text
The Peters’ house was crowded. It had been a tight fit before, with five girls and three adults, even with the magical extensions they had worked and the girls all sharing rooms. Adding King Radius and Saul Silva? It was a miracle that they hadn’t killed each other yet.
Although, Vanessa thought, that probably had a lot to do with the fact that Farah had still not woken up. It had been seven days since they had been on their mission to retrieve Saul - who had not yet left her side since then - and had returned with an allegedly dead king and her sister unconscious.
The King - who at least seemed like a sensible enough man, and told them almost immediately to call him Radius and drop the formalities - had examined her himself, under Saul Silva’s watchful eye, and declared her “drained but otherwise healthy”. Apparently, that meant that transporting the five of them out of the prison, through layers and layers of very strong protective barriers (though most of them thankfully were to keep things out, not in (since the prison was under the grand wards of the Solarian palace)) had taken its toll on her. He likened it to running a marathon without training enough - she had used too much of her magic at once and once her spell had run out of pure magical energy to sustain it, it had resorted to drawing on her physical energy instead.
Saul Silva had insisted that it had to be more than that - Farah would know how much power she could spare for a spell without draining herself. He had seen students, young fairies in training still, drain themselves because they didn’t quite know the extent of their powers yet and how far they could push. Farah was too experienced a fairy for that to happen to her.
‘Ah, but you’re not a fairy, Saul,’ had King Radius replied, ‘you don’t know what it’s like to feel the boundaries of your magic. Students might not know how far they can push yet, and if they push too far past, their spells will just break off when the young fairy runs out of magic to feed it. A fairy with Farah’s experience? She knew how much power it would take to get through those barriers and protections around the palace and the prison and she knew taking the five of us out would push her to, likely even past her magical limit - so she chose to let it feed on her physical strength to finish the spell. She knew exactly how much more energy she needed to feed it to get us to the portal. She was still conscious when we got there, if only for a moment - she took a calculated risk, and now she simply needs to restore her energy and power.’
That hadn’t gone down too well with any of them and Saul Silva had taken it upon himself to supply her sister with broth and water every few hours - they couldn’t exactly set up an IV or take her to the hospital to keep her nourished, so they had to do it the old fashioned way. It was almost sickeningly sweet, how he tried to take care of her, and Vanessa had heard the girls whispers. She wasn’t sure how much of it was true, though.
Back before they had gone to Solaria, she and Farah had talked often. Had proper heart-to-hearts, even though it had taken time for them to open up in the beginning, when they had to get reacquainted with each other. Once it felt like they were sisters again, talking had become easier and they slowly got to know the other’s life story.
Farah had asked how she had met Mike, of course, and then about Bloom even though that was a sore, still painful topic to even consider. Then, Vanessa had enquired if there was someone in Farah’s life too, someone special, and she had shrugged it off. She had been vague on the details, but had let enough slip that Vanessa thought there might be someone. Looking back at her adamance about freeing Mr Silva now, Vanessa wondered how she hadn’t realised before that this special someone was very likely him.
As curious as she was about their relationship, she couldn’t focus on that now. Her sister was still unconscious and had given no sign that she would wake up anytime soon; her absence was looming over all of them, crushing their moods.
The girls had been diligent in their studies and spend most of their time outside, tiptoeing along the halls when upstairs and only speaking in hushed whispers as to not disturb their teacher. She was more to them than that now, had been through too much with them to not be, but there was nothing they could do to help her.
Terra had been in several times to help take care of her, mixing up what restorative healing potions she could with their limited supplies, and to keep ‘Uncle Saul’ company. But that was about it, there wasn’t more she or any of them could do and it was eating them all up.
Merely Stella, who had just gotten her father back, was in better spirits and nobody was begrudging her that. They spent hours sitting on the porch swing just talking, Radius’ arm around his daughter’s shoulders and her unwilling to let go of him either, as if the other would disappear if they did. She had filled him in on what her mother had been doing, about the village of Aster Dell and the blood witches, the way she cared too much about pretence and nothing about substance and about her treatment of herself.
Once the girls went to bed, Saul Silva joined them downstairs sometimes and the four adults talked, trying to make sense of things and figuring out where to go from here. But even though Radius was a king, it was clear that without Farah they were lacking guidance and most nights, Saul went back up to watch over her before long.
Like he had tonight. Vanessa didn’t usually peek in on them before she went to bed, not like she did with the girls, but she always stopped at the door for a moment to listen. Usually, it was quiet and this night was no different - yet just as she was about to make her way down the hall, she did hear a noise from inside. It sounded almost like a soft moan, followed almost immediately by frantic, calming whispering and Vanessa couldn’t stop herself.
She knocked quietly and then proceeded to push into the room without waiting for an answer.
Saul had abandoned his usual position on the armchair next to the bed in favour of sitting on the bed, leaning over Farah and gently running his fingers through her hair. He didn’t look up, but he must have heard her come in because he moved just enough for her to see her sister properly.
‘I think she’s waking up,’ he said and then his entire focus returned to Farah. ‘Can you hear me? You’re alright, you drained yourself -’
‘Saul?’ Farah´s voice was barely more than a hoarse whisper but it was enough to make both Vanessa and Saul feel lighter than they had in days.
'I'm right here,' Saul said in a surprisingly soft tone. Immediately, Farah turned towards his voice and then, her eyes fluttered open.
'Saul,' she breathed again, somehow managing to raise her hand to rest against his cheek, 'You're here .'
'I'm here,' he agreed, squeezing her hand between his, 'I've got you.'
'You saved everyone, darling,' Vanessa said, reaching for her sister's other hand. 'You got them all out safely - and nearly killed yourself in the process!'
'Worth it.' Farah gave a faint smile, her lids threatening to drop again, sleep calling her back. But Saul wouldn't let her. Instead, he proceeded to shift so that she was half sitting, leaning heavily on him with his arm wrapped around her shoulder to hold her up. He glanced at Vanessa, who understood his request and hastily left the room.
'Farah just woke up,' she told her husband and Radius as she stepped into the kitchen. 'Could you…?'
'I'll go check on her,' Radius agreed immediately and made his way upstairs. Once he was gone, Vanessa set out to prepare something light and easy to eat for her sister - more soup, though she suspected that once she was recovered, Farah wouldn't be able to stand any kind of soup for a while. Some bread to go with it, now that she was awake, and maybe juice?
While her sister was busy ensuring she would get some proper sustenance shortly, Farah stared at the man in front of her, uncertain whether or not she was dreaming. She had thought she remembered finding King Radius in the cell next to Saul'ss, albeit in much better condition, but once her thoughts had started to clear up, she had put it off as her imagination. Now though, the apparently-not-so-dead King of Solaria was standing in front of her, asking to check her levels of magical drainage and ensure she was going to fully recover.
'But, your majesty-' she started to protest, finding the strength somewhere to sit up a little straighter on her own.
'Nonsense, Farah,' he interrupted, waving away her concerns, 'We've known each other for far too long to keep up the formalities.' He was right, of course, back before his presumed death, they had been something akin to friends even. More her and Luna, really, suitmates and friends since day one at Alfea, but Radius had been one of them too.
So, Farah inclined her head in agreement, too tired to actually answer. Radius took that as permission to run his checks and Saul moved behind her a little more so that she could relax back into him. It was comfortable, and Farah couldn't bring herself to keep her eyes open.
The spells washed over her in gentle waves, like sunlight tickling your face when you wake up. After a few minutes, or maybe it was longer, Farah couldn't say, the magic started to ebb away softly.
'She needs rest,' Radius told Saul and this time, Farah fought to open her eyes again, blinking owlishly at him as he seemed to drift in and out of focus. She thought he smiled at her. 'Rest as in sleep, proper sleep, and a lot of it. With how much power you have and how much you used…it will take a few days until you're back to normal, but you should get there. And you need to eat - ah yes, there she is, your sister has prepared something for you. And after, it's back to sleep with you.'
Farah wasn't even sure if she reacted at all, she thought maybe she mumbled her agreement, but her lids felt terribly heavy and her head so foggy…
Someone - Vanessa, her subconscious supplied - sat down on the bed next to her and essentially started feeding her. She started to protest, weakly, that she could eat on her own, but her fingers sluggish, her arms feeling like led, and she was lacking the energy to protest anymore, so she just gave in and focused on chewing and swallowing whatever they supplied her with.
She wasn't certain how long that routine went on; dazed and hazy as she was, her sense of time was nonexistent. Saul and Vanessa didn't talk much but when they did, it only added to the lulling fog pressing on her mind and threatening to pull her under completely. And Saul, when Saul spoke, that felt lovely. Seated as they were, with his arms wrapped around her from behind and pulling her into him, she felt the low rumble in his chest whenever he said something to her sister.
Eventually, though, Farah was pulled from the pleasant lull she had been under when, first, there was no more food coming, and then Saul began to move behind her. She wasn't sure how intelligible her protests were, but Saul didn't stop moving, apparently trying to stand up to give her more space to finally go back to sleep.
It felt wrong, letting him leave. She wanted him close, she realised that much even in her barely half-conscious state, so she reached out and clumsily reached for the first thing she could to keep him by her side. Soft, she realised, perhaps his jumper. She tucked on it and it seemed to work, because the bed dipped again and she felt herself rolling towards him.
Better. But not perfect.
'Saul,' she forced herself to whisper, still slightly slurred. 'Stay.'
There. Now he couldn't leave. Right?
He didn't, instead said something to Vanessa and then manoeuvred himself back onto the bed, shifting both of them so she was tucked into his side, head resting on his chest.
'Perfect,' she mumbled and she could feel the chuckle and then his fingers gently brushing the side of her face.
'I've got you, Farah,' he said softly. 'Sleep.'
For the next two days, Farah was asleep more than she was awake, but it was a vast improvement over her previous unconscious state. All of the girls came to sit with her for the brief periods were she was indeed awake and, unlike the first time she woke up, actually coherent.
'I didn't think it would be quite this bad,' she told Saul softly, curled into his side the second evening, 'I knew it was dangerous, needed more strength and power than I had, but I didn't think it would be like, well, this. I feel like I couldn't light a candle.' Which resulted in her being forbidden to do any magic for the next week, at the very least.
On day three, she felt like she finally had enough energy to come downstairs, and she spent the entire morning on the patio being entertained by the girls, which set the routine for the next few days.
Then, on day six, their routine was interrupted when the doorbell rang. Mike and Vanessa were at work and it had been agreed that Radius should best not be seen, so it was Bloom who went to get the door - carefully, as she had been instructed. And admittedly, when she checked to see who it was, she was surprised - though not unpleasantly.
'Concordia?' She said as she opened the door, not even bothering to hide the confusion on her face.
'Hello Bloom,' the fairy said with a tense smile, 'may I come in? I uncovered some…information that I thought you should be privy to.' And so Bloom had stepped aside to let her in and shut the door firmly behind her again.
'We're all out back,' she explained as she led Concordia through the hall and living room to the french windows that looked out onto the patio. 'Guys, we have a visitor.' That turned a few heads, but only Farah's and Radius' faces showed any sign of recognition. Saul and the girls, on the other hand, were suitably confused as to who the woman following Bloom was.
But it wasn’t anyone of them that spoke first but Concordia herself, who had spotted King Radius. Her eyes had gone wide and then she tilted her head and did something akin to a courtesy, not a proper one, more like someone would courtesy mockingly, except it wasn’t mocking at all. 'Your majesty,' she said, surprise still evident on her face, 'it would seem that accounts of your death have been somewhat…lacking in truth.'
He smiled and raised, stepping forward to, of all things, kiss her hand.
'Concordia, what a surprise. I had not thought you would ever leave that library of yours.'
'Flattery will get you nowhere with me, your Majesty.' Her eyes were twinkling. 'And I am most curious to hear your tale later on, but first I have news.'
'What news?' Farah finally spoke up, leaning forward a little in her seat, to get a proper look at Concordia. Instead of answering, Concordia suddenly narrowed her eyes at her.
'Goodness Farah, what have you done to yourself!'
'Transported herself and five other people from the Dark Cells through all of the palace wards and to a portal, is what she did,' Saul answered before Farah herself could, and she even had the decency to loom a little sheepish when Concordia’s glare turned on her. She waved her hand at her, shaking her head.
'Reckless. Stupid. You certainly should know better. But, alas, you are at least recovering nicely, so that's something. But I would not recommend any exertion for another week, and no grandiose shows of magic until then either.'
'Yes, ma'am.' It should have been funny, seeing Farah Dowling, headmistress of Alfea and arguably one of the most powerful fairies of their time, actually listening to someone else, let alone someone like, well, Concordia, but it wasn't. There was something about her, that same thing Bloom had already noticed the first time she met her, a sense of wisdom and quiet power that made everyone unwilling to oppose her.
'You came here to tell us about something you found?' Bloom asked, trying to stifle her curiosity and still get them back to the topic at hand, however clumsily her attempt might be. It worked anyway.
'I did.'
'Excuse me,' Aisha interrupted, 'but who are you again?'
'The librarian,' Terra told her, quietly. 'Remember? Bloom told us they went to visit her. It's where she got the books about the Dragon Flame from.'
'Ah, right. Sorry.' Aisha gave their guest a sheepish smile but she waved her off and turned to seat herself next to Farah.
'No need to worry. We are not the best known of people anymore, these days.'
'So what did you find?'
'A few answers.' Well. That couldn't have been more cryptic. But instead of smiling again, Concordia’s face went dark and her voice was serious as she spoke again. 'I told you the legends about how the Burned Ones were created. By the Queen's brother, with the help of Blood Witches.'
Collective nods.
'Good. We don't have as much information on Blood Witches as I would like, but there is enough. Some of the spells and books I read…' she shuddered, shaking her head. 'Unpleasant is a vast understatement. With what I could find about the Dragon Flame, I have come up with a theory on how the Burned Ones were created.' She waved her hands once more and a large scroll of parchment - proper parchment, not paper - appeared on the table between them. They all leaned over it to look at what it said, but the girls did, to their disappointment, realise quickly that although they understood most of the runes and words on their own, they didn't actually understand the context of the intricately diagrammed spells.
The adults, on the other hand (Saul, who didn't know that much about fairy magic, excluded), did seem to understand, if the twin looks of horror on their faces were anything to go by.
'That's…' Farah broke off, glancing up at Concordia who nodded grimly.
'Yes. But if I am correct -'
'I believe you are. You are rarely not.'
'Thank you, your Majesty. But if this is truly how the Burned Ones were created, then there is a way to reverse their enchantment.'
'Like Bloom did at Alfea,' Farah said thoughtfully and Concordia nodded.
'Yes. We can only destroy the cinders, their life force, but as keeper of the Dragon Flame, you, Bloom, can return the cinders to their original state.'
'What is their original state exactly?' Somehow, Bloom wasn't sure if she actually wanted to know the answer.
Farah gave her a sad smile. 'They used to be hearts, Bloom. The beating hearts of humans, before they became Burned Ones.'
'Hang on.' Bloom suddenly sounded horrified and her eyes were darting back and forth between the two women. 'Are you saying that when I took out the Burned Ones at Alfea, I killed actual people? Like, human people?'
'No!' Concordia exclaimed and Farah reached to squeeze her hand. 'No, Bloom, no. You did not kill people. The Burned Ones, the people they have once been, they were dead already. This -' Concordia tapped the scroll between them, '- means that the Burned Ones were turned the moment their hearts stopped beating. I assume that the Queen's brother burned the people with the Dragon Flame and then, when they were close to death, spelled them with the Blood Witches' spell. When you are dying and in despair, your body will try to hold on to life, so when the Dragon Flame came to what seemed to be their aid, their life force latched onto it.
'Except, of course, it doesn't work like that. They were closer to life than to death already, their souls ready to pass on, but the Dragon Flame pulled them back. But it also caused them to, in a sense, burn from the inside. That prevented their souls from returning to their bodies. They are caught between life and death, unable to go on with their bodies, however cursed, still bound to earth. I'm not certain what happens to the Burned Ones that have their cinders extinguished,’ she added apologetically, ‘but when the Dragon Flame undoes them, they revert to their previous forms. Their human forms, which certainly allows them to pass on.’
Everyone looked horrified by that revelation, but it was Terra who spoke up first.
‘If the Burned Ones are the people who were originally turned by the Blood Witches,’ she asked, ‘then there should be a finite number of them, right?’
Concordia made a face. ‘That’s where things get a bit hazy. In theory, yes, there should be. But the Queen was also tricked back then, and there are no records of what happened to the people who did not make it out of Domino before it was destroyed.’
‘So you’re saying that basically, everyone who was still in Domino that night might be a Burned One today?’ Musa looked sceptical. ‘But wouldn’t they have died by now? That happened thousands of years ago, didn’t it?’
‘It did,’ Farah agreed, ‘but fire does not die, it changes shape and lives on, spreads even - unless someone takes care of it.’
Saul took over from her. ‘We know that when you’re infected by a Burned One, you turn into one unless it is killed. That would fall in line with that - if the flame dies, it can’t spread further.'
'Yes. But only if the infection hasn't taken over completely yet. If it has, there is still a new Burned One out there.'
'So basically,' Bloom said, looking between the adults, 'You're saying that we have no idea how many Burned Ones are still out there and if the people they have once been might be trapped for eternity if I don't…do whatever I did to the ones at Alfea. Great.'
'Well.' Farah raised an eyebrow, glancing at her, 'according to Rosalind, there's a "Shit ton" of them still out there.'
'Helpful.'
'Fantastic.'
'Yes, quite.'
'So how does Bloom take all of them out?' It was Aisha who asked, mind obviously reeling from all they had just learned. 'I mean, taking out the six she took on at Alfea drained her - what's tons of them going to do?'
A good question, and one that had five pairs of teenage eyes fixed on Concordia and Farah. But even Farah turned to the other fairy questioningly, as if she herself wasn't certain what to say.
Concordia sighed deeply before letting her gaze drift over the lot of them.
'There might be a way to amplify your magic, make it reach all of them at once. But we'd have to sit down and write a spell for that -' she nodded at Farah, who tilted her head in agreement. It made the girls' eyes widen. One of the first things they learned was that spell based magic was notoriously difficult, needed a lot of power and you did not, not ever, go and invent new spells unless you either had a death wish or about a million years of experience.
'Though I don't think I can actually do any magic for a few more days,' Farah admitted after a few moments of silence, dipping her head towards Concordia, who simply shrugged.
'It's as good a place to start as any.'
'Perhaps you girls should go back to training now,' Radius interrupted then, rather abruptly. All eyes turned to him and he nodded towards the back of the garden, magically expanded like the house. Back when she had first started tutoring Bloom, Farah had set up a small training area there and it had been in more use than ever since the rest of the girls had arrived. They shared a look now, looking like they wanted to protest, but a sharp look from Farah stifled those before they could take off.
'But dad -'
'There are things we need to speak about that are not for your ears, Stella,' the King gently told his daughter, who deflated and, glancing back at them over her shoulder, made her way to the training area with her friends. The other girls clearly had sensed the sudden shift in tension; merely Bloom looked like she wanted to stay, though Farah attributed that to the promise Concordia had made to look into the possible identities of her parents. But she, too, left them when Farah gave her another encouraging nod.
Once it was just the four of them, Radius' eyes flashed golden once and a shield went up around them, stopping any potential eavesdroppers from listening in.
'Farah,' he began, 'I have been wanting to talk to you about a theory concerning my wife.'
'Of course.'
'Is it possible that she is, well, under a spell? The woman I married would not have acted in the way Stella has described her to me. Nor would she have drugged me and locked me in our own dungeon.'
'I suppose it is possible,' Farah admitted with a slight shrug, 'but I have never detected anything when I met with her - then again, I wasn't looking.'
'No, I don't suppose you would have been.' He sighed deeply. 'I just find it hard to believe that we have all been such terrible judges in character.'
Saul reached over then and gave his shoulder a squeeze. Had such a gesture come from anyone else, it may have been ill appreciated but the two of them had, many years ago, trained together and had fought side by side. That bonded people, even those that went to rule kingdoms from there.
'We didn't see much of either of you those first few years.' Farah’s voice was thoughtful. 'You left us to rebuild Alfea and took care of Stella and Solaria. The next time I ran into Luna after your funeral, she was like a different person, but I blamed that on grief.'
'She changed after that,' agreed Saul, 'but we didn't see enough of her to notice anything off about it. I think everyone just assumed that suddenly being widowed and having to rule on her own was getting to her.'
'Not that she accepted any help.'
'She's always been stubborn like that.' Once again, Radius sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. 'But she knew I didn't die, she was the one who locked me after all.'
'Well, she might just be a brilliant actress - I know that she is, actually, but I didn't realise she was good enough to fool the entire Otherworld.'
'Maybe she wasn't - or maybe she didn't have a choice.' Thoughtfully, Farah tapped her chin. 'There are spells, very difficult and certainly forbidden ones, that can be used for long term and long distance manipulation.'
'Yes, but they're also incredibly rare because the amount of magic you need to cast them would kill most people, especially if they're not mind fairies by nature.' Concordia, much like Farah, seemed to be deep in thought, though her tone betrayed her words somewhat. 'They are near impossible to detect unless you know exactly what you're looking for because of that, too.'
'So it's possible that Luna is under such a spell?' The King's voice was so hopeful it nearly broke Farah's heart. If Luna was indeed under a spell of Rosalind’s concoction, it would not only explain quite a few things but also meant that they could probably break it and ensure her assistance. But if she wasn't, and Farah didn't dare to hope this was not the case, then attempting to find and break a spell could be fatal, dangerous certainly, and it would reveal their hand to the Queen. It would also mean that Radius had to live with the reality of being betrayed by his wife and his daughter being very nearly broken by her own mother.
Still Farah couldn't help but nod slowly.
'It is possible, yes. Spells like that, they need a trigger - a phrase, a person, a place, even a date or an event would do. Once put in motion, the person under will either follow a set of previously given instructions or they continue with their lives as before while waiting for new ones.'
'Thing is,' Concordia added, equally slow as she contemplated each of her words, 'even long term spells like those aren't meant to be left unattended for nearly two decades. Unless you want them to become unstable, they need to be taken care of.'
Radius paled. 'What, precisely, do you mean by "unstable"?'
'The tricky thing about those spells,' Farah answered in Concordia's stead, 'is that once they are triggered, they start to gradually affect their target's behaviour, so if they do something that would, initially, have seemed out of character, it won't anymore. But if the spell is not monitored properly, it can start to change its victim's behaviour rapidly - tell me, before Luna imprisoned you, was she acting unlike herself?'
'I suppose she was tense; she always wanted to be perfect but even more so then, it was all pretence and snappiness. Until she threw me in our own dungeon, I thought it was just a phase - and then I assumed it was because she was planning that. But you are saying she might not have been?'
Farah and Concordia shared a look. 'No,' Farah said after a moment, 'Rosalind is not a mind fairy, it is entirely possible that she didn't know the consequences of casting such a spell on Luna. She'd have to have reapplied it recently - probably when she went to see her about being reinstated as headmistress at Alfea.'
'With the spell already manipulating and guiding her for over a decade, she wouldn't have stood a chance,' Concordia added and Radius buried his face in his hands. Glancing at the two women, Saul got up and awkwardly padded his back.
'Look at the bright side,' he said, 'at least if it's a spell, Farah can undo it.'
He didn't need to look at his fairy to know she was staring at him indignantly, but he didn’t particularly care. Over the course of his life, he had lost too many friends and had seen too many struggle to cope with the loss of their loved ones. Radius had been a good friend once and he and Luna had been happy - and everyone thought them out of Rosalind’s reach once they had left school. This? They didn't deserve it, not in the least. Stella didn't either, and he knew Farah agreed with him on all points. So yes, if Luna could be helped, she would do it.
'Perhaps,' Farah suggested, tone calm and thoughtful despite the glare she sent at Saul, 'we should make the Solarian Palace our first stop, then. Get Luna back on our side, then take care of Rosalind and the Burned Ones and take back the school.'
'Sounds like a good plan to me.' Of course, Saul knew that it wasn't much of a plan yet, but they had to start somewhere. He glanced at Farah. 'Although you won't be doing much of anything for a few more days.'
'In which case I should be going.' Concordia stood, idly brushing a nonexistent speck of dust from her dress. 'I'll be back with research in a few days.' She never waited for an answer, simply tucked on her necklace, twisting the shining phial dangling from it - and was gone in the blink of an eye.
'Right.' Farah sighed and looked like she wanted to say more, but a yawn interrupted her. Saul's eyebrows shot up.
'I think,' he smiled, 'that before you do anything else, it's time for a nap.'
'But -'
'No buts, Farah. Know what, I'll even join you.' That, at least, quenched any further protests and she allowed him to help her up onto her feet. Radius stood too and nodded at the girls at the back of the garden.
‘I’ll keep an eye on them,’ he said and made his way over to them.
Farah turned to smile at Saul, trying to stifle another yawn. ‘Let’s go then. I was promised cuddles with my nap.’
‘Oh, were you indeed?’ He grinned. ‘Then we should see that you get them, too.’
Laughing softly, Farah led them into the house and up the stairs, much slower still than she would have liked. Saul was a steady presence behind her, certainly there if she should fall after all.
Upstairs, tucked into his side with her head resting on his shoulder, she couldn’t help but smile at him. He had pulled her close immediately and she suspected that he was still just as drained as she herself was. But at least, they were together again now.
It was with that certainty that she drifted off, safe in the knowledge that things were looking up from now on.