Chapter 271: In A Jar
Soleia’s chest heaved up before it fell back down. Then, she slowly blinked her eyes open.
Her eyelids felt as though there was gravel weighing it down, and her eyes felt as if there was sand in them. They were so dry that she wanted to rub, but when she tried to raise her hand, she realized that she was being held down.
Furrowing her eyebrows, she mustered as much energy as she could to look over to her left. The sight she saw caused her heart to melt.
Rafael was fast asleep, tightly clutching onto her hand as though he was about to drown and she was her only lifeline. He had a frown etched into his face even while asleep, and his lips were slightly parted. If she squinted, she could even see them subtly moving as he spoke in his sleep.
He looked tired.
There were dark rings under his eyes, and his skin looked much more sickly than she remembered him, especially during their days in Vramid when he spent more time out in the open fields than inside the palace walls. There were wrinkles set into his forehead, and Soleia slowly raised her hand, wanting nothing more than to smooth them out.
Suddenly, the door to her chambers creaked open, and in stepped Orion. Soleia raised her eyes just in time to see him enter, and when he realized she was awake, his eyes widened with surprise.
He had a tray of food in his hands, and using his foot, he kicked the door shut. Even through the soft click of the door closing behind him, Rafael didn’t even flinch. He was too dead asleep.
When he walked over, Orion placed the tray down on the bedside table before raising his hand, wanting to nudge Rafael awake. He was stopped by Soleia.