Page 161 of The Crown's Awakening
Colsar looks between them and I look at my son, really look at him, at the particular quality of his stillness, the way he simply waited while his sister made her demands known to the entire room, calm and certain in a way that feels less like patience andmore like someone who has already decided he does not need to compete.
"There is something about you," I murmur. "You are calm. As though nothing could move you once you decide."
The name comes before I finish the thought.
"You will be Arakis." I look at him fully. "And we will call you Ari."
Colsar exhales slowly. "Arakis Floravar Rathmor."
The name holds in the room the same way the other one did, settling into the quiet alongside it, and Fiorakis makes a soft sound as though she approves, and the fire burns low in the corner, and outside whatever remains of the night holds still around us.
For the first time since any of this began, everything feels whole.
CHAPTER 47
Visaria
The quiet holds for a time, and then the world begins again. Saurin moves quietly beside the bed, her hands already working as she begins to change the bandages. There is no hesitation in her movements, even after everything she has already given.
Colsar rises with the children, one settled on each shoulder, balanced and calm against him in a way that looks effortless, their small bodies finding him as easily as they found each other.
I try not to move too much as she works. Even the smallest shift sends a pull through my abdomen that reminds me exactly how close I came to not being here for any of this. She replaces the cloth with fresh bandaging, her fingers certain and unhurried.
"It will take several weeks," she says quietly. "Once a healer sees you it should close properly. You may not scar."
"That would be fortunate."
She nods. “Moving from standing to sitting will hurt the most. Once you are upright and walking the pain will ease." She glances at me. "You must be careful."
"How do you know all of this?"
She is quiet for a moment, and then she smiles, something soft and sad moving through it. "I once had a son. He was five months old when the undead came." Her hands continue working. "I had gone to the well. When I returned the village was gone. Blood everywhere. Nothing left to save."
I stare at her for a moment, overwhelmed. “I am sorry.”
She inclines her head slightly. "When I gave birth to him he refused to come the natural way. Stubborn, even then." A faint breath of something like memory passes through her. "My husband had to deliver him himself. He used the same magic I used on you."
"You depleted yourself."
"My power will return," she answers calmly. “In a few days I will be as I was."
Colsar steps closer as she finishes, the last bandage set in place, and I look at him. Not a long look. Just enough. His eyes meet mine and something passes between us that does not need words, a question asked and answered in the span of an instant, and I turn back to Saurin.
"How would you feel about staying with us?" I begin carefully. "As their nursemaid. I would say Matron but you seem far too young for it." I pause. "You are good with them. You risked your life to bring them into this world." Colsar watches her now, quiet and attentive. "We would pay you well and treat you well. The only thing is," I hesitate, "there is war coming. We do not yet know where we will end up. We may not remain in Shalvar forever."
Silence follows, long enough that I feel it begin to press in.
"If you would rather not, I understand?—"
"I would be honored."
Her voice cuts through mine and I stop.
She looks at me with something bright in her eyes that she is not quite holding back. “You do not know how it feels,” she says, “to be around life again. To be around children.” A small breath. "I enjoy their company. And yours." Then, more quietly, "And I think my power may be of use."
Colsar's attention sharpens. "What is your power? Your origins?"
I shoot him a look. He softens slightly, though the interest does not leave him.
