Her Graceful War Song by Summer's Blaze

Upon arriving at the inn, Kayla collapsed to her knees as soon as she stepped out of the carriage, her legs numb and weak from exhaustion. She had endured so much, both physically and emotionally. Carissa helped her up as Kayla said, "Hurry, take me to him."

The greatest torment of Kayla's journey had not been the motion sickness or the jostling of the carriage, but the constant worry about Lawrence's condition.

Carissa supported her inside, and Rafael approached them. The couple exchanged a glance, and Rafael nodded, a silent assurance that Lawrence was still alive.

Carissa breathed a sigh of relief. Then, she looked at him deeply concerned, noting how much weight he had lost.

She assisted Kayla up the stone steps and to the door of the room. Everyone stepped aside, allowing Kayla to see her husband lying on the bed.

She paused at the door, covering her mouth with her hands. Tears quickly blurred her vision, and they began falling in large, heavy drops.

Just when everyone expected her to break down in tears, Kayla wiped her tears away with determined strokes. She eventually managed a faint, trembling smile as she approached her husband.

She sat at the edge of the bed, first gazing at his face. After all the days of treatment, the swelling had mostly gone down, though bruises remained. The wounds at the corners of his mouth and eyes had largely healed.

His face was covered in bruises, making it hard to recognize him. The sun had darkened his skin, and the bright red medicinal cream smeared across his face stood out against his complexion. His lips were a deep purple, adding to the unsettling look. Seeing his broken appearance, Kayla felt a pang of sadness.

his eyes, which were initially unfocused. And then, as if

and only when her hand touched his face did the reality of her

and lips somehow conveying vulnerability

for her hand, but he couldn't lift his arm. Kayla quickly took his hand gently, noticing the fingers coated with medicine. Each finger was dotted with small punctures, and

her composure. When she looked at him again, her smile remained. "I'm here. I'm right

had not spoken since arriving at the inn. Now, he moved his lips a few times

never left Kayla's face, as if they were pinned there. The dreams he had cherished over the years were

QUMS

always been like this seemingly fragile,

will... get better!" he said, each word a

crowd, someone

everyone watching this scene was on the verge of tears, Sebastian had been adamant these past few days about not

to challenge Sebastian's

men looked around for who had started crying, only to see Sebastian jogging out of the

them a moment to realize that the sob they

breaking the silence, others couldn't hold back their tears any longer-they began to weep