LOGINSergio's POV
The days after Elara's warning passed slowly, and I found myself watching Leandro more than I used to.
I watched the way he moved through the halls, the way he spoke to the guards, and the way he sat on his throne with his golden eyes scanning the room like he was looking for threats that no one else could see. He was always alert, always waiting, and always ready for something to go wrong.
I had seen him sleep only a handful
Sergio's POVThe days after the confession passed differently than the ones before.I noticed small things that I had never noticed before. I noticed the way the morning light turned the snow on the windowsill into something that looked like diamonds, the way the tea tasted different depending on which servant brewed it, and the way the guards outside my door shifted their weight from one foot to the other when they thought no one was watching.I had spent so much of my life hiding, making myself small, and not noticing anything because noticing meant being present, and being present meant being vulnerable.But I was tired of hiding.I started keeping a small notebook on the table beside my bed. Every morning, I wrote down one thing I was grateful for. Some days it was the warmth of the fire, and other days it was the taste of honey in my tea. Once, it was simply the fact that I had woken up without a nightmare.It felt strange at first, like I was pretending to be someone I was not.
Sergio's POVLeandro noticed I was still shaking.The tea was gone, and the morning light had grown brighter, but my body had not stopped trembling, because the thoughts of the nightmare still clung to my skin like frost, and I could not shake it off no matter how hard I tried.Leandro watched me with those golden eyes, and I could see the worry painted all over his face. The dark circles under his eyes looked deeper than before, and his hair was still messy from the night, and he looked like he had aged years in just a few hours."You need to warm up," he said. "You are still cold."I looked down at my hands, and they were pale, and my fingers were trembling. He was right. The nightmare had left something behind, a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room."I will prepare a bath," he said. He stood up and walked to the door. "Stay here."I almost laughed, because obviously I was not go
Sergio's POVThe morning light was pale and grey when I opened my eyes.The fire had died completely, the room was cold, and my body was stiff from lying in the same position for too long. I did not remember falling asleep, and I did not remember Leandro leaving.I actually thought he had left, but I was wrong. He had not left.He was sitting in the chair across from the bed, and his golden eyes were watching me, and his hands were wrapped around a cup of tea. His hair was messy, and his shirt was rumpled, and there were dark circles under his eyes that had not been there before.He looked very tired. More tired than I had ever seen him."You are staring," I said. My voice came out cracked, due to the shouting last night.Leandro did not smile. He just stood up, walked to the bed, and he handed me the cup of tea. The warmth seeped into my cold fingers, and I held it tightly, as I breathed in the steam
Sergio's POVWe walked to my room together, and his hand stayed in mine the whole way.The guards bowed their heads as we passed, the torches wavered as light breeze flowed through the hallway, and the shadows danced on the walls.Leandro stopped at my door, and he looked at me for a long moment. I thought he might say something, but he did not. He just squeezed my hand, let go, and turned to walk away.I watched his back as he walked away, and his footsteps echoed in the hallway.Then I took a deep breath, went inside, and I closed the door behind me, and I lay down on the bed. The sheets were cool against my skin, and the fire was low, and the room was quiet.I closed my eyes, and I listened to the sound of my own breathing, as I waited for sleep to come.It came faster than I expected, and with it came the nightmares.The dream came without warning, and it swallowed m
Sergio's POVI found Leandro in the library again that evening, the main library, not the hidden one.He was sitting in a chair by the window, with his golden eyes staring out at the snow, and his hands were limp in his lap. He looked tired, his shoulders were tense, and I could see the weight of everything pressing down on him.He did not look up when I entered, but I knew he knew I was there. His breathing changed, just a little, and his hands curled into fists on his knees.I walked to the chair beside him, and sat down.Neither of us spoke, and the only sounds were the ones from the fire as it crackled in the hearth, and of the wind, as it howled outside the window, rattling the glass in its frame.The silence between us was heavy, and thick with everything we were not saying.He knew I had found the book. He knew I had read about Aldric, about his father, and about the betrayal that had shaped hi
Sergio's POVI found Elara in her chambers the morning after I discovered the hidden library.She was sitting by the window, with a cup of tea in her hands, and her old brown eyes were staring out at the snow. She looked tired, and older than I had ever seen her, and I wondered if she had been waiting for me to come.She did not look up when I entered, but she spoke anyway."You found it," she said. "Didn't you?"I closed the door behind me, walked to the chair across from her, and I sat down. The fire crackled in the hearth, and the shadows danced on the walls, and I could hear my own heartbeat in the silence."The hidden library," I said. "The book about Leandro's father. About Aldric."Elara closed her eyes, and she set her cup down on the table beside her. Her hands were shaking, just a little."I was wondering when you would find it," she said. "I hoped you would not, but I knew you would.







