“Alessia? Are you alright?”
I feel like I’m hearing her from underwater, or from super far away. My feeling in my extremities vanishes, and my legs give out from under me. A pair of arms automatically wrap around me from behind before I can topple over, though.
“She just needs some rest. Take her inside.”
Rest? I don’t have time to rest. I need to help these poor people. I’ve only just healed their injuries. They need food, they need water, and they need help rebuilding their homes—
I don’t finish my thought. I suddenly find myself flat on my back on a soft, cushioned mattress, staring up at a water-damaged wooden ceiling. Someone has angled the shutters next to the mattress to keep the sunlight from shining in my face. I hear the footsteps of someone nearby, and I look to my right, finding Aurelio pacing around the room. He looks my way when I try to sit up in bed.
“Hey! You weren’t out for very long,” he says, grinning.
I frown. “I passed out?”
“Only for a few minutes. I think you overextended yourself in healing those kids,” Aurelio explains. “You might have forgotten to pay attention to how much magic you were using while you explained how your magic works. Sorry for distracting you.”
I shake my head, trying to clear the cobwebs from it. I definitely used too much magic, based on the unbidden soreness permeating my entire body, as well as the brain fog, so thick I can barely string two words together. It’s been a while since I pushed myself like this.
“You don’t need to apologize. I should pay more attention. Besides,” I add, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth, “I’ve never gotten the chance to use my magic to heal real people. This was fun for me.”
Aurelio raises a brow. “Fun?”
“Yes, fun. It’s not ideal that the citizens of Krasta are suffering—I still plan to make their leadership pay in full for their transgressions—but I’m glad I’m the one that got to heal them. They need to feel that I have a personal stake in their well-being, and I got to show them what I’m capable of in the process. They need to know that they can count on me even if their royalty fails.”
I swing my legs over the side of the bed, intending to get up, but the whole world starts spinning before I can do so. Aurelio is by my side in a flash, holding me up by the shoulders.
“Whoa, you need to lie down still,” he says.
“I’m fine, just let me—” I protest.
“Ah! No! No, no, no. You’re laying down. Now.”
I have no strength to fight back as he lays me back down on the mattress and covers me up with a sheet. I press a hand to my forehead, sighing irritably.
“I don’t need you to baby me, Aurelio.”
“I’m not babying you. Someone has to take care of you if you continue to refuse proper self-care, and that job lands firmly in the hands of your husband. Or have you forgotten that we’re married?”
Even through my brain fog, my face heats. “I haven’t forgotten.”
“Good. Let me take care of you, then.”
“Why are you doing this? It’s not like we’re married for love,” I grumble. “You bear no responsibility for my well-being.”
“You may view it that way, but marriage, whether or not it was my choice, is a commitment to caring for another person. You don’t have to love them to care about them, but I think caring for the person you love is a noble sentiment, don’t you think?”
I’m struck speechless. I don’t know how to respond to that. Even if my brain wasn’t functioning on half-power, I don’t think I would be able to form a response that makes sense in the context of the question. My heart races out of control once more, but not from magic overuse this time.
“Aurelio…I can take care of myself,” I choke out.
“I know you can. I’m doing this because I want to, not because I have to. And no, before you ask, Daelia did not threaten me to get me to take care of you. I told her to take care of the villagers instead.”
I hear the trickle of water, then Aurelio appears at my side, a cool washcloth in hand. He places it over my forehead, where the chill of the water soaks into my burning skin. I sigh gratefully.
“See? Letting someone else take care of you isn’t so bad,” Aurelio says.
“Maybe you’re onto something,” I admit. “But don’t think you can get away with doing this all the time. This is a rare occasion, alright?”
Aurelio smiles patiently. “Whatever you say, Alessia.”
