Ashen sat in the room looking exhausted, his head resting against Lumina's shoulder. His weight leaned into her more than usual, and that alone terrified her. Ashen had never been like this before.
Lumina trembled lightly under his weight, her fingers clutching the fabric of his robe as if afraid he might slip away from her grasp.
"Lord Drex…" she called softly, her voice shaking despite her effort to stay calm. "What… what should we expect? Please… this won't affect him, will it?"
Lord Drex's gaze moved from Ashen to Lumina and back again. His brows knit slightly, not in fear, but in confusion.
Truthfully, nothing was wrong with Ashen.
He was born of fire blood. Fire recognized him as kin. An attack like that should not have harmed him in the slightest, besides his father would never think of hurting him.
Yet, here he was, drained, unusually quiet, leaning on his wife as though she were the only thing keeping him upright.
