𝒜 𝒞𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝑅𝑒𝓈𝒾𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒮𝒸𝒶𝓇𝓈 | ᴀᴢʀɪᴇʟ

Chapter 112

Chapter 112

Arwen awoke alone. Her breath hitched as she felt the coolness of the sheets her arm stretched across. The drapes had been pulled back, bathing the room in sunlight, yet it was high, signalling that she had already slept through hours of it. She pushed to her knees, the blanket falling off her shoulders, an ache growing in her tightening throat.

The pillow on the other side of the bed still had the concave from someone else's weight. And if she listened carefully, she could hear someone in another room of her family cabin. Slipping her feet onto the cool wooden floor, Arwen didn't bother changing before venturing into the rest of the small estate.

With an arm around her stomach, the other perched on it, fingers pinching at her lip, she followed the sounds to the large kitchen. She could almost smile at the sight.

Rhys, dressed in loose pants and shirt, bobbed his head, humming a tune with no sense of pitch or tone. He moved his hips in time with it as he cut fruit up on a chopping board. He looked across to her, growing a smile and signing louder. She scarcely remembered what it belonged to. "What?" he demanded at her questioning look. "You should dance too. It's good for the soul."

Arwen shook her head, her smile growing. She resisted reminding him that she no longer had one.

He stabbed a piece of apple with the tip of the large knife and bit it off, humming in delight. She made her way over, eyeing what he had put together for breakfast. There was the fruit, still sitting in its juice on the board as well as a plate of bacon and one of eggs. She picked up a grape and plopped it into her mouth.

"How'd you sleep?"

Arwen shrugged. It was their second day at the cabin. Yesterday she had been a mess, unable to collect herself enough to do the simple things like put together a meal. She put another grape in her mouth.

Rhysand turned to rest the small of his back against the bench. Like she was a dog, he gave a hard stroke to her hair, brushing it roughly away from her face before drawing her closer. "You didn't get much good sleep last night. I thought maybe we could go on a hike today. Have a picnic up the stream a little."

Arwen lifted her head with a scowl. Wandering through the foliage was the least of her desires.

He caught the look. "We can fly down then. But I think being outside will be nice. Soak our feet in the stream."

Settling her head back down, she reached for a piece of bacon before it went cold.

'Will you speak to me like this?'

Chewing slowly, Arwen resigned and answered. 'Yes. It is easier.'

By midday, they were down at the stream, settled on a little glade of soft rolling grass. The stream curved, bent as though reaching for them, the trickling water breaking silver over smooth river rocks. Arwen lay on her back, arms stretched overhead. Rhys lay beside her on his stomach, propped by his elbows.

Her fingers threaded through the blades of grass like they were small, tickling hairs. Plucking one of the longest, she twirled it in front of her face for a while before turning onto her side. The green blade lightly brushed the space of Rhysand's neck just under his ear. Her brother twitched, using his shoulder to itch the spot. Arwen smiled and did it again. Rhysand swatted but she didn't relent.

His own fist tightened around a tuft of grass, pulling them from the roots. Arwen spluttered as she got a mouthful of it. Rolling onto her stomach, she spat it out in time with his bellowing laughter. Before she could concoct her revenge, Rhysand was already on his knees, a hand extended to her. She took it and let him pull her to her feet.