Chapter Thirty-Three.

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Nyshard stared at me for several moments, then he stood up from his position in front of me and took a deep breath. "Adri... don't think that."

"I was asking you if you ever felt that way – not, because I think so", I sighed when Nyshard sat himself in an armchair, too.

"Adri..."

"The truth, Nysh."
His jaw clenched and he watched me closely for what seemed quite a while. "You have to understand, that when Caaln brought you to Ilyria and to the castle, you were not what I had expected. Not whom I had expected. I spent years trying not to think about the woman that my first Whisper had spoken about. And then you stumbled into my study, angry, with bleeding palms... you had just tried to flee. It was still night, or the very early morning. And I was furious that you had done something so stupid while you weren't able to heal yourself at all. And you didn't know anything. Adriyele... you had no idea of what was about to come, your mother had never told you", he pinched the bridge of his nose. "You thought I was going to kill you because you thought yourself useless, Adri. But... that malnourished, blonde young woman with the stunning green eyes... than woman looked so much like her parents."

I'd fidgeted nervously with my fingers while I had listened to him "That doesn't answer my question."

"Before I knew you, Adri, yes. Most probably, as much as someone is able to maybe resent a person one doesn't know. But the moment Srin sent word from Assdirn Flenn that he had found you and in which circumstances – I knew you were not to blame. And when I finally met you, I was absolutely sure that you're the only person on this world that's not to blame for any of this. You weren't even born back then; you grew up and were not told a single thing in all those years."

Nyshard's gaze wandered to the darkness outside of the window and he shook his head "Why do you always have to ask such things when you know I have to tell you the truth?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I just... don't know. When I didn't know about your Whisper, it was much easier for me. Because every time you said something that I didn't want to hear or believe, I had been able to tell myself, that you lied."

"Did you do that often?"

Averting my eyes, I nibbled on my lower lip "Probably not. But... not because I believed you, it was more because it was what I was used to hear."

In silence, he watched me for a while. Then, his eyes darted towards the darkness outside again "I know that some of the things I said to you hurt you."

I took a deep breath - and laughed.

His eyes shot to me, and he watched me laugh, until I gasped for air and broke into a fit of coughs. Nyshard immediately got up from his armchair and was by my side, rubbing my back. "Damnit, if you're getting a cold again..."

I only laughed more, and coughed more.

"By the almighty, that's hardly funny", he hissed as he continued to pat my back.

Forcing myself to take some deep, even breaths, I shook my head "No, it isn't."

"Then why are you laughing?", he growled and helped me up from my seat "You should go to bed, or at least lie down."

"I'm fine", but dizziness swept over me as I got up.

"Yeah, sure", he said sarcastically, eyeing me carefully "You're still shivering. I can also get you a healer if you're not feeling well, you've lost too much blood..."

With his help, I padded over to my bed, Nyshard pulled the blanket away and I murmured. "I'm no invalid, you know?"

I sighed annoyed, as he pulled the blanket over me, tucked me in and gently brushed some lose strands of hair out of my face.

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