The Seven Deadly Kingdoms

Chapter 32

      Adelaide raked the back of her arm over her eyes. She was positive massive eye bags had developed under them from her lack of sleep. The last few days had consisted of tireless work. When Adelaide wasn't personally training with Mira to better her sparring skills, she was either discussing their plans with Caspian and Aragon or helping expand the camp. Adelaide only saw her reflection in puddles, but she was convinced she had begun to develop a wrinkle between her brows from the constant tension. She hated it.

An arm being thrown over her shoulders took Adelaide out of her thoughts. Caspian smiled down at her. "Staying awake?" Adelaide raised her brows, chuckling as she shook her head. They had been walking for three hours now. According to Caspian, they only had about half an hour to go.

"Hardly. You?"

"I've had my fair share of all-nighters. Back when I was on the losing team over here, me and a few other guys were on patrol every night. I only finally got to take a quick nap after we'd get back to base in the morning. It wasn't awful, though. I was just grateful to be a patrol guard and not an actual soldier. Those guys had it rough." His eyes opened a little wider and his lips pressed into a thin line.

Adelaide nodded along, her mind too hazy with fatigue to conjure up a response. Caspian's eyes lingered over her face for a second longer than necessary. A spark of what Adelaide could only assume was amusement flashed in his eyes as he smiled, his canines catching Adelaide's eye. She cleared her throat, realzing his arm was still lazily slung around her shoulder. She pondered if she should push it off for a moment. He really was quite warm, and she really was quite cold.

Letting her eyes droop, Adelaide's body relaxed into Caspians side. He tensed slightly, looking down at her once again. A hint of a smile flickered on his features, but he quickly masked it by feining a cough. Adelaide smiled to herself, amused by his sheepishness. After a long moment passed, Caspian relaxed, wrapping his arm a little tighter around Adelaide.

...

A gust of cold wind blew up Adelaide's shirt, jostling her awake. She was still tucked into Caspian's side. Her hands shook slightly from the cold. She snuck a peak at Caspian. His features had gone cold, his jaw clenched as if he was lost in thought. Adelaide wasn't sure how long she had nodded off for, but she was more surprised that she was able to keep walking while being mostly unconscious.

Caspian stirred slightly, grabbing Adelaide's attention. She brought her eyes down to her feet, not wanting caspian to know she had been starring. She could feel his eyes on her; his hesitance to speak as he tried finding words to say. He sighed as a moment passed, using his free hand to tap Adelaide's forehead.

"Hey, we're just about there. How ya holding up?" He asked quietly, leaning down to make sure she was awake. Adelaide closed her eyes, not able to help but yawn. She nodded.

"Doing alright. Didn't expect to be this tired, honestly. I think I might have actually dozed off for a few seconds."

Caspian chuckled in response. "I know, you were practically snoring." Adelaide shot him a glare. "I was not," She bit back, though she knew it were entirely possible that she had been. Caspian shook his head, smiling.

"I'm only messing with you. But you did fall asleep a while ago. Or at least half asleep. It looked like you might have even been dreaming a couple times. You were mumbling all types of things. I can't imagine how sleep deprived your body is to be able to still walk while you're like that."

Blood rushed to Adelaide's cheeks as she imagined what she must have looked like, sluggishly moving along and muttering incoherent words. "Oh.. Sorry about that. I honestly had no clue I was that exhausted. I've just been so overwhelmed with everything, you know? I mean, I knew what I was getting myself into when we started this, but I expected to get at least a little rest." She replied with a light laugh, though Caspian's brows drew together in response.