Chapter 74: Episode 074: Rue Awakens.
Rue sat up slowly against the headboard.
She took a deep breath, and her lungs filled with clean, cool morning air instead of fire. She pulled little Theron into her arms.
The baby boy was resting against her chest, perfectly happy and warm. He had his tiny fingers tangled in a long strand of her silver hair. He pulled on it gently, letting out a soft, bubbly giggle.
Rue smiled. A real, bright, beautiful smile that reached all the way to her pink eyes. She leaned down and gently kissed the top of Theron’s head. He smelled like sweet milk and clean blankets.
She felt a huge wave of pure relief wash over her. She was alive. She was here. She did not leave him behind.
She tickled his little tummy. Theron kicked his chubby legs and laughed out loud, his bright golden eyes shining in the sunlight.
How could I leave this little one all to himself?
Little Theron giggled.
"I am right here," Rue whispered to him. "I am not going anywhere."
The bedroom door pushed open.
Caius walked in, holding a massive, steaming wooden bowl in his hands. He stopped right inside the doorway. He looked at Rue sitting up, smiling, and playing with the baby.
A look of complete, absolute relief crashed over his face. His broad shoulders slumped forward. He let out a long, shaky breath, looking like a man who had just survived a falling mountain.
"You are awake," Caius said. His voice was thick and entirely soft.
Rue’s eyes narrowed softly at him.
To think I was going to leave him...
Caius frame shook in panic! But he immediately contained himself when she smiled at him again.
"I am," Rue replied, looking up at him. "I feel much better. Just very tired."
Caius walked quickly to the side of the bed. He set the giant wooden bowl down on the bedside table. He leaned over and carefully wrapped his long arms around her and the baby.
He hugged them both tightly against his chest and buried his face in her neck, just breathing in her scent.
"You scared us," Caius murmured against her skin. "You scared us so badly."
"I am sorry," Rue said gently, rubbing his dark hair. "I did not mean to."
Caius pulled back and offered her a small, incredibly warm smile. He picked up the wooden bowl. It was filled to the brim with thick, rich vegetable broth and soft root vegetables. The smell hit Rue’s nose, and her stomach instantly gave a loud, demanding growl.
She was absolutely starving.
"You need to eat," Caius instructed. He scooped up a large spoonful of the hot broth and carefully blew on it to cool it down. "You have not had any real food in three days. You need your strength back."
He held the wooden spoon right up to her lips.
Rue opened her mouth and let him feed her. The stew tasted absolutely amazing. It was perfectly salty and incredibly warm. She practically melted against the pillows. She ate the first few bites while Caius held the spoon, letting him take care of her. He looked so happy just watching her eat.
He is adorable.
His cheeks flushed pink, and she giggled.
After a few minutes, she felt strong enough to take the bowl from his hands. She carefully balanced it on her lap next to Theron and started eating on her own.
As she chewed a soft piece of bread, she looked over at the small wooden table next to the bed.
The glossy photograph of her parents was still sitting there. It was turned face down exactly where she had left it before the terrible fever hit her.
Rue set her spoon down. She reached out with a trembling hand and picked up the picture. She turned it over and looked at the smiling faces of her mother and father.
She ran her thumb gently over the image of her mother’s yellow sweater. She knew her parents loved her. Even though they abandoned her, she knew they would want her to be brave. They would want her to be a good mother to little Theron.
Rue offered the photograph a small, sad, but very grateful smile.
She opened the small drawer of the bedside table. She placed the picture carefully inside, tucking it away safely where it would not get ruined by dirt or water.
It was a piece of her past, and she was finally ready to leave it there.
Caius watched her do it. He saw the tears in her eyes, and he saw the peaceful smile on her face. He did not ask her who the people in the picture were.
He did not question her about the strange clothes they were wearing. He knew it had to do with the secret past she sometimes thought about. He just gently rubbed her shoulder, silently letting her know he was always there for her.
On the other side of the bedroom, Knox was leaning against the stone wall.
The Panther King had his thick arms crossed over his chest. He looked incredibly proud. He had helped save her life, and seeing her sitting up and eating made his chest swell with pure happiness. He watched her finish the last bite of the thick stew.
Rue set the empty bowl down. She sighed happily. But as she stretched her arms out, she noticed how incredibly thin her wrists looked. Her skin felt a little loose.
She stared at her own hands. A very normal, human thought popped into her head.
I am so skinny right now, Rue thought to herself. That awful fever completely burned away all my stored calories. I look like a tiny twig. I definitely need to eat at least three whole loaves of bread and a massive plate of potatoes today just to fix this.
Over by the wall, Knox jolted.
What was that?! He thought.
The Panther King’s round ears twitched on top of his head. He stumbled backwards, and his bright golden eyes went completely huge, staring at Rue in pure shock.
Because of the fresh mating mark on her shoulder. Knox had just heard Rue’s exact voice inside his head. It was loud and clear, exactly like she had spoken out loud.
Caius realized what was happening instantly.
Before Knox could get a single word out, Caius had come to him and slapped his hand tightly over the panther’s open mouth.
Knox let out a muffled grunt of protest, his eyes wide with confusion.
Caius glared fiercely at him. The snake’s eyes flashed a warning red. He aggressively shushed the panther, pressing his finger to his own lips with a highly threatening look.
Caius knew that if Rue found out Knox could read her mind, she would panic. She hated people invading her privacy. She needed to figure out the telepathy smoothly, not get spooked by a shouting cat.
Knox blinked, slowly realizing what the snake was trying to do. The panther slowly nodded and clamped his mouth shut.
Rue looked up from her thin wrists. She stared at the two massive men across the room.
They were pressed against the wall, looking completely ridiculous. Caius had his hand shoved in Knox’s face, and they were both staring back at her like they had just been caught stealing food.
"What are you two doing?" Rue asked. She was confused by their sudden, weird behavior.
If someone actually saw, they would think the two men are lovers.
Both men physically recoiled in disgust the next second. Looking at each other with hate.
Caius stepped back from the panther and smoothed the front of his shirt.
"Nothing," Caius lied smoothly. "The panther is just jumpy. He thought he saw a spider on the wall. I handled it."
Knox frowned and completely glared at the snake. A King of the Jungle was never scared of a spider. But he kept his mouth shut and just awkwardly nodded his head to agree with the terrible lie.
Rue just stared at them for another long second. She highly doubted there was a spider. They were acting incredibly strange. But honestly, she was too tired to deal with their wild predator antics right now.
She let out a soft sigh and shook her head. She decided to just ignore their weird behavior. She had much more important things to focus on.
She carefully shifted Theron onto her shoulder and patted his back.
"I am feeling much stronger," Rue announced clearly to the room. "And we have wasted a lot of time being sick. I need to get dressed and speak to Queen Tanith and Princess Gianna today."
I just hope it won’t be too difficult.
She needed to figure out how to help Iris before they left for the North.
Right as she said the words, a sharp, loud knock echoed on the heavy front door of the cabin.
Caius turned his head toward the living room. "It’s Queen Tanith,"
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