I’m so damn exhausted.

For ten minutes, that’s all I dare take, I sit in that interrogation room by myself, just staring at a wall. For ten minutes, I let it all wash over me, let it overwhelm me. Everything I have to do. Everything I’m dealing with.

And when my ten minutes are up, I stand, hold my chin high, and I walk out of the room and down the hallway toward the stairs. Through passageways and down through the belly of the castle and mountain into our secret tunnels.

My heart pounds when I stand outside of the lab.

What if?

What if?

What if?

Emotion makes my throat tight. I have to rein in my imagination from getting too dark, but also too hopeful.

“Face reality, woman,” I quietly say to myself. My voice reverberates madly off the stone walls, a chorus of reminders.

I open the hidden door and step into the lab.

The torch still glows dimly against the far wall. Shadows dart wildly as my movements send the flames dancing for a moment. The air is warm, humid. It’s comforting.

My eyes dart straight to the table, and on it, Cyrus still lies. I swallow once as I cross the space to him, my mouth feeling dry.

“Hello, my love,” I say as my voice threatens to crack.

He still lies there, utterly still, not breathing.

But as I remove the bandages and look closer at his neck, hope floods through me.

More tissue has reconnected. Barely still visible, I see white bone reattached. I see nearly whole muscles. His skin is slowly knitting back together.

Cyrus’ body may heal. But will he actually return to me?

Will I get Cyrus back? Or will I only end up with a husk? A body that looks like my husband, but isn’t?

“I know you are lost right now,” I say quietly as I sit beside him, lying my head on the table, our faces only two inches apart. “That you’re so confused and thrown into chaos. But I’m here, Cyrus.” I reach up, taking his hand in mine, lacing our fingers together. “I’ve been in the darkness, too. But in the end, we always find our way back to one another. Keep searching for me, Cyrus.”

I bring his hand to my face and gently press my lips into his skin.

“I’m right here, Cyrus,” I say softly.

I feel myself grow heavy.

I’m so tired.

So exhausted.

So overwhelmed.

So when it calls, I let sleep pull me down into its depths, hoping and praying that I can find my forever heart again.

---

A sliver of light sears my eyes. My hand darts up, adjusting the sunshades on my face, once more safely blocking out the sun.

My head tilts, grass rustling beneath me.

And there, lying beside me, is my husband.

“Cyrus,” I breathe with a smile.

He lies in the grass beside me, a pair of sunshades on his own face.

We lay in a field, beneath the brilliant sun. Just the two of us.

“Im yndmisht srtov,” he says gently as a little smile grows on his lips.

I roll over and Cyrus tucks me into his side. I rest my head on his chest, taking in a deep breath. Peace washes through me.

There’s nothing, nowhere in the world either of us needs to be. Nothing to take care of. Just Cyrus, just me. Here. Together.

“I found you,” I say, resting my hand on his chest. His comes up to mine, cupping it tightly.

“Not yet my love,” he says and I feel his eyes rise. “The time is nearly here. We must be prepared.”

“Prepared for what?” I ask, looking up at his face.

“You will only have minutes,” he says, his eyes still fixed on the sky.

“Cyrus, I-”

But the world grows dark. The temperature drops.

And I feel him slip away.

All there is, is air.