The anguish that was usually reserved for Alissa’s fear of losing her daughter had increased when the idea of continuing her journey without Eldric sparked a mess of emotions. Maybe it was finally time to confide everything to him.
“Let me explain, please.”
Eldric studied her. He wished he had the willpower to walk away, but the single tear sliding down her cheek made it impossible. Instead, he grabbed the stool Desi had been sitting on and waited in silence, hoping he would not surrender to her wishes once again.
“Eldric, did you know I have a daughter?”
He was expecting her to do many things. To curse him, shout at him, even punch him in the face, but he was not expecting that admission. His eyes widened in surprise, and he fought back a smile.
“No,” he whispered, almost speechless. “What’s her name?”
“Dhalia.”
“I bet she’s adorable.” There was no sarcasm in his voice. “How old is she?”
“Five.”
He didn’t know why she had decided to tell him about it now when the urgency of their conversation begged for other admissions, but he couldn’t deny the fact that she was finally opening up to him, and it brought some relief to his shoulders.
“Are you married?” he asked before he could stop himself. A subtle pinch in his heart was ignored.
Alissa chuckled. “No. Her father was a young man from Bryniard. I had known him all my life. When I was eighteen, I fell in love with him. I ended up pregnant after dating him for only a couple of months.”
She looked at the ceiling as she spoke, her mind going back to the time she fell in love with the man with curly blond hair and blue eyes. He was so beautiful that she never believed he would reciprocate her feelings. There were so many things about herself that were a cause for insecurities: her full cheeks and the faint sun spots right on the cheekbones, her nose that was not as delicate as she wished it would be, and the curves of her body that had become more prominent since she became a mother.
Perhaps that was why she accepted a relationship she didn’t deserve at the time. She remembered the moment she found out a life was growing inside her, how the fear was so easily replaced by joy. Only to become heartbroken as she learned her daughter would grow up without a father. It seemed like a lifetime ago. It’d been only six years.
“Of course, he didn’t react well when I told him he would be a father.”
Eldric listened, knowing how hard it was for her to share such intimate parts of her story, which made him want to hold her. All the resentment he had been feeling was almost entirely gone.
“What happened then?” He cleared his throat.
“I never saw him again.” She shrugged. “It’s odd, isn’t it? Not seeing him after that day, when we lived in a small town surrounded by a literal wall.” Alissa shook her head. “He might have tried to cross the wall and died trying. Like my father did.” Her confession about her father’s story came out accidentally, yet seeing the look on Eldric’s face, she didn’t regret telling it to him.
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay, it was a long time ago. But this was just an introduction to what I really want you to know.”
He frowned and shifted in his seat, preparing for what was coming next.
Alissa parted her lips to speak and closed them again. She did the same thing a few times, struggling to find the right words. “Do you remember when we talked about something called Senectus Subita the night we argued?”
Of course he remembered—he had been thinking about that since first hearing of it. He nodded.
“Dhalia will be the next victim to die from it.” Alissa’s voice wobbled, and her hands trembled a little on her lap.
“What?” Eldric blinked, not knowing words could strike him so deeply. “How?”
“That’s a story for another time, Eldric. The point is, I need to be back in Bryniard with a cure before she runs out of time. When you told me it would take me months to get to the capital without you, I just panicked and said the first thing that came to my mind. I know it was wrong, and it was never my intention to lie to you. I just couldn’t afford to waste that much time. Not when it’s my daughter’s life at stake.” She sighed, her lips pressed together as she tried to hold back the tears. “I know this is no excuse for what I did, and I’m sorry.”
His heart melted at how she fell apart right there. He let the rational side of him step aside for a moment and let the tender, protective parts of him surface as he moved forward to hold her hand. Having been lied to didn’t really seem too terrible when her reasons for doing so were that strong.
When she looked down to hide her tears from Eldric, he let go of her hand only so that he could lift her chin. He wanted to look into her eyes. This new, real version of her was so beautiful, he would not let her hide it from him, not anymore.
When he wiped her tears away, she blushed. If only she knew that all he saw then was a strong, resilient woman capable of anything to save the people she loved. Eldric admired her now more than ever.
He leaned forward on the stool, closer to where she sat on the cot, and their eyes met. “Alissa, I’m so sorry you are going through this,” he whispered, never leaving her gaze. “And I’m sorry I snapped at you that night. I shouldn’t have asked. I—” His thumb was still on her cheek, moving sideways in a gentle caress.