Liam steps out of the shower. He is getting ready to leave. Dr. Bennett discharged him this morning and he is eager to go, to start dealing with what is left of Rhaenas HQ. They no longer have a place to stay.

They no longer have Arthur to take care of things either.

I need to do what I can to lighten the load. Liam sighs.

"Hey, morning, bro." Claudia greets him cheerfully. Linus and Miranda are right behind her. They all knew he was being discharged. The sight of them waiting for him makes him smile without thinking about it.

"Morning, Mom, Dad. And you." He looks pointedly at Claudia. She rolls her eyes. This feels normal. He needs normal right now.

"Good news." Linus says. "Thea just woke up. Dr. Bennett has given her a clean bill of health. She wants her to stay one more night for observation, but she should be discharged tomorrow."

Liam’s smile widens. "That is great news."

"I want to go see her." He moves toward the door and Linus stops him with a hand on his arm. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Her parents and Julian are with her now. They are breaking the news about Arthur." Linus says, his voice dropping.

He has been putting this off. But with the Montroses telling their children, it is time to tell Liam too.

Liam freezes. He swallows. "Wh... what news?"

Linus places a hand on his shoulder. "Arthur is in a coma. The doctors do not know when he is going to wake up."

------------------------------

"WHAT?!" Theo, Julian, and Maeve exclaim at the same time.

Leila nods. "Yes. When Linus called us, he already told us. And when we arrived, Dr. Bennett and her team of neurologists explained it in more detail."

Maurice adds quietly, "Arthur is alive. But he is in a coma. And they do not know when, or if, he will ever wake up."

The three of them go still. They do not know which part to process first. The fact that Arthur is still alive, or the fact that he may never wake up.

------------------------------

"That is — that is — that is great news, right?! He is alive! I thought he was dead! This whole time, I thought he was already gone!" Liam spins around and covers his mouth. The room goes quiet. The Monforts wait for him to catch up with himself.

He spins back to face Linus.

"He is in a coma. And they do not know when he will wake up. Or if he ever will." Liam says it slowly, working through it out loud.

Linus nods.

Liam sinks down onto the edge of the bed.

"How are you feeling, son?" Linus asks. Miranda and Claudia look at him with a lot of sympathy.

"I don’t know what to feel. Happy? Sad? Both at the same time?" He looks up at Linus, completely at a loss.

Liam gets up. "I want to see him."

------------------------------

Theo recovers first.

Is this Arthur’s surprise? It must be. Smile and cry at the same time. But he would not have framed it that way if he were never going to wake up.

He looks up. "I want to see him." I need to check for myself.

Julian and Maeve look at each other and nod simultaneously. "Us too." They say in unison.

------------------------------

Theo’s group meets Liam’s group in the corridor outside their rooms.

"Hey. Good to see you." Liam says. He is happy and tense at the same time.

"Same." Theo replies, his tone a mirror of Liam’s.

"I take it you heard?" Liam asks, glancing at the others. They all nod.

Liam sighs. "Let’s go."

They head down the corridor toward a more secluded section of the same floor. Two Sentinels are posted outside one of the doors. A nurse station nearby has two nurses on standby around the clock.

Liam glances at his father. Linus gives a small nod.

Theo notices. Ah. Linus assigned the Sentinels. But why?

At the door, Maurice says gently. "You all go ahead. We will be out here."

Rhaenas exchange glances and nod.

Liam takes a slow breath and opens the door carefully, quietly.

------------------------------

"Your Highness." Elder Loujt greets Sonia outside her hotel room.

"Good morning, Elder Loujt." Sonia returns the greeting. "Come in. Tell me your plan."

Sonia has just come back from breakfast. She is planning to head to the hospital to check on the Rhaenas group, to spend more time with them and investigate how they know about magic and who taught them.

Elder Loujt’s presence does not change her plan, although he may complicate it. His priority is the snow, and she suspects he will want to deal with that first.

Once they are both inside, Sonia asks, "What are you thinking for today, Elder?"

"I would like to meet with them." He replies.

"Them?"

Elder Loujt smiles. "Come now, Your Highness. You know who I mean."

Sonia sighs. "Fine. Yes, I know who you mean. What do you need from me? An introduction? How are you planning to approach them?"

Elder Loujt’s smile does not waver. "Your Highness, are you trying to talk me out of meeting them? If I did not know better, I would say you sound as though you are trying to protect them."

Sonia faintly startles. Protecting them? Me? Pfft. Absolutely not.

"Your Highness?"

"What?" She snaps, then catches herself. "Sorry, Elder Loujt."

She clears her throat. "I can take you to the hospital. But I am not certain they are still there. Their injuries were not serious."

"We can always try." Elder Loujt answers.

------------------------------

The door opens silently. And the sounds of steady beeping welcomes Rhaenas as they enter. No one says a word, no one is making a noise. Their focus is to the figure that is lying motionless on the hospital bed.

Many cables are attached to the body.

Theo faintly smiled in irony. A few months ago, it was me who lay on hospital bed, with many cables attached. I couldn’t imagine the feeling of Thea’s family when they saw me. He sighs quietly. Now I can, even if it’s only a little.

Julian gasps, but he soon covers his mouth.

Maeve frowns in pain, and clutches Julian’s hand.

Liam is walking slowly and silently, but his steps are hesitant.

When they all can see Arthur, the silence becomes deafening.

Maeve’s body trembles. Julian quickly wraps a hand around her, comforting her.

Liam freezes, doesn’t know what to do, he can only stares.

Theo comes forward and walk to the other side of the bed.

Arthur is lying there, eyes closed, his lips form a faint smile. He looks undisturbed, in peace.

Free. Theo inwardly thinks. He remembers Arthur said it. Free. I’m sorry, Art. I still don’t understand why you said free. Lying here unconscious is not exactly what I would call free. But, I guess we have to wait until he’s awake.

Theo leans in slightly and whispers loud enough for the rest to hear.

"Have a good rest. Take all the time you need, before you come back to us. In the meantime, don’t worry about us. We promise to do our best to take good care of ourselves."

Theo straightens back and looks at the other three.

"He’ll return. I know he will. We just need to give him time and not pressure him."

Theo’s firm tone and believe give hope to the others. They exchange glances and nod.

"Yes, you’re absolutely right, sis. This can’t beat Arthur. He’s invincible." Julian says.

"True. He is the first Sentinel and still the strongest. This is nothing for him." Liam chimes.

"We will take care of ourselves so when he does return, he’ll be happy." Maeve smiles.

Theo also smiles. Well, they are doing pep talks, and that’s alright. Anything to keep their spirits up. One day they’ll learn the truth.

Theo exhales. "There’s something I’d like to discuss. Just us Rhaenas. Should we do it now? Or later when we’re all discharged?"

"I’m discharged today. My plan is to repair our building and find us a temporary place to live. Oh, and I’ve told my father about us. About magic. I can’t really not tell him about what happened without explaining, can I? And this was part of the plan we had. Telling my father, I mean."

Everyone nods. "Yes, your father was at the top of the list. How did he react?" Theo asks.

"A lot better than we thought. He accepted it immediately and declared that he’s on our side." Liam answers.

"That’s great, Liam. Good job. Now, shall we continue talking here?" Theo looks at them in turns.

"I don’t think now is a good time. Our parents are still waiting outside. We can’t let them waiting too long. I’m sure they are worried about us and want to be with us." Julian explains.

Maeve nods. "I agree. And some of us still have to stay at the hospital."

"Okay, then. We’ll find a better time. But there’s something I want to check. Maeve, you think you can use Light to check Arthur?"

"Of course, what do you want me to check?" Maeve agrees.

"Anything that catches your attention."

"Okay."