Henry hated to admit it, but Siverly was the last person he wanted to see on the other end of the door when he answered. Because he knew that meant it was something to do with his father-in-law.

"Forgive the interruption, Commander," Siverly apologized. "I’m afraid that you and the lady must visit her father as soon as you can. He is in so much pain that I will put him under a sleeping spell very soon. I’m not certain he will ever wake up again."

It all came back to Henry—the reason they had to rush their marriage in the first place.

"I will fetch Irene," Henry responded somberly. "Please, go back to his side and make sure he’s comfortable."

Since Henry was downstairs, Irene couldn’t see when Henry turned around and closed the door with his body as he leaned into it. He raised his head and looked at the ceiling. Upstairs was his beautiful wife waiting for him to break her heart all over again.

The young Duke squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. He had to mentally prepare himself for this. Despite knowing it was coming, it was so damn hard.

He forced himself up the stairs to Irene, who was already up and sitting at the edge of the bed. She had been devoid of clothing, so she had a blanket wrapped around herself in the meantime.

Irene knew instantly what it must have been when Henry walked through the door, a somber expression on his face. Her happiness crumbled instantly.

"My father," she uttered. Not a question, but a statement. She knew already just by looking at the young Duke.

Henry’s jaw clenched as he tried to keep himself together.

"We must go to him," Henry informed her. "He’s in pain. Siverly has suggested a sleeping spell so he doesn’t have to suffer, but the likelihood of him waking up..."

Irene’s chin began to tremble, and Henry was immediately at her feet, wrapping his arms around her, so she wouldn’t have to feel alone in this.

"We were preparing for this, but it didn’t make it easier," she uttered, her voice wavering. "There’s... no time to waste."

At that, Henry fetched Irene’s clothing. What they both wore the day before was good enough because they hadn’t been spending much time clothed as it was. He helped her into her clothing before leading her into the house, his hand never leaving hers.

"Maybe he will wake up," Irene insisted quietly as they made it up the stairs. "Maybe he just needs rest."

However, Henry knew that Siverly wouldn’t have approached him himself if he wasn’t genuinely concerned. But he would never tell Irene that hope was lost. This was the most important man in her life.

Rochelle was there by Arthur’s side when the two made their way into the room. Tears were already on her face. It was clear she had been talking with Arthur because her hand was clasped with his and a handkerchief was on her lap.

Siverly sat on the other side of Arthur, occasionally giving him some sort of magic to try and soothe him while his family came to say what they needed.

"Can I speak to Dad alone first?" Irene uttered. "I just want a few moments. You can stay, Siverly."

The mage nodded, but he distanced himself and went to the window. He was already overwhelmed with how awful he felt about witnessing a great hero slowly die. He had heard Arne and then Rochelle both spill their hearts to the waning man.

Rochelle nodded, and Henry escorted her from the room.

There were a couple of moments of silence as Irene willed herself to be strong and not cry for her father. She wanted to instill within him the hope that he would wake up once he was feeling better. She needed to believe that as well.

But the words he uttered when she had taken the spot her mother once sat in broke her heart. She squeezed his hand.

"My sweet... girl..." Arthur whispered, wheezing between each word. The grimace with each wheeze was different than what Irene had witnessed before. This truly was different, but she didn’t want to have to acknowledge it. "I am... so proud of... who you... became."

"I am who I am because of you," Irene insisted, her voice strained because a lump had formed in her throat as she tried not to cry. "I got to watch you my entire life. The greatest knight who ever lived was my dad."

"It’s up to you... and Henry..." he whispered. "Protect Chemois... pass on lessons of Sunsto..." He squeezed her hand. "Be... happy..."

"Having you get to witness my wedding made me happier than anything else in the world," Irene admitted. "I’m so happy. My life is so good. I just—I want you to be able to see it."

Irene couldn’t help herself. She stood up and wrapped her arms around her father and felt him weakly return the hug.

"I’ll see it..." he whispered. "I’ll... be here... somewhere." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Irene could only nod.

"I would... like to talk... to my son... in law," Arthur requested.

"Of course," Irene whispered. "Sleep well, Dad. I love you."

"I love... you."

If those were his last words to her, Irene knew she should be satisfied with that. Woven within each sentence was his hopes for her life—his confidence in her. She couldn’t help as she leaned down and kissed her father’s forehead before going to the hallway to retrieve Henry.

However, her safe place was in the hallway waiting for her. When she was within Henry’s reach again, Irene broke down. She collapsed into Henry’s arms as they both sank to the floor. She could only cling to him as she sobbed bitterly.

After a while, Irene knew she needed to get herself together. Her father wanted to talk to Henry, and waiting was only prolonging his suffering before he could sleep.

"Dad asked for you," Irene barely managed to get out.

Henry cradled Irene’s face in his hands as she spoke to him. He wiped her tears away as gently as he could despite the fact that there were more waiting to fall.

"I should go to him," Henry responded.

Footsteps behind the two of them caused them both to turn their heads. Arne stood there, a complicated expression on his face. He reached out a hand.

"You should go to father," Arne said to Henry. "I will be with my sister."

Irene allowed herself to be escorted, and they found themselves gravitating towards her room. When they were little. It was a room they shared. It was unusual to see them together there now since Arne had his own room, but there was a time when they both filled the space. Memories there as they grew up.

Silence fell over the two Litharion children as they came to grips with what they were going through.

"Are you okay?" Irene asked despite the wetness in her eyes. "I mean really... about what’s next for you."