Page 181 of Sky’s Edge

He nodded.

I hurried back and found she’d taken off her shoes and was curled up in the bed much like how Laura and I had found her all those weeks ago, the morning after the Midnight Masque, when we learned that Cormac had rejected her.

I climbed into bed and pulled her in my arms.

“I calmed him down,” I told her. “We’ll all talk tomorrow. I’m going to contact the medi-unit to mix you a sleeping draft. Are you okay with that?”

“I think that’s the only way I can sleep, so…yes.”

I gave her a squeeze and got up to pull the cord to call a member of staff (the castle still had the old-fashioned bell pull system).

A staff member came up, I made my request, she told me she’d comm Drydyn at the steward’s cottage and have her come in and mix the draft, and when it was ready, she’d deliver it.

“Before you go, what’s your name?” I asked.

She seemed startled by the question before she said, “Yorna.”

She was one I’d seen before, so I said, “Nice to finally meet you properly, Yorna.”

She bowed her head (thank gods, no curtsy), blushed prettily and took off.

I went back to Gayle. “We’ll wait until Laura gets here with your things to take the draft. You sure you don’t want a snack or something?”

“I couldn’t eat anything. My stomach is in knots.”

Farging Cormac.

“Okay, honey,” I said gently, got back into bed with her and held her.

Fifteen minutes later, the draft arrived along with a beautifully carved glass pitcher of water and a matching glass.

I asked for this to be put on her bedside table.

Twenty minutes after that, Laura was let in and trailing her was a large hover case.

I didn’t get into asking why she and Aleksei were there.

After we exchanged hugs, we got down to helping Gayle get ready for bed, giving her the sleeping draft, and I told her where Tanyn’s chamber and Laura and Aleksei’s chamber were if she needed us.

When we got her tucked in, and her eyelids were drooping, we extinguished the lights and headed out.

That was when I got into it with Laura.

“I’m sure Gayle’s Denti-Clean didn’t need the True Heir and his True Bride bringing it personally,” I noted on the way to her room.

She glanced at the guards lurking in the halls, and asked, “Where are Aleksei and I sleeping?”

I caught her hint and took her there.

Only when we were behind closed doors did she say, “Okay, since the attack on Sigil, Aleksei has been off.”

Uh-oh.

“Off?”

“Restless. Prowly. Distracted. Overprotective.”

“These are troubling times,” I noted, perhaps more hopefully that it was just that than truthfully.