Elaine didn't say anything when she lifted me, but the look in her eyes made it clear she had already decided I wasn't going anywhere on my own. I let out a frustrated breath and clung to her shoulder anyway, because there was no point pretending I could walk properly in my condition.
"Put me down," I muttered, though even I could hear how weak the protest sounded. Elaine was weakening my resolve... no, she wasn't. I am just thinking things. Unnecessary things.
"No."
That single word, calm and absolute, made my jaw tighten.
She carried me into the bathing chamber with the same effortless ease she'd used all morning, as if I weighed nothing at all. The room was warm, filled with soft steam and the scent of clean water, lavender soap, and something faintly floral that lingered in the air like a quiet promise. Candles flickered low along the stone ledges, and the bath itself had already been drawn, the water shimmering beneath the warm glow.
