"Where is he? Is he alive? Can I see him?" I bombard my uncle with questions as soon as he closes his door.

"Slow down," he moves his hands in a shushing motion, "he's sleeping now."

"Does that mean he's okay?" I don't allow myself to get my hopes up.

"For the moment, he's stable."

I collapse on the floor in a fit of laughter. Tears roll down my cheeks, but I love the way it feels. Normally they burn like acid, but now they're a warm ray of sunshine after a prolonged period of darkness.

"Where's Davy?" My uncle sits down to talk to me, seeing as how I can't seem to leave the ground. "You two are usually attached at the lips."

"You mean attached at the hips?"

"I know what I said. You're not as sneaky as you think you are. So, where is he?"

"I left as soon as he was asleep."

"Caspian, how long have you been out here?"

"All night?"

"Get some sleep."

"But-"

"Go. I'll have someone wake you up if anything changes with Eetu."

I use my uncle to pull myself back onto my feet, then return the favor for him.

"Where were you? I was so worried!" Davy nearly attacks me with a kiss when I enter my chambers.

"Outside my uncle's door."

"Were you up all night?" He runs his thumbs over my cheeks, inspecting the dark circles that are no doubt underneath.

"I was too stressed, and I- I wanted to be there in case anything changed."

"Come here." Davy slowly lifts my shirt off my body, pulling my blankets back, then gently setting me on the bed. "You're going to sleep, even if I have to force you to."

"You're not going to leave me alone, are you?" I curl up on my side as he covers me up.

"Never." His weight is added next to me. I clutch Davy like he's the last thing on earth. His breathing is calming, setting a tempo for my own. "Hey, hey. It's okay."

I'm not even aware that I'm crying until I lift my head to find a small puddle on his shirt. "Sorry." I wipe my nose.

"You're okay, Cas. I've got you." He runs his hand through my hair, massaging my scalp, sending chills down my spine. His gentle touch eventually lulls me to some semblance of sleep.

"Davy? Where's Caspian?" My mother's voice wakes me up, then immediately turns my blood into ice.

"Oh! Um... here?" Davy looks down at me. He's cold too. I should play this situation off, pretend Davy and I aren't the way we are, but instead, I hide my face in his chest.

"Eetu's awake. He won't let anyone else see him until Caspian does."

"He's awake?" I bolt out of bed, grabbing a random shirt from the floor.

Davy isn't far behind me as we tear down the stairs. My mother isn't even trying to keep up.

"Do you want me to go in with you?" He stops me just before I walk in.

"I should do this alone." I give him a quick kiss. When we pull away, I see my mother descending the stairs just behind Davy, but I don't care. She probably already knows.

"I'll be here when you're done."

I try not to look back at Davy as the door closes behind me.

"Caspian?" Uncle Rhys calls to me from his bedroom.

"Uh, yeah. Mother said Eetu wanted to see me?" I stand awkwardly before his table.

"Come on back."

Eetu is lying on the bed, a gauze bandage wrapped underneath his armpit and across his stomach. There's a slight red stain where the knife entered.

"Cas?" His voice is hoarse. "Cas! You're okay!" He laughs for a solid five second before wincing and clutching his stomach.

"So are you!" I smile through the tears threatening to spill over.

"It'd take a lot more than some jackass with a knife to kill me. Uncle, I'd like to talk to Cas alone, please?"

"Of course." My uncle nods and leaves, closing the door behind him.

"Why did you do that?" I finally get the nerve to ask him. "Why did you pretend to be me?"

"Look at me, Cas. This could have been you." He gestures to his wound.

"It should have been me."

"Don't say that."

"It's true! I should have been the one Salvatore hurt." I wipe a few tears away. "Not you. You- you just got married and you were prepared to die for me."

"I don't regret it. You might not have survived, hell, I barely survived this. And all I could think was just, 'I can't leave Cas.' That's what kept me going." Eetu's crying too, reaching out his hand. He wants me to come closer to him. Who am I to deny him?

"What about Cora? Surely you thought of her." I kneel at his side, so we're eye level.

"Of course I did. I'm worried sick about her. Do you know where she is? Last I saw, she was dragged off by one of Salvatore's men."

"That's the last anyone saw of her."

Eetu shuts his eyes and leans his head back against the mountain of pillows propping him up, taking shaky breaths.

"We'll find her. I promise."

"No, Cas, take Davy and Anna and get the hell out of Yna. I don't care what Mother and Father say, you are leaving as soon as possible." His eyes are full of steely determination.

"I can't believe we might not ever see each other again." I start to sob.

"If it's what you want, Cas, then do it. As long as you-" he presses his palm against his wound, breathing deeply before continuing, "as long as you're safe, I'll be happy."

"Hey, are you okay? Do you need me to call in Uncle Rhys?" I spring to my feet, ready to get help at a moment's notice.

"I'll be-" He grunts in pain before he can finish his sentence. Sweat is pouring down his forehead as his breath becomes slower and more rattling.

"Uncle!" I call down the stairs.

"What wrong? Is the wound acting up again?" My uncle comes running up the stairs as fast as he can.

"I think so."

"Caspian, you might want to leave. It's not necessarily a pretty sight."

"Cas," Eetu calls just as I turn to leave, "remember what I told you."

I can't bring myself to acknowledge him.

"How'd it go?" Davy jumps off of the ground as soon as I open the door.

I don't answer, just walk past him.

"Cas! Hey!" Davy runs up after me. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I need parchment and a quill."

"For a letter?"

"No." I looks back toward the physician's quarters. "I want to draw a boat."