Xavier eased Reva down onto the pillows, careful not to wake her again. She was already drifting, breath soft, lips trembling from exhaustion and the leftover fear she hadn't managed to shake. He pulled the blanket over her, tucked the sides so she wouldn't curl up against the cold again, and brushed a strand of hair from her cheek.
Then he stepped toward the balcony window. The wind spilling in from outside carried the last traces of the sun. It brushed against him and for a second he just stood there, letting it hit his face. He wanted to breathe for real again, to take in the world without the weight of near-death hanging over him.
But when he looked back, Reva trembled in her sleep, fingers curling around the blanket like she was holding onto something that might slip away. Xavier reached to close the window—then he caught a silhouette down below, walking across the long stone bridge that led out of the inner court.
Eleazar.
Xavier's heart jerked.
