"I will," Xiaobao said, still watching him with concern. "But you don't look fine."
"I'll sleep for a while."
"Okay…"
She kept glancing at him, her worry growing by the second. Then, without warning, Yu Xi slumped forward.
"Yu Xi?" she gasped. "Yu Xi!"
She grabbed his shoulders, shaking him. His skin was burning hot, sweat beading on his brow. His breathing was shallow, uneven.
"Damn it," she whispered, fumbling for the hovercar's controls. "Rerouting to the estate. Grandpa, get the doctors ready!"
She pulled him into her arms, cradling his head against her chest, her hands trembling.
"Stay with me, please," she whispered. "You are not allowed to do this."
She checked his temperature. The reading flashed red—dangerously high. Tears welled in her eyes.
They had survived in that dark cold cell together, starved and tortured. All the years of surviving hell, Yu Xi had always been the strong one, the unbreakable one.
