"SABELE!" The double doors burst open, probably cracking on impact from hitting the wall. She looked up to find Evåinic's worried face staring back at her.

His middle had been tightly bandaged up and he wore only loose pants and a silk robe with a pattern of dragons in fiery red and orange colors. Pushing herself from the bed to stand, she took a shaky step towards him. Almost hesitant to believe it was him.

Her parents and Zack had left her, what kept Fate from taking him too?

Ev didn't hesitate as he scooped her up in his arms and kissed her with a passion he had only shown the one time she had a nightmare while they had been trapped inside her cave. She had been in such a fit once she was awake that all he could do was hold her tight and let his actions speak what words wouldn’t do.

Breaking apart, he crushed her to him, not even worried about his wound, just wanting to make sure she was real and unharmed.

"Evåinic?" Her voice vibrated her throat, causing it to ache even more.

"Those idiot brothers of mine. Are you alright? They didn't do anything too stupid, did they? If they did, just say the word and I'll-" he had stepped back to examine her from head to toe when she laughed.

Her dark eyes had been filled with such sadness and tears that it tore his heart to shreds, but now, they were bubbly and happy like he remembered. Her cheeks were red and tear stains streaked down them, but a smile had broken her face. Her hair was a ruffled mess of knots and her clothes were disheveled but she seemed untouched.

"I'm fine, Ev. I'm okay," she wrapped her arms around him, keeping him close to her as she managed to breathe for the first time in the past hour. His scent calmed her erratic heart and relaxed every muscle in her body.

"I'm sorry for leaving you. Healing can hurt a lot and I didn't want you to see that." He patted her hair, smoothing out the craziness as best as he could before he cupped the back of her head, bringing her forehead to rest on his chest.

Sabele shook her head, not bothered in the least.

"What's going to happen now?" Sabele pulled away to look up at him.

He cringed at the question. He knew what he wanted but would she agree? He had thought to bring her here, but he didn’t if she didn’t really want to stay here. Stay with him.

"Why don't we clean you up first?" A light glow appeared around her and when it faded away, she found herself clean with braided hair. Her skin didn't feel tight from all her crying and she wore a beautiful red dress that cascaded around her in ruffles.

"Thank you," she ran her hands along the material, loving its cool feel against her skin. She’d never had anything so exceptionally nice before.

"Now, what do you want do you want to do?" Evåinic prayed and prayed she'd ask to stay with him.

"I don't know what I want." Not the answer he wanted but he'd take it.

"I know what I want." A gentle voice sounded behind them and when they turned they saw Amist leaning against the doorframe casually. "I want my son to be happy. I want priestess's treated with respect. I want you, Sabele, to be free and just as happy. We'd love to have you here, sweetheart." She smiled at the woman before her.

She had watched Sabele grow from a broken child into a beautiful woman who had a bright future ahead of her if only she’d grab it with both hands. Some things Time could not heal but Time was never meant to be a healer. People hurt and heal through actions and words.

Amist couldn't have been prouder to find her son helping her heal, even if they both weren't aware of it. Much like Aleanga had helped her with the guilt of her first husband and how she had helped him with his duty to bear such unrelenting guilt.

"But..."

"No buts, love," Ev grinned down at her and pulled her into his side, "stay here with me. Be with me. You don't ever have to go back."

"Evåinic..." She opened her mouth to speak but closed it. A blush graced her cheeks as she found the courage, something she had been searching for.

Amsit left the room silently. She knew the answer by that blush alone. The doors closed behind her, fixing the damage Ev had caused in his panic.

He pulled Sabele over to the bed where they could sit down and talk. They were silent for a moment, playing with each other’s fingers before Sabele gathered her words to finally say what needed to be said.

"Ev... I love you." A moment of silence passed between them.

He pulled her into his lap where he dug his head into the crook of her neck, inhaling her spicy scent of pine needles and, to his utter surprise, rosemary.

"I love you too, Sabele. Stay with me? Please?" He mumbled the words into her neck, his breath causing shivers to go down her spine and curl her toes.

"Yes, I'll stay as long as you want me," his arms tightened around her in response.

"I'll always want you, love." He lifted his head to grin down at her, wanting to memorize every feature of her face and suddenly realizing that he’d have an eternity to do so. A much larger grin spread across his face, pinching his cheeks and lifting them up.

He wasn't letting her go anytime soon.