Luke placed a finger on his lips signaling his cousin to keep his voice low. The woman may still be unaware of the world around her, and she may be one of the most difficult people to rouse to wakefulness, but being by her side the whole night, he was one to know that it had not been kind to her. Demons plagued her dreams, chased her, and cornered her until she gasped for air with strangled words barely escaping her sweet sweet lips. If not for the medication unwillingly introduced into his bloodstream, Luke would have had a worse night than Rhiane. He was such a light sleeper and was prone to keeping awake the whole night. Thanks to the sedative, though, the crown prince managed to drift off to sleep easier with every event that his fiancee dragged him into the reality of the dimly lit room they shared. 

Therefore, it was better to allow her to rest as much as she could. Still Tobias could have stayed a bit longer to take some instructions from him. Eliminating choices of a beverage could have made the task of giving her the painkiller infinitely easier. With a sigh, he crawled out of bed as she began to stir and mumble something about harvest. The tablet monitor glowed into life as it stared up at the wood panel ceiling. On it was the urgent communication that came from the palace. The report was a confirmation of the warning that Sebastian verbalized over the phone the night that Rhiane was poisoned. 

As Luke poured orange juice into the empty glasses, he toyed with the idea of inviting Rhiane’s family to the palace. She said that they would not come even if she was dying, but perhaps the family would not deny a direct request from the crown. Another option was to visit her hometown. He forced a capsule open over the glass that was meant for her, then another on his own so that whichever she picked will contain the same dosage. To be honest, he was not keen on meeting and pretending to be pleasant to other commoners. He had enough encounter with their kind to last his lifetime. However, Sebastian knew something that would make the Intelligence group’s work much easier. It was worth the humiliation, because weeding out the enemies from the palace staff meant securing the lives of his family and Rhiane too. 

With the glasses filled with orange juice and after attempting to stir the capsule contents into the liquid as quiet as he could, Luke carried the pitcher with apple juice and milk out the room. Both was handed over to Tobias who was alone in front of their door. “Please ask the maid to bring in some coffee.” The villa staff was thoughtful enough to produce what looked like a mini feast for the couple, except for one thing that his system was craving for that morning. 

When he returned into bed, it was with a tray that he loaded with some pastries, bread, cold cuts, cheese, and egg. After missing out on dinner, his stomach would not settle for anything less. He was about to take his place above the covers when he paused. Only the top of her head was visible, but it was enough to bring back memories or maybe those were dreams. He had, on his own accord, held close her and rested his cheek against her hair. Words had escaped his lips faster than his mind could form filter. It was not easy to recall what he said that night, but he was sure that he said more than what he should have. Luke averted his gaze, thought twice about it, but ended up resuming his previous position on the bed.

“I can hear your stomach growling,” he commented as if to start a conversation, though if any, it was his stomach that was making the sound. The mattress shifted where he sat with his long legs stretched out under the wooden legs of the tray. He picked up his computer before leaning his back on the pillow and taking the first bite of the bread smeared with butter. With the bread trapped between his lips, he pushed the still damp fringes off his brow, only to fall back in place. He thoughtfully chewed as he browsed the report once again. When the rebellion found their whereabouts in that clinic, it had occurred to him that somebody in IT, the central communications, and the intelligence group had leaked the information. Not many would be informed about the distress signal and the succeeding report about where the prince and his fiancee were. These had to be people who would be involved in the extraction operation. But what bothered him was the one called “Red” and the authority he seemed to have over the extremists. 

He would have to speak to Luce Viscomi about some alterations in the tour's itinerary. They had to visit her hometown and he had to speak privately with Sebastian.