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It was all around her On the walls Dripping fro into the upholstered cushions of the settee

A whimper escaped her

It had been weeks since she had one of the visions None had haunted her since Jacin’s return She’d forgotten the overwhel dread, the swoop of horror in her sto war the beautiful blue silk She took a step back and felt the area rug squish wetly beneath her feet "Jacin!"

He burst through the door, and though she kept her eyes pressed tight, she could iine hirabbed her elbow "Princess?"

"The walls," she whispered

A beat, followed by a low curse She heard his gun being replaced in its holster, then he was in front of her, his hands on her shoulders His voice dropped, beco tender "Tell me"

She tried to s, but her saliva was thick andThe chandelier too, and it got onmy shoes, and I can smell it, and taste it, and why--" Her voice unraveled all at once "Why does the palace hurt so ainst hi her body His arms were stable and protective and he was not bloody and he was not broken She sank into the e to accept the comfort She buried herself in the security of hih the air was clouded with death

She was glad to let it out again

"It’s all in your head, Princess You know that Say it now"

"It’s all in ?"

She shook her head, feeling the press of his ranking pin against her temple "No They don’t bleed It’s all in ht It will pass Just keep breathing"

She did Again and again and again, his voice coaxing her through each breath until the sradually subsided

She felt dizzy and exhausted and sick to her stolad her breakfast hadn’t coone"

Jacin exhaled, like he’d been forgetting to breathe hie moment of vulnerability, he craned his head and kissed her on the shoulder, right where the nonexistent drop of blood had fallen before "That wasn’t so bad," he said, with a new lightness "No s at least"

Winter cringed, re She’d been so distraught and desperate to get away she tried to throw herself froot to her in ti it off as a joke The ti to kill the spiders that were crawling over the her own hand in the process It had not been a deep wound, but Jacin took care to keep sharp objects away fro her She forced a smile, then realized it wasn’t forced after all "It’s over I’ht"