They'd been asleep for what seemed like only a few minutes when one set of eyes opened again.
Amelia remembered her brother Keegan.
She took a deep, sore breath and attempt was made to test her surroundings before she carefully, and so quietly, lifted herself off Feren and out from under his loving arm without disturbing his sleep.
She sat on the edge of the bed for a moment. Her head throbbed as if she'd drank a whole bottle of wine the night before. Instinctively she lifted her hands to massage her temples; then she remembered one arm was trapped against her chest, tightly wrapped under layers of protection. This magic that he had attacked her with... it targeted her own. In the exact moment that she'd been hit she had been channeling her energy into her arms, preparing to shoot it into the wall to block him out. His flame must have leeched it – destroyed those pathways. Her mind was too fuzzy to piece it all together.
The sleep refused to leave her eyes even as she rose from the bed... padded across the room. It was late at night; she sensed it as one arm moved to cradle the other and a chill ran up her spine. She peered out into the hallway before leaving the room to make sure no one was there.
Amelia paused. Being so tired, it was difficult to separate the life energies from each other within the structure of Remalda. There were at least a dozen people around her; some sleeping, some moving around, and at least three spirits were around her. Normally she would have been able to sense them with as much ease as she could hear them walking around their rooms. Now, however, even when trying to focus on the one specific lifeform she wanted, the senses all blurred together. Her body hurt from being still for so long; she ached from the bottoms of her calves up through her shoulder and neck; her back, neck, arm all especially sore.... Her hand graced the wall to steady the unbidden swaying of her head.
After taking a moment of cool breaths, she started forward again. She was determined to walk at least, knowing that going back to sleep would only make her feel worse. But it couldn't have stopped her then. There was a suppressed sense that moved her feet forward; her hand on the wall helped as a guide. She let the feeling pull her forward until she came upon on open doorway. There was murmuring from inside. Amelia's mind was too lethargic to understand it all.... She thought herself lost for a second, hardly able to understand the language that floated into the hallway that she'd once been fluent in. She did, however, understand the message. Someone needed rest and recovery, before... interrogation, or welcome, or activity. "They", she and Feren, she assumed, needed a chance to feel safe again; comfortable. They did not deserve to be suffocated, said the voice. Amelia thought of Feren.
Something was mentioned about knowledge, or the lack of it. Of losing their family. Amelia sensed the gentle voice as Noni's. The essence of the spirits within the room were only vaguely familiar to her.
"You should rest, as well, Abett. Nertín will be back shortly. Silva worked very hard to save you a bed tonight."
There was a pause, and a slight shift in the room. "Alright. Thank you, Noni. I will check on Silva before bed.... Until tomorrow... Noni, Keegan."
Only one voice responded. "Until tomorrow."
A flutter in Amelia's chest started at the sound of her brother's name. As the exiting body approached her, she flattened her back against the wall. Abett stepped out of the room without noticing her.
Once his footsteps faded around the corner, Amelia placed her ear back on the doorframe to listen. She closed her eyes. Maybe she could see the forms of energy there without looking. One was very strong. The other was weak and unfamiliar.
She heard the same voice, coming softer this time. It whispered, "This would be a good time to show yourself, you know, Kiari. Your sister is back. She's here with us again, fairly unharmed.... It's been so long since you've seen her, hasn't it? I'm sure you are relieved."
