Wade moved closer to the blanket and watched the slight rise and fall of the boy's chest. He's through the worst part," he said quietly. " It isn't over yet, but the danger isn't as close as it was. Seiya placed one hand against her son's cheek. For the first time since she had reached Wade's land, some of the rigid tension holding her body together began to loosen.
Wade opened the cabin door and let the cold morning air drift inside. The worst night was behind them, but the days ahead would demand just as much strength. Neither Wade nor Seiya yet understood how deeply their lives had already begun to kn together. Morning entered the cabin as a thin blue band of light. It stretched across the rough floorboards before reaching the small figure wrapped in blankets near the stove.
Wade Coulter stood beside the open doorway, allowing fresh air to move gently through the room while Siya watched every breath her son took with eyes that had not closed once through the night. The cooler air stirred Taza. It was not much. One hand shifted slightly against the blanket, but that tiny movement was enough to tighten Seiya's throat and send a tremor through her shoulders. Wade approached slowly, careful not to disturb either of them.
The fever had not disappeared. Still, there was more color in the boy's face than there had been only hours earlier, and though every breath remained weak, the rhythm was more even now. That was enough to loosen something inside Wade's chest. He did not show it, but the force of his relief surprised him. He had spent three years building his life around avoiding attachment.
Yet the thought of losing this child had struck him with far more force than he had expected. Seiya brushed her fingers gently over Taza's cheek. He can hear us again," she whispered. Relief and disbelief mixed in her voice as she repeated it softly. He hears us.
Taza's eyelids fluttered. They opened for barely a second, just long enough for him to recognize his mother's face. Seiya bent over him and rested her forehead gently against his. That simple touch eased his breathing more than anything had since she carried him through Wade's door. Wade reached for the clean water bucket near the entrance and poured a small amount into a tin cup.
Try giving him a little more. He set it within her reach. Seiya lifted her son carefully and brought the rim to his lips. Taza managed a small sip. He swallowed.
Then one weak hand reached toward his mother's wrist as if he needed something solid to hold on to before he slipped away again. Seiya closed her hand around his. The wave of emotion that crossed her face was too strong to hide. Wade watched without speaking. That familiar pressure returned to his chest.
But this time it was not fear. It was the weight of seeing something he had denied himself for years. Hope. The feeling made him uneasy. Still, he could no longer pretend it was not there.
When Taza finally drifted back to sleep, Seiya lowered him onto the blanket and rose slowly. Her legs immediately gave way beneath her. She caught the edge of the table just before she fell. The long hours without sleep, food, or rest had taken everything her body had left. Wade moved toward her.