Noel woke slowly as sunlight slipped through a narrow gap in the heavy green velvet curtains, painting thin gold lines across the carpet. The fire in the grate had died overnight; making the room feel cool.
His body ached in a dull, widespread way that his legs were stiff from running through the maze, and his head still throbbing faintly from champagne and too little rest.
He lay on his back for a long moment, staring up at the canopy of the four-poster bed. His shirt was rumpled and his trousers creased from sleeping in them. He hadn't even bothered to climb under the covers last night. Exhaustion had pulled him under eventually, but it hadn't been peaceful.
He slowly exhaled.
At least no one had knocked again after Cedric left.
That had been the strangest part of the night.
Cedric, of all people, shows up at midnight to check his pulse and listen to his heart. Not only that, he saw the marks Arthur left and didn't say a word about them except to ask if they hurt.
