The days after, the news didn't change.
The same reports, the same warnings, the same silence.
Lin Yue stopped watching.
She had no control over any of it.
All she could do was wait.
And take care of her son.
But Auriel grew needier.
He wanted her constantly, cried when she put him down, refused to let anyone else hold him.
She was exhausted, but she couldn't bring herself to let him cry.
Not when Uriel was gone.
Not when everything else was uncertain.
Her hair was a tangled mess, and there were dark circles under her eyes that even the staff had started to notice.
Papillion found her in the nursery one afternoon, Auriel screaming in her arms, his face red, his tiny fists waving.
Lin Yue was crying too, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Madam.." Papillion said softly, "you can't go on like this."
Lin Yue shook her head. "He won't stop. Nothing I do helps."
