Chapter 35

Alistar's condition was no better. He locked himself away in his room each day, and stopped attending mealtimes. If he ate at all, then it was brief and inconspicuous. She went three whole days without seeing him, until one evening when he finally showed up for dinner, his hair tangled, his clothes tattered and his body unwashed.

His wonderful eyes were hollowed out and sunken, a grave expression on his handsome face. Her father was absent again, so it was just the two of them. She was happy for the company, but her cousin wasn't exactly in the most sociable of moods. Madeline had just finished laying out meat pies and chilled cow's milk, sparing Alistar a concerned glance before she moved to stand off to the side where she would wait on them until the meal was finished.

Not knowing what to say, Anice blurted the first thing that came to mind. "So you've finally left your room."

Alistar looked up from his untouched food, and gave a broken nod.