Chapter Text
Thane lay awake in bed, eyes boring into the ceiling, back rigid. He’d snuffed out the candle stub on his nightstand ages ago, but sleep hadn’t found him yet.
Once more, creaking sounded from the ceiling, and the tell-tale thud of Ceony’s restless sleeping oozed through her floorboards, down into his room. With her chambers on the floor directly above his, he could hear when she wasn’t well. It bothered him, but it wasn’t proper to reach out to help. And besides, he didn’t want to embarrass her or cause her further distress.
Nevertheless, with every muffled creak, every soft whimper, and every distressed, tangled sob, Emery’s heart beat faster and faster. She was having a nightmare. Again. And he could do nothing to protect her from their looming presence.
After her encounters with Lira, Grath, and Saraj, her dreams had been plagued, and Thane couldn’t bring himself to sleep when she was in their throws. It was almost as if he felt that by staying awake, he was helping somehow. It was getting bad, however. Thane could almost use to be tied to the bed frame, for Ceony’s nightmares seemed especially frightful this night, and he was beginning to fear that he might do something questionable.
Emery clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut. “You’re her teacher, not...someone else.” He said, aloud, for the fourth time that night.
Ceony’s strangled cry echoed through the room like muffled lightning, and Thane was on his feet, tripping over his slippers, dashing into the hall. His house robe hung askance on his frame, the tie flopping wildly behind him as he ran for the stairs. He reached her door moments later, and the sound of her continued sobs propelled him through it.
Ceony lay on her back, twisted up in blankets and her nightgown, her hands clutching at her throat. And then, Emery was at her side, reaching out to place a tentative hand on her forehead.
“Ceony?” He said. She whimpered, still choking on her bad dream. “Ceony.” He spoke more firmly, brushing her sweat-soaked bangs from her brow. Her eyes flew open, their brown depths wild with terror, and she gasped.
“He was here,” she sobbed. “He was choking me.” A spasm of shudders wracked her body.
Without a second thought, he slipped his arms beneath her knees and shoulders and lifted her from the mess, gathering her form to his heart.
“I’m so sorry, Ceony,” he said softly. “I’m so sorry.” He whispered the words into her hair, letting his lips brush over the top of her head. She took a deep breath, and her arms came up to cling around his neck. Her tear soaked face pressed against his chest, wetting his shirt through. “I’ve got you.” He whispered.
Arms laden with the most precious bundle in the galaxy, he padded back across the floor and into the hall. Ceony didn’t question, she just nestled against his shoulder and breathed deeply. Before he could stifle it, a jolt of longing zipped through him. He squashed it, as he always did.
“I’ll sleep on the floor,” he said. “You can take my bed.” The thought of her sleeping so near made his chest tingle, but he brushed it aside. This was not the time for such frivolities. “That way, if the nightmares return, I won’t be so far away.”
Ceony just nodded, and didn’t say anything until he entered his room and crossed to the bed.
As he prepared to lay her on it, she whispered, “It’s been a while since I was this close to your heart.”