He shook his head. “Never apologize for loving someone. Even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts.”

Kiva inhaled deeply in an effort to keep the tears from starting all over again. Enough crying. As long as there was breath in Tipp’s body, she would not give up on him. He was young, he was healthy. If anyone could survive this, it was him. He had to survive this.

“We should get back in there,” she said, pointing to the infirmary. “I just . . . I just needed a minute.” She made herself meet Jaren’s eyes. “Thank you. For being here.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Kiva,” he said softly. “You’re not in this alone. Any of it.”

She swallowed and nodded, unable to offer a verbal response, but still trying to convey how grateful she was to have him by her side.

“Come on, let’s go make sure Naari hasn’t accidentally set the rats free,” Jaren said, taking Kiva’s hand and leading her back along the path. “The last thing we need is for Tipp to wake up and start chasing them all around the infirmary.”

A small laugh left Kiva, slightly hollow but still genuine. She clung to his offer of levity, pushing away her fear, her grief, and shared, “He had a chest infection about two years ago, and I swear he was the worst patient I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t keep him in his bed—he always had something he needed to do, somewhere he had to be. I nearly had to strap him down just to get him to go to sleep.” She smiled softly at the memory. “If we’d had the rats then, he would have been a nightmare, wanting to play with them all the time. I’d have had no chance at keeping him under control.”

Jaren chuckled. “Just you wait, then. If that’s the kind of fighting spirit he has, I’m sure he’ll be back on his feet in no time.”

It was an empty promise, but it was exactly what Kiva needed to hear as they reached the doorway to the infirmary and she prepared herself for what might come over the next few hours.

“You ready?” Jaren asked, squeezing her fingers.

“No,” Kiva said truthfully. “But I want to be with him.”

And so they reentered the infirmary together, and Kiva spent the rest of the day watching over Tipp, willing him to fight, willing him to live.