A knock came to her door around suppertime, awaking her from her dreamless sleep.

She pulled herself out of bed and walked to the door. Upon opening it, she saw Astrid standing with supper.

“My queen,” Astrid said with a slight bow as she presented the food and drink.

“Bring him to me,” Aurelia said as she grabbed the plate and drink from her hand.

Astrid nodded and bowed once more before turning.

Aurelia found her spot on the bed and began to move the food around on her plate. She was unsure if she would be able to keep this meal down.

Another knock came from the door. Sitting her food down, she went and opened it slowly, the tightness within her gut forming.

Noxus stood before her. His hair was disheveled, his eyes red, a beard starting, and a look of desperation plastered his face. His eyes flicked to her before he lowered them again. He bowed to her.

Pushing the door further open as an invitation, Aurelia walked back to her spot on the bed, picking up her plate of food.

She attempted to eat, gagging as the food slid down her throat. Her eyes darted to Noxus standing by the door in an attempt to regroup herself. She noticed that his eyes had shifted to worry.

He was still her rock.

“I don’t want to eat,” Aurellia said, breaking the silence.

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She felt him take his spot next to her on the bed. Tears crept back into her eyes and a lump started in her throat.

“Tell me how you know,” she said as she looked him it the eyes.

Pushing his head down, he cleared his throat, “She was dead in her living room. They had written your name with her blood.”

The tears streamed down her face with the realization of it being her fault. She was the reason Bryn was dead, and she wasn’t there for her before she was killed. Her body shook as the tears continued to fall.

Noxus took her in his arms and he laid her down next to him. He held her, kissing her head, telling her how sorry he was, until she fell asleep in his arms.

Aurelia dreamt of the fae, their wings, and teeth as they tore Bryn apart limb by limb. Aurelia couldn’t get to them. Bryn’s screams echoing through her dream as if it were a siren, matching her own screams.

Sitting up straight I bed, struggling to catch her breath and nausea flooding her stomach. She ran to the bathroom to dry-heave, her supper already digested.

Noxus followed her in, holding back her hair and ran his fingers over her back slowly.

Tears flooded Aurelia’s eyes again. She turned to Noxus. In her pain, she had also hurt him. She realized that now. She had made him feel responsible for her sister’s death. She felt as if the blame was all on her now. It was all her fault.

She reached for his face, cupping it in her hand. His eyes met hers, still filled with worry, pain, and anguish.

“I’m sorry, Aurie.”

She buried her face in his chest as she wept. He placed one hand on the back of her head and the other on her back, soothing her with his fingers moving up and down along her spine.

Pulling her head back, she looked up at him. “I am alone. I have no family now.”

A tight look crossed his face. “We are your family, this pit. You may not be like us, but you belong here.”

With his words, he lifted Aurelia as he stood. Carrying her back to bed, he placed short kisses on her head and held onto her tightly. He had missed her. His heart had crushed the last time he had seen her and she was the only cure, the only thing to bring him out of the darkness he had fallen into.

They slept the rest of the night, the first peaceful sleep for either of them since he had returned.