Chapter 97
Aurora stepped into one of the empty medical tents.
For the first time since the rescue had begun...
There was no patient waiting for her.
The palace physicians had taken over treating the wounded, giving her a brief moment to rest.
She didn't want it.
She walked to the opening of the tent and stared at the mountain.
The rescue continued relentlessly.
The sounds of picks striking stone echoed through the valley.
Men shouted orders.
Stretchers came and went.
But her eyes remained fixed on the collapsed shaft.
Somewhere beneath that mountain...
Turner was either fighting to survive...
Or...
She couldn't even allow herself to finish the thought.
Fresh tears slipped silently down her cheeks.
She remembered the first night she had awakened in this unfamiliar world.
Confused.
Terrified.
Lost.
Turner had stood outside her bedroom door all night without complaint.
Whenever she was frightened...
He had been there.
When she had cried over the family she had lost...
He had silently opened his arms and let her weep until there were no tears left.
When assassins had attacked...
He had stood between her and death without a second thought.
When she doubted herself...
He reminded her how strong she truly was.
He had always been there.
Always.
And now...
There was nothing she could do for him.
She was a doctor.
She had spent years learning how to save lives.
She had crossed kingdoms to study medicine.
She possessed knowledge from two different lifetimes.
Yet none of it could reach him beneath that mountain.
Her knees gave way.
She sank onto a nearby chair and buried her face in her trembling hands.
"I can't save you..."
she whispered through broken sobs.
"I don't know how..."
The tent flap moved quietly.
Lucian stepped inside.
He found Aurora exactly where he feared she would be.
Broken.
He slowly walked toward her before kneeling in front of her chair.
For a long moment...He said nothing.
There were no words capable of easing this kind of pain.
"Aurora..."
She slowly looked up.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
Lucian's heart twisted painfully.
"Aurora..." his voice was gentle, "...have you eaten today?"
She shook her head. "I'm not hungry."
"You need to eat."
"I can't."
"You have patients who still need you."
Another tear rolled down her cheek.
"I know..." Her voice cracked. "But I don't think I can do this anymore."
Lucian lowered his head.
He had never seen her like this.
This was the woman who had worked without sleeping.
The woman who had smiled through exhaustion to comfort frightened children.
The woman who always carried everyone else's burdens.
Now...
She could barely carry her own.
"It hurts..." she whispered "So much."
Lucian nodded slowly "I know."
"No..." She shook her head "You don't."
"I sent him down there."
"He only went because he wanted to save people."
"What if..." Her breathing became uneven "What if he never comes back?"
Lucian closed his eyes briefly.
He couldn't promise Turner would survive.
No one could.
But he also couldn't bear watching Aurora drown in guilt.
"He made that choice."
She looked at him.
"He would never blame you."
"He chose to go because that's the kind of man he is."
"He would make the same choice again."
Aurora covered her face once more. "But I told him not to go."
"And he smiled at me..." Another sob escaped her "As if he already knew."
Lucian's own chest tightened.
Every word confirmed what he had feared.
She cared deeply for Turner.
Perhaps...
Far more deeply than she even realized.
Yet despite the jealousy clawing at his heart...
He found himself saying quietly, "Then honor that choice."
Aurora looked at him through blurred eyes.
"If Turner were standing here now..." Lucian continued, "...do you think he would want to see you starving yourself?"
A faint, broken laugh escaped her. "No.He'd probably scold me."
Lucian managed a small smile "I think he would."
Just then, Emily appeared at the entrance.
Lucian stood. "Emily. Please bring Lady Aurora some soup and fresh bread."
Emily bowed "At once, Your Majesty."
Lucian looked at Aurora one last time. "I'll return shortly."
As he stepped outside, he found Duke Owen standing only a few paces away.
The Duke had clearly heard enough to understand.
Owen's eyes were filled with quiet sorrow.
Lucian looked toward the tent, "She needs her father."
Without another word, he stepped aside.
Owen entered the tent quietly.
Aurora didn't hear him.
She still sat staring toward the mountain.
Owen walked over and gently rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Daddy..."
The single word broke him.
She stood so quickly that her chair tipped over behind her.
Then, just as she had done when she was a frightened little girl...
She threw her arms around him.
Owen caught her instantly.
Aurora buried her face against his chest.
"I can't lose him..." she cried "I can't."
Owen wrapped both arms tightly around his daughter.
His own eyes burned with unshed tears.
"I know, sweetheart."
"I know."
"I told him not to go."
"I know."
"What if he's..."
She couldn't finish.
Owen gently stroked her hair. "Listen to me."
She clung to him tighter.
"Turner is the strongest man I've ever commanded. He has survived battles that should have killed him. He has walked away from wounds that left seasoned soldiers speechless."
He smiled faintly despite the ache in his heart.
"And he's far too stubborn to let a mountain have the last word."
Aurora gave a weak laugh through her tears. "That... sounds like him."
Owen gently lifted her chin. "But even if..."
His voice faltered for the first time.
"...even if the worst should happen...You are not responsible. He chose to save those men. Because that is who Turner is...........and do you know why he became that kind of man?"
Aurora looked at him.
"Because he believed in protecting the people he loved."
Owen rested his forehead against hers. "Just as you do."
Father and daughter stood together in silence, holding onto one another while, outside, the sound of picks striking stone continued to echo across the valley.
Neither of them knew whether Turner was alive.
But together...
They held onto hope.
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