?Chapter 565:


    Dominic, visibly exhausted, met my gaze with surprising calmness. “What can we do? We wait to be rescued.”


    “I guess… that’s all we can do.” I sighed, sinking helplessly onto the ground, my eyes drifting toward the cave’s entrance.


    The rain fell harder now, drumming against the ground with an insistent rhythm, each drop feeding my rising dread.


    Would anyone even find us out here?


    Trying to shake off the fear, I spoke to Dominic, desperate for a distraction. “Your Highness… how long do you think it’ll take your men to get here?”


    Silence.


    Confused, I looked over, only to see Dominic with his eyes shut. He’d fallen unconscious again.


    Panic shot through me as I leaned in, my hands trembling as I felt his forehead.


    “He’s burning up!”


    Dominic was feverish.


    Lying curled up on the cold ground, he shivered violently, beads of sweat sliding down his forehead, his breathsing in shallow, painful gasps.


    My mind nked with fear.


    I couldn’t let him stay like this.


    Trying to calm myself, I got up and searched around the cave until I gathered some dry branches. After a struggle, I managed to spark a fire, hoping the warmth would reach Dominic.


    The mes flickered, casting shadows on the walls, but his body remained cold, his shivering relentless, his face growing paler by the minute.


    This wasn’t working.


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    I bit my lip, my gaze fixed on Dominic’s fragile state. Without a second thought, I slipped off my coat and wrapped my arms around him, hoping my warmth might ease his chills.


    His skin was burning hot, and yet, all I felt was worry in my heart.


    “Dominic, you have to pull through,” I muttered, hoping he’d wake up soon—safe, sound, and himself again.


    Atst, his tremors subsided.


    “Makenna… Makenna… don’t leave,” he murmured. “Mom… please don’t leave… Mom…”


    Just as relief washed over me, I felt his forehead. It was even hotter now, and he’d started mumbling incoherently.


    He whispered my name, his voice barely audible, his confusion breaking my heart. At times, he called for his mother, his tone so full of longing it twisted inside me. I held him closer, tears filling my eyes until they spilled over, and I choked out, “Dominic, you’re going to be alright. You will.”


    I didn’t know how long we stayed like that before his voice, weak as a whisper, reached me again.


    “I’m so thirsty… Water… water…”


    I nced outside to find the world steeped in darkness. It seemed we’d been unconscious for an entire day on the valley floor.


    Dominic hadn’t eaten or drunk anything in all this time. If he didn’t get something soon, he wouldn’t make it. Determined, I tried to stand up, ready to search for food and water.


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