(Author's POV)
Alaric swept Myra off the floor and carried her to her bed in bridal style. Not for a second did he take his gaze off her face. She was sleeping peacefully, without a care in the world. Forgetting in whose arms she was snuggling in. A serene calmness on her visage struck a chord within him. He placed her with rare yet extreme gentleness on her bed.
Out of the blue, she mumbled something again, but it was too incoherent to understand. Even with his superb hearing abilities, he still couldn't.
"What did you say?" he said while leaning towards her to hear what Myra was trying to utter. Their sudden closeness, her lingering breath, and her tranquil expression, everything made it hard for Alaric to restrain himself. But he knew he had to control.
As he was staring at her without blinking, she mumbled again, "I can'~t ... I can't." Her face scrunched as if she were twitchy.
"You can't what?" he inquired, his expression etched with concern.
