“There is a room upstairs with a fireplace.”

“I will make you some tea.”

Clara nodded slowly.

She tried to stand, but her knees buckled.

Adrian caught her before she could fall.

He lifted her gently into his arms.

She looked small and fragile, like a bundle of dry twigs.

We walked back out of the concrete room.

I closed the steel door behind us, the lock clicking back into place.

We walked back up the stone stairs.

The warm air of the main house felt clean and fresh.

Adrian carried Clara down the hallway to the guest wing.

I opened the door to the large bedroom at the end of the hall.

The room had a view of the dark valley outside.

There was a large stone fireplace in the corner.

Adrian laid Clara down on the soft, white bedsheets.

She closed her eyes as soon as her head touched the pillow.

“I will bring some blankets,” I said.

“And some hot water.”

Adrian stood by the bed, looking down at her.

He looked like a man who had finally put down a heavy burden.