Chapter 420

Hera closed her eyes. When she felt Bernard shifting and rolling away from her, she immediately reached out to grab him. "Don't be scared. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere," Bernard promised gently. He could feel her body stiffening and hear her breath coming up short. His heart broke to see her panicking like this. He nearly caved and turned on the lights for her, but he stopped himself when he remembered how her last nyctophobic episode had turned out. Hera's nyctophobia was too critical for her not to learn to overcome it. He could leave all the lights on at home every night, but he could not keep the night's darkness from the rest of the world. Bernard didn't want Hera's system to go into overdrive the next time her nyctophobia acted up and he was not with her. "The room isn't completely dark. You can open your eyes and look around when you're ready," he murmured. He was lying on his side with his arm under Hera's head. He slowly splayed his fingers while keeping his ha