As it turned out, Yevgeney's concern had been justified. Anya collapsed as soon as she entered the family's castle and had to be helped to her room. There, the maids assisted her in taking a bath where she fell asleep before they were even finished scrubbing her down. Thus, they had to dress her and carry her to bed, not too difficult a task considering she had gotten very thin and gaunt from her travels.
There she slept for two days straight, developing a high fever in the process. When she woke up, she was barely conscious, staring blearily at the ceiling and not responding to visitors. In this state, she passed through several days more.
Yevgeney recognized the signs. His sweet but foolish little sister had pushed herself too far. Normally, she ought to have restored much more of her magic by now, but the constant sleep deprivation, inadequate nutrition, and mental stress from dodging rebels had sapped all of her resources. She barely had enough power to cast that detection spell earlier.
Fortunately, being at the Copperstone estate should help. Their family had a natural connection to the magical channels that converged here. Still, despite agreeing to a week of rest, it looked like Anya would need a lot more time to recuperate.
Of course, there was another option, but he doubted his sister would approve. Then again, she was in no state to object, and these were urgent times. In the end, he decided to risk Anya's future wrath and...