Purity yawned again.
“Sleep, wife,” he said softly and leaned down and kissed her lips lightly. “You’ll need your strength for later.”
“Aye,” she said, running a finger over his lips. “You have a duty to get me with child.”
“There is that,” he said and kissed her again. “Or more so that I can’t resist my beautiful wife.”
“It’s good to hear your tongue charms once again.”
He pressed his cheek to hers and whispered in her ear, “My tongue speaks the truth. You are beautiful and I can’t resist you.” He stood. “And if I don’t leave here now, I’ll join you in that bed.” He raised his hand. “Not a word of temptation.” He hurried to the door. “Sleep and dream about me.”
He laughed softly as he disappeared out the door.
She so loved her husband and that was the thought she held onto as she drifted off to sleep.
Purity woke a bit disoriented, not sure where she was. The flames in the fireplace cast a strange glow or was it that her eyes needed to adjust to the twilight in the room? She lay there, letting sleep drift off her and realized how quiet it was and she couldn’t explain it, but she got the strange sensation she was alone in the keep.
She shook her head. That wasn’t possible and yet the thought nagged at her. She got out of bed, sitting on the edge a moment, her legs feeling a bit heavier than usual and there seemed to be no pain in her bruised leg. She stood and swayed, raising her arms to balance herself.
What was wrong with her?
The urge to find Arran overwhelmed her and she went to the door, lucky it was open since she grabbed it when she reached it, feeling a bit lightheaded. Something warned her to hurry and go find her husband. Unfortunately, she couldn’t hurry, her feet felt as if she dragged them, but she did her best to move as quickly as she could.
She decided to stop in her father’s bedchamber to see if anyone was there and when she found it empty, not even a fire in the hearth, fear rushed up to claw at her. She continued on and when she reached the Great Hall and found it empty, heard not a sound, her fear grew.
Where was everyone and where was King and Princess? They would never leave her alone and either would her husband.
She made her way to the kitchen only to find it deserted as if everyone had rushed out of there, leaving their work unfinished. This wasn’t right. Something was wrong, very wrong. She hurried back to the Great Hall and outside to find it was night with barely a star in the sky and not a sound to be heard.
Suddenly, it was as if someone poked her.
A dream. You’re in a dream. Wake up! Wake up now!
“TOO LATE!” a strong voice called out and a dark shadow emerged from the darkness. “You’ll come with me. Arran is gone. You’re mine now.”
A hand reached out and grabbed her, and she screamed and screamed and screamed.
Someone was tapping her on the cheek and she heard Princess barking loudly. When she finally got her eyes open it was to find King sitting on her chest, swatting her with his paw, Princess barking furiously, and her husband rushing through the door.
Purity sprang up in bed, King jumping off her, and she frantically stretched her arms out to her husband. His arms latched around her, lifting her up against him. He quickly sat on the bed and rested her in his lap, hugging her as tight as he could.
Princess licked her leg and King rubbed against her back, both offering comfort.
Purity’s arms had gone around his neck no sooner as he had taken her in his arms and she had kept them snug around him. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and went to shut her eyes and stopped. She wouldn’t dare take the chance of falling into that horrible dream again.
“I was coming up the stairs to check on you when your screams echoed down along the stone walls. I thought the animals were eager to see you when they took off ahead me, but both of them must have sensed something was wrong. Then you screamed.”
“A dream. A horrible dream,” she said, looking up at him, needing to see his face and focus on it as she detailed the dream, trembling as she did.
Arran reached down over the side of the bed where one of the blankets that his wife’s leg had rested upon had fallen and snatched it up. He draped it around her, though didn’t tuck it between them. He needed to feel her warm and safe against him.
“I would never let anyone take you from me,” Arran said, just the thought of it sending a rage rolling through him.