Part 39 (1/2)
”I dreamed I was in h.e.l.l. And there were flames all about me.”
”There was a fire. Gareth MacKenzie ordered his men to set torches to your home. But after the invading army left, your people were able to put out the flames.”
”And you.” Brice lifted a hand to her cheek. Even that small effort cost him. But it was worth it to satisfy himself that she was truly here and not just a vision.
”I feared that MacKenzie had spirited you away and had forced you to wed him.”
”Nay, my lord. I hid myself from view. Had I been braver I would have faced him with naught but my dirk. But like a coward I hid beneath your bed until he and his men were gone.”
”You? A coward?” At her words he wanted to laugh, but his throat was too raw. He lay there letting strong new emotions wash over him.
”And I have been here with you since. Even though I feared I had lost you.” She felt tears fill her eyes and spill over onto her cheeks, but she made no effort to wipe them. Instead she cupped his beloved face in her hands and studied him through the filmy haze.
”Oh, Brice.
I am so relieved that you have come back to the land of the living.”
”Are you? Did you miss me?”
When she merely nodded he felt his heart soar to the heavens.
”Maybe that is what saved me. Knowing that it was you I was coming back to.”
He caught her hands and held them in a death grip.
”Do not leave me, little firebrand. Promise me that when I again awaken you will be here.”
She would promise him anything at this moment. Anything.
”I will not leave you, Brice.”
His lids flickered, then closed. The hands holding hers slid down and dropped heavily against the linens. His breathing became soft and easy.
For endless minutes Meredith merely knelt beside him and watched as he slept.
Alive. Brice was alive. Truly alive. And for the first time since he had sustained his mortal wound in battle, she was convinced that he would not only survive but return to his former strength.
Suddenly she was exhausted beyond belief. The rush of energy she had experienced when he had first spoken was now slipping from her. All the long days and nights of nursing Brice through his ordeal were now beginning to take their toll. Her limbs were heavy. She felt lightheaded. Her eyes yearned to close. She was drained. Drained of all strength. Drained of all thought.
With a sigh that welled up from deep within her Meredith curled up beside him and joined him in sleep.
Chapter Thirteen
Q^r^s^Q -D rice lay very still, fighting a wave of pain. His shoulder throbbed. His side ached. And something that resembled a flaming torch pierced his upper back.
He tried to roll over but there was a heaviness in his right arm and for one breathless moment he thought it might have been severed in the battle. His eyes snapped open and relief flooded through him as he gazed in wonder at the figure curled up alongside him.
Meredith lay facing him, her head pillowed on his arm, her hands resting lightly at his chest. Her hair spilled across the linens, a dark splash of color against stark white. Her breathing was slow, steady.
In these few moments before she awoke he took the time to study her.