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Eveline shivered under his lips.

“Are you so certain you are as incorrigible as you say?” she sighed.

He laughed again as he stepped back, leaving her frustrated. “Why don’t we retire for the night? I am truly worn from the activities of the day.”

With that, they headed for their chambers, and it was only after he had seen her off to her room that he retired to his.

Truly, he was spent because he had scarcely hit the bed before he was pulled into sleep, a rather fitful one.

There was chaos and screams that were quick to be silenced by the loud noise of gunfire and other weapons.

William tripped over himself in a bid to hide from the chaos, and when he stumbled and fell hard, he found himself face to face with a familiar face—the face of one of his comrades.

I must keep going if I do not wish to suffer the same fate, he thought to himself as he began to run, not quite sure to where.

He felt a bullet whizz past his ear with the speed of lightning, and he was tempted to see what it hit, but he did not.

Before he knew it, he was back at a ball in London. However, the moment he stepped into the ball, it fell silent, and all eyes swiveled to him. The silence was so deafening that he could hear his own footsteps as he made his way into the ballroom. He was beginning to wonder why everyone stared at him whenhe looked down and realized that he was still dressed in his blood-stained uniform.

Loud whispers that sounded awfully like a multitude of bees surrounded him, and panic shot through him.

I need to get out of here.

He rushed out of the ballroom. However, the moment he stepped out of the door, he was back at the war front, with guns just shy of ripping into his flesh and doing significant damage.

He had only just begun to run again when a voice that sounded awfully familiar called to him.

“William!”

He looked back only to see the most angelic woman step into the war front with him. Her beauty was a stark contrast to the chaos of the battlefield.

Panic shot through him again. However, this time it was not for himself.

I need to protect her.

“No, Eveline! You must leave now. You do not belong here,” he shouted over the din.

Eveline shook her head fervently. “Not unless you come with me.”

“You do not understand, Eveline. You must leave.”

How could she not understand that he was simply trying to protect her?

“If I leave, then you must leave with me,” she said simply.

“But I am doomed,” he insisted. “You can still save yourself.”

“I am not afraid.”

“But you must be.”

A bullet suddenly flew past her face, only missing her by less than an inch, but she did not seem to care.

In fact, she did not flinch.

“Are you not bothered by this?” he asked, confused by her bravery.

“What?”