Page 149 of The Nymph Prince

I bid them goodnight before slipping into the dark room. Lorcan lay in our bed, curled in a ball, and snored. After removing my clothing, I took my place at his side and gently tucked him against my chest.

“Alek?” His eyelids cracked open.

“It’s me, rosebud.” I kissed his temple. “Go back to sleep.”

“I dreamed I lost you,” he whispered, closing his eyes.

“You’ll never lose me.”

“Promise?”

Even in death, I hadn’t been able to leave him. My soul had remained near him, hovering in the space between life and the afterlife because he wasn’t with me.

“Aye,” I answered, pressing my face into the top of his soft hair. As the scent of roses surrounded me, I exhaled and held him tighter. “No matter where you go, I’ll be with you.”

“Death cannot have us,” he mumbled, nodding off.

His breaths slowed as sleep welcomed him once more.

I watched him, tracing the line of his nose and the shape of his lips. And I allowed myself to think of the family I wished to have with him. It’d been a forbidden thought in the past, but with no more darkness hanging over my head, I dared to imagine it. To dream and let those dreams soar. To imagine a family of my own.

I, too, welcomed sleep and found myself in a bed of pink roses, staring up at the sunny sky and smiling as a breeze came off the sea.

***

The days in Avalontis had a way of blending together. Without the sun or the moon, it was easy to lose track of time. We’d been in the palace for over a week and life had somewhat returned to normal. Lorcan spent his mornings with his father in the throne room before we’d walk the palace grounds and talk.

But, like Malik, Lorcan had also been affected by the battle.

My nymph hadn’t been sleeping well. For three nights in a row, he’d whimpered and cried in his sleep. It would take him several moments to remember where we were after I woke him, and then he’d stare at the ceiling in silence for minutes. Hours.

That night, it was the worst it’d been.

“No!” Lorcan thrashed in his sleep and whacked me in the face.

“Lorcan?” I hovered over him and touched his cheek. “Wake up, love.”

His eyes opened and a strangled cry left his throat. He couldn’t move or talk at first. He only stared, as if in a state of shock. His eyes darted from side to side, up and down, not focusing on anything. I knew he wasn’t there with me in our chamber. Nightmares had hold of him.

“Where are you, love?” I asked.

“B-Black Hallows,” he answered as his body shook. “S-S-So much blood.”

Not wanting to startle him further, I slowly slipped my arms around him and pulled him on top of me. I’d hoped that by feeling my heartbeat it’d help calm him.

“You’re not in battle, sweet prince.” I glided my fingers through his hair. “You’re in the palace. With me.”

“A-Alek?”

“Aye, rosebud, I’m here.”

“The screams are so loud,” he whimpered as I cradled him to my chest. “Why won’t they stop? Make them stop.”

I couldn’t take away the screams of the dead haunting his mind. But I could do my best to soothe said mind.

Theron’s powers were full of light, and I felt at peace as they moved inside of me. As I held Lorcan to me, chest to chest, I shut my eyes and envisioned a ball of warm light flowing from me and into him. The panic that’d had hold of him began to ease, and his cries lessened until they were only soft sniffles.

I stayed awake most of the night, rocking him and occasionally sending healing energy into him.