Page 18 of A Warrior's Heart
“Malik will be with you.” He petted my hair. “He will not allow any harm to come to you.”
“I know. I won’t allow any harm to come to him either. My arrows will stop any man who dares come against us.”
“I have no doubt, dear friend.”
Kellan and Fletcher arrived within the hour, and Fletcher joined Alek in the kitchen to help with supper preparation while the rest of us gathered around the hearth and discussed the plan for the following day.
“The sooner we begin this journey, the better,” Malik said. “Our scouts have observed King James and his men looking over a map, yet they have made no plan to travel yet. That tells me they are unclear as to where the trident is located. We need to move while we’re still ahead.”
“The Crimson’s ready for sail,” Kellan responded. “Just say the word.”
Malik nodded to him. “The assassins will arrive at first light, and we’ll set out to sea shortly after.”
It was decided then. Come morning, the mission would truly begin.
Later that night, I lay on a cushion in front of the fire. Malik rested on one side of me, and Reif was beside him. Nereus snored from his place against the wall. I opened my eyes and saw the glow of the fire casting shadows along Malik’s chiseled features, emphasizing his strong jaw and plump bottom lip.
His eyes opened. “You should be sleeping.”
I grinned and ducked my head, snuggling into my pillow. Though faint, I heard him chuckle. The sound warmed my heart just like the fire warmed my skin.
The lighthearted moment broke when a scream pierced the air.
Lorcan.
Malik and Reif flung upward, hands going to the daggers they kept beside them even when they slept. Nereus did the same.
My heart dropped into my stomach as I jerked upward and followed the three bigger males down the small hallway toward the bedroom my friend shared with his mate.
Had someone snuck into the house and captured Lorcan? Hurt him? As a nymph, he was more than rare. Add the fact that he’s also the heir to Avalontis and the son of a god, and he had a high price on his head. Bounty hunters and rogues had even more reason to hunt him. It was why Malik had been charged as his bodyguard upon his birth.
Malik reached the room first and kicked the door open.
“I can’t wake him!” Alek exclaimed, holding Lorcan in his arms.
There was no intruder. No attack. Only my friend’s nightmares had hold of him.
Lorcan screamed again and arched his back, his eyelids fluttering. Malik rushed to his side and grabbed the prince’s hand, while Alek whispered sweet words in his lover’s ear, trying to pull him from the shadows of his mind.
Alek’s hands started to glow as he used his magic to calm Lorcan. It didn’t help.
“They’re all dead!” Lorcan shouted, thrashing around in his sleep.
A creak sounded behind me, and I turned to see Theron in his sleeping gown, his green eyes big and watery and his silver curls tousled. He held a stuffed doll in his arms.
“Come here,” I said, kneeling to him. He ran toward me and wrapped his little arms around my neck. I lifted him up and held him to my chest. “Your father’s only dreaming. Everything’s okay.”
Theron pushed his tear-streaked face to my neck and squeezed me tighter.
Eva exited the guest room, tying her robe around her as she ran to help. She placed her hands on my friend’s bare chest, using her magic to calm him, and finally, he stopped screaming.
But then he was much too still.
Theron wiggled in my arms, and I placed him on the floor. He padded over to the bed and climbed up onto it before placing his small hands on Lorcan’s face. Everyone watched the child as his hands began to glow, just like Eva’s and Alek’s had.
Lorcan opened his eyes. He was disoriented as he struggled to focus. And then he looked at his son. “Thery?”
Theron collapsed on Lorcan’s chest and held onto him, his little body shaking with quiet cries. Lorcan wrapped his arms around his son as he sat up in the bed, moving his gaze among each of our faces.
