Page 47 of Troll Queen

THE SCREAM YANKED Essiefrom sleep. She lay still for a moment, clawing her way from the last fog of sleep and assessing the situation

The wall of pillows remained between her and Farrendel, but he didn’t seem to be flailing, or she’d feel the movement through the bed.

She pushed into a sitting position and peered over the pillows. Illuminated in the moonlight, Farrendel curled on his side in a ball, his arms over his head as if trying to protect himself. He gave another cry, curling tighter.

Essie eased from the bed, trying to move as slowly and carefully as possible to avoid startling him. She halted when she was halfway across the room, rubbing at her temples. How she hated these nightmares. She hated having to listen to them. She hated the fear they brought. Living like this was not romantic. Not healthy. This was definitely the “worse” part of “for better or worse.”

Farrendel gave another cry and started shaking.

How could she safely wake him? She could shout or slam the door. Even if he lashed out with his magic, she was immune. Though, there was no telling what his magic would destroy in the room.

His magic...Essie crossed her arms and studied Farrendel. Since he was asleep, he was not blocking her through the heart bond. She could feel the distant crackle of his magic.

What would happen if she tried to use it herself? Could she stop him from using his magic when he startled awake?

Only one way to find out. With a deep breath, Essie mentally reached through the heart bond to that crackle of Farrendel’s magic, gripped the blazing power, and tugged.

No blue lightning bolts crackled around her hands or burst from her fingers. His magic didn’t flow into her.

But Farrendel’s scream cut off mid-breath, and his whole body went rigid. With a deep, shuddering breath, Farrendel sat upright, brushing the shortened strands of his hair from his face. He met Essie’s gaze, his brow furrowing. “What...did you...”

“Sorry. I was trying to wake you, and I tugged on your magic. Sort of. We haven’t really talked about how I have access to your magic.” They hadn’t yet talked about any of the details of his capture or her battle across Kostaria. It hadn’t seemed like a topic he had been up to discussing yet.

Still, the wall in the heart bond and the lack of discussion on the two weeks he had been captured felt like the last two things still standing between them.

Farrendel nodded, scrubbing a hand over his face as if he was still trying to wake up. The wall in the heart bond fell into place between them again.

Essie crossed her arms over her stomach. It was cold, standing there in the middle of the room with a chill, autumn breeze rattling the windowpanes. But she didn’t dare move yet. Not until the lost, wild look fully faded from Farrendel’s eyes. “You don’t have to keep locking me out of the heart bond. Please.”

Farrendel rubbed at his chest, as if the heart bond was painful. But, after a moment, the wall eased, then dropped. A wave of pain and memories crashed into her, and she concentrated on breathing through it.

A soft knock sounded on the door, and Essie opened it to find Miss Merrick standing there in a dressing gown and holding a tray with two mugs of hot chocolate and a plate with two chocolate chip cookies on it.

“You are amazing. Thank you.” Essie took the tray. How had she and Farrendel survived without Miss Merrick? For the past three nights, she had shown up right on cue with hot chocolate and cookies, and Essie suspected she had asked her brother and whoever else was on guard duty to keep the stove stoked throughout the night so that she could heat the milk at a moment’s notice.

“My pleasure, ma’am.” Miss Merrick gave a soft smile and a curtsy.

Essie closed the door and turned back to Farrendel. He was leaning against the wall next to the window, one knee drawn up and his hands buried in his shortened hair. Through the heart bond, Essie could feel the way he was struggling to drag himself out of the nightmare to fully wake up.

Balancing the tray, Essie returned to the bed, set the tray on the end of the bed, then carefully crawled on the mattress without spilling the mugs of hot chocolate. After pushing aside a few of the pillows, Essie settled against the wall next to Farrendel, their shoulders brushing. She handed him a mug, then claimed her own.

Farrendel cradled his mug in both hands, staring down at the hot chocolate.

They sat in silence for a few moments, Essie sipping her hot chocolate and Farrendel just staring at his.

Finally, Farrendel sighed and leaned his head against the wall behind him. “I just want this to be over.”

“I know.” Essie leaned her head against his shoulder. “But things are getting better. Your nightmares have been mild compared to what they were in Estyra before we left. And, it seems I have figured out a way to safely wake you.”

---