She let out a moan and snuggled into the blankets she’d made into a pillow.
“Lavina, me love, please wake up,” Theo cooed, half wanting to let her sleep.
But it pained him far too much to hear her distress. If he could wake her, maybe her nightmares would go away.
“Ye cannae stay asleep all day.”
“But ye’re gone,” she whimpered.
“Nay, me love,” Theo said, raising his voice a bit to rouse her.
Lavina shot up in a flurry of panic. She whipped her head about as if she’d forgotten where she had fallen asleep. It took her a moment to focus on him, but as soon as she did, disbelief flickered across her features.
“Theo?”
“Aye, I’m here,” he answered. Her tears spilled over. “Ye’ll have to come to me. I cannae reach ye.”
Lavina bolted to his side and threw herself at him, showering him with kisses. She cupped his face in her hands and stared at him for just a moment.
For the first time since he could remember, he didn’t mind it.
“Ye had me so worried. How are ye? What can I get ye? I ken ye’re in a lot of pain. Aaron said that if ye were to wake, ye might want some whiskey.”
Theo bobbed his head. Whiskey would dull the pain, but it would make his head foggy. The last thing he wanted was to risk forgetting this moment.
“Aye, that does sound good, but is there a tea I can have instead? I dinnae want to fall asleep right now. I feel as if I’ve slept enough.”
“Well, ye have been out for several days.”
“How many?” Theo asked, his heart lurching.
“Seven,” Lavina murmured, before pressing her hand to his chest and kissing his cheek. “The first few days, we werenae sure ye’d make it.”
“Ye should ken by now that nothing can kill me,” Theo said, despite the pain in every inch of his being. “Doesnae mean it doesnae hurt. But what have I told ye? Life is pain.”
“Aye,” Lavina said, running her fingers through his hair.
He smiled and leaned into the palm of her hand.
“Where’s Amber?” he asked. “Is she safe?”
“She’s safe and in bed, as well as Maisie. Everyone has been accounted for. We lost a few souls in the tunnels when they collapsed.”
“What about Stephen? Marcus?”
His chest tightened at the thought of losing his man-at-arms and his father figure.
“They were just as gallant as ye would have wanted them to be,” she answered. “Stephen’s outside the door, keepin’ an eye on things. Marcus has been mindin’ Amber and teachin’ her to ride to get her mind off what happened. Ye ken, she’s grown to like ye. I think she’ll want to ken ye’re awake.”
“Then maybe ye can go fetch her for me? If she’s sleepin’ like ye were, then it would be a sin nae to ease her mind,” he said.
“What if I dinnae want to go yet? I fear that if I step out of the room, ye’ll be gone when I enter and this will be nothing but a dream,” she whispered so low that he almost didn’t catch what she was saying.
“This isnae a dream,” he reassured her with a slight chuckle that made his side burn once again.
“That’s what someone in a dream would say,” she muttered, resting her head on his chest.
She was warm against him, and as much as he felt the same way about letting her go, he had to make sure that Amber was well.
