Abigail It took about two weeks before I was finally able to walk normally on my leg. “I think we can start moving again,” I said one morning. “Are you sure, Duchess?” Aryk asked clearly worried. “I’m not saying I’ll be fast, but I can definitely move again.” Grayson insisted we stop every hour to take a break. The second I showed any signs of being tired, he had me back in the sling on his back. “You’re being a little ridiculous,” I said one morning as he was tying me to his back. “Your leg was shattered less than a month ago, Abby,” he replied. “You’re lucky to be walking at all. You wouldn’t be able to again without my healing. I don’t want you over doing it and permanently damaging something.” “Yes, doctor,” I said, resting my head against his back. “I hope I’m not too heavy for you.” “You are lighter than Thomas’s pack,” he joked. “I tried moving that one day and almost broke my arm.” Every time he carried me, it seemed to get easier for him. He was getting stronger in
Grayson I opened my eyes the morning after our wedding and just stared at the beautiful woman sleeping next to me. She was my wife. My wife! I got another goofy grin on my face and reached out to caress her cheek. She smiled in her sleep and I sat up to look at her. Gods, she was gorgeous. Her curls were wild and loose, and I knew she was naked under that blanket. She was mine, and I couldn’t have been happier. She opened her beautiful green eyes and smiled at me. “Good morning, husband.” I leaned down and kissed her. “Mmm say that again.” “Husband…” “I love it,” I kissed her again. “And I love you, wife.” I started kissing her breasts. We heard a commotion from the main camp. It was Cat screaming, angrily, like she was about to pick a fight. I moved to get up to see what the problem was when Abby pulled me back down and into a kiss. “Ignore them,” she whispered. How could two words be so sexy? “I’m not ready to give you up yet… husband.” My hand found its way in between h
Abigail “I hate sand!” I yelled angrily, dumping out my boot for the tenth time that day. We had only been on the Sea a week and I had already had enough. “It’s in my shoes, it’s in my hair, it’s in my food! I hate it!” Grayson came over and gently brushed the sand out of my hair. “Good thing we will never live in Eswen,” he joked. “Eswen Keep is right next to the Southern Sea.” “Yes, well, I’m sure they kept it out of places it didn’t belong,” I looked around. “And that there were other things to see. This place is awful. Who would want to live here?” Grayson shook his head, “Are you okay, Wildflower?” “I’m just a little irritable, my magic man,” I said softly. I rested my forehead against his. “You calm me.” “Come here, dusukunni,” he said, pulling me into a hug. I felt myself relax. How did I spend four years without him? *** We only knew we were going west because of the sun. There were no landmarks other than water and sand. There was no life to be seen other than the occa
Grayson “It doesn’t look that evil and intimidating,” Thomas joked. “I don’t like it,” Abby said softly, and I put my arm around her. “It’s still so far away,” Rose lamented. “At least it’s something new to look at,” Cat mumbled. It took us another three days trudging through the soupy sand to actually get there, and when we did, it appeared to be abandoned. “I don’t think anyone is home,” Rose said. “I hope we’re in the right place.” “Oh, we are,” Aryk said. “Weapons up, ladies and gentlemen.” We found the front gate conveniently open and walked on through weapons drawn. Inside the courtyard was a display of strange looking and incredibly creepy stone statues. I pulled Abby close to me again, putting her behind me so I could protect her. “Gray, I’m scared,” she whispered. “Me too, Abby,” I responded. “It’s too quiet. Just stay close.” She nodded. “I think these were once alive…” Cat said, touching one that looked like a centaur. It moved and she screamed. Her scream ec
Abigail He was gone. She killed him. He was gone. She killed him. He was gone. He is gone. My husband, my love, my best friend, my soulmate, he is gone. He disappeared in front of my eyes, and I heard the most terrible, pain filled scream I’ve ever heard. It took a moment to realize it was coming from me, and I was unable to stop. I have no idea how the battle ended. I’m sorry, I can’t tell you. I remember Grayson mouthing “I love you” before he disappeared. I remember running at the old woman who had just shattered my world, wanting to kill her with my bare hands. I remember Thomas grabbing me and depositing me on top of a wall out of the way. I remember collapsing on top of the wall, still making that awful, animalistic noise. I remember wanting to die. I couldn’t live without him. I didn’t want to live without him. We had just promised to love each other forever – he can’t leave me after only a few weeks. I would join him in death if I couldn’t be with him in life. I h
Rose “No!” I shouted, as I watched the man I considered my brother disappeared before our eyes. I heard my sister make the worst noise I had ever heard. She was screaming as Thomas dragged her to safety. Her pain was palpable. It felt like a stab to the heart. Cat looked at me from where she was on the ground, tears streaming down her face. Grayson had just died saving her life, too. “Let’s take this witch down,” she growled. We attacked the monster with everything we had. “You killed my brother!” I shouted, bringing the sword down on her arm. She screamed as I sliced her arm. The cut was deep and she was losing blood fast. “The baby sorcerer should have stayed out of the fight. It wasn’t his to join!” Cat kicked its legs out from underneath it. She had come up behind it while I was providing distraction. “He died saving me and his wife!” The crone got up quickly – it was particularly fast for someone as old as it looked. “Then his death was in vain!” It shot magic at Cat, w
Grayson I woke up in what could only be described as a hellscape. It looked almost exactly like the Black Keep, except the surrounding area was on fire, and everything smelled like smoke and sulfur. The others were nowhere to be seen. In fact, I couldn’t see anyone. “Abby? Aryk? Is anyone there?” I called out. No answer. I got up and decided to try to leave the now empty courtyard. All of the statues that were in the courtyard previously were gone, and the silence was unnerving. Just as I was about to step through the gate, I heard a voice. “Gray?” “Abby?” I saw my wife laying on the ground facing away from me. I walked over to her, wondering how she got here. “You weren’t supposed to leave me. You promised.” She whispered. “Oh Abby…” I reached out to her. “I didn’t want to leave you, my love.” “You failed her,” said the last voice I wanted to hear. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised. “Father,” I said, turning to face him. “What are you doing here?” “You failed her,” he said aga
“The king on the sea was stung by the bee. He stole her sunlight and honey. She took back her prize, and returned to her hive, as the magic man sang while the king takes a dive.” ******* Eswen Castle King Hayden stormed through the castle, cursing his luck. His idiot son had been gone for months and now his spies are saying he’s married. Even worse, he married that little whore, Abigail. How dare he disobey me! Hayden had known Abigail would be a problem. She always had been. She’d been the one to encourage Grayson all through their childhood, pushing him to learn new things and become his own person. He had been right to separate them and stop their letters. They had kept writing each other, too, for years. They’d tell each other stupid little things – how much they missed each other, how sad they were without each other. I learned they had kissed from the earliest letters – little whore – and they had started to discuss marriage. Too bad for them, plans changed. Grayson was n