He pushed her back on the bed. "No, you won't, my little scrapper."
He hurried down the hallway once he left Sarah. It bothered him that Kayleigh had infiltrated his chambers so easily. While he didn't want Sarah to know how angry he was, he had every intention of finding out who permitted the insufferable woman to get into his bed.
At least she was dressed when Sarah saw her.
If there had to be a silver lining, that was it. Had Kayleigh been naked, things would have gone from bad to much, much worse.
He didn't see any sign of Kayleigh, so he went to the infirmary. Larisa sat next to a machine with her head down on the table, her arms forming a pillow of sorts.
"Hey, are you okay?"
She yawned as she sat up. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired. I've run so many tests, but nothing is coming back as a common poison."
"Great," he replied sarcastically. "But don't wear yourself out. Why don't you go take a nap?"
The machine beeped and she checked a readout. "And another one bites the dust. No matches at all." Larisa yawned again. "Okay. I'm going to take your advice and nap for a bit before I try again."
Luke went on to his office and pulled out the official scrolls for the kingdom. For about an hour, he wrote until he had everything just the way he wanted it. Before he headed back to check on Sarah, he made sure that the word spread that a royal proclamation would be made very soon.
Sarah was sound asleep when he went back to his chambers. He stood over and stared at her sleeping form, his heart beating a little harder as he watched her breath. He gently laid a hand across her belly, but he didn't feel anything.
How can I possibly love someone so much?
The fact that they had lost so much time didn't escape him. What scared him was how much time would have passed had Ardec not died.Would I have eventually gone against him and gone back to her?
The fact that he had to even ask the question terrified him. Now that they were reunited, he couldn't think of one minute without her, let alone a lifetime.
As if she felt him, Sarah opened her eyes and looked at him. "Are you watching me sleep?"
"I was. You're a beauty to behold."
"I feel more like a beached whale."
He sat next to her and pulled her close. She rested her head in his lap. "I love you, Sarah."
"I love you, too."
After a moment, she squirmed. "Okay, I can't sit in one position like that."
He laughed and helped her up. "Come on. I have a surprise for you."
After she cleaned up for a minute, they headed to the throne room. Several of the staff had already amassed in the auditorium, and Sarah narrowed her eyes at him. "What did you do?"
Luke grabbed the scroll that sat next to the throne. "Come on. Out here on the balcony."
Her eyes widened when she saw all the townspeople crowding below in the courtyard. They cheered when Luke appeared, and he waved to all. Sarah stayed back, but he reached back and pulled her to him. "Oh no. There's no hiding. We're making this official once and for all."
He raised his arm to quiet the crowd. "My people. I know my father made a proclamation before his death that I was to marry. Well, he was half right."
A murmur ran through the crowd.
"I am marrying, as soon as I can convince my intended to do so. But it's not Lady Kayleigh. It never has been. I want to introduce you to Sarah Hale."
Another murmur, much louder this time, reverberated from below.
"Some of you remember the name. Jeremiah Hale was accused of a horrific crime many years ago. His family, Sarah's family, was banished from the Sacred Gardens. But as you all know, the Idol of Mishra was never found."
"That's right," someone called out.
