It was as if a wall was all around him, surrounding him in darkness, and no matter how hard he tried to find his way out, it would lock him back inside.
But then something miraculous happened.
He could feel pain. It wasn’t sharp, but a slight prick that was enough to awaken his mortal senses.
And then there was the sound of an angel…
His angel.
“This is the second time I’ve had to patch up one of your wounds. I’m starting to think you’re rather unlucky indeed. I suppose the physician who attended you did a good job, but since it was necessary to rid the wound of infection, I fear I demanded to be allowed to stitch you up again. I hope the queen doesn’t decide to throw me out for disregarding the doctor’s orders, but I explained, in no uncertain terms, that you weremypatient now. I daresay he didn’t take that well at all.”
From the pit where Harlan remained, there was a glimmer of hope when he heard Leah’s musical voice. It was the sweetest sound he believed he’d ever heard before. And he prayed that God allowed him to hear it over and over again until he lived to a ripe old age.
Minutes… hours… days…
He didn’t know how much time passed before he resurfaced at the edge of consciousness once again. And again, he heard her.
“Can you believe that?” He imagined her shaking her lovely auburn head, her expressive amber eyes rolling with a dramatic flair. “You really need to wake up soon because Hugh has become quite unbearable. It’s been two days, and he hardly sits still, constantly pacing the room. I told him time and again to go home, but he refuses to do so. He’s nearly as stubborn as you are, but I can see why. He loves you, but I know that he will never admit it. You are like a brother to him, I can tell, and if I wasn’t so shaken by all of this, I might be glad for his support. Instead, I can tell I’m here for him, so I wish you would wake up and let him know you’re going to be fine. Then perhaps I will finally get some peace.”
Harlan’s lips wanted to twitch. He yearned to smile, to laugh, to do what she wanted, but his body refused to obey the commands he gave.
With a mental sigh, he receded back into the void.
Chapter 25
“Still nothing?”
Leah was sitting in the chair staring into space. Praying… thinking… wishing, she couldn’t say which. All she knew was that she was starting to fear the worst when she told herself she wasn’t going to allow her mind to give up hope. Unfortunately, the more time that passed and Harlan’s fever didn’t break meant that death was creeping closer. She despised it, fought against it, but there was also nothing she could do—nothing any of them could do—but wait.
She was just grateful that the queen was feeling charitable and allowing them to remain at Harlan’s bedside. Leah had been able to stay in her previous chamber, but it was seldom used. She spent most of her time dozing in the chair by Harlan’s bed, except when Hugh ordered her out of the room to get some decent rest. Of course, he wasn’t much better. He was likely to wear a path in the palace carpets.
“No.” Leah hated to say the word, hated the feeling of dread it caused within her chest. To think that Harlan might die before she’d had a chance to tell him that she loved him, that he wasn’t going to be a father yet, but perhaps he might want to keep trying, was as bad as the uncertainty of her future when she had watched her aunt succumb to her illness and wondered what she was going to do next.
Hugh sank down on the edge of the bed and stared hard at Harlan’s still form. She hated the pale color of Harlan’s face, and although she had opened the curtains to offer some light in an otherwise, dreary atmosphere, it didn’t help to lift either her or Hugh’s spirits.
“I feel like he’s just being an ass at this point.”
Leah offered him a censorious look. “You know this isn’t his fault.”
He lifted a brow and crossed his arms in a petulant fashion. “I’m starting to wonder if it isn’t just a way to gain attention.”
She sighed. “Just because you’re angry at him for making us worry doesn’t mean you get to be uncharitable. You would feel terrible if this was the last thing you said to him.”
Hugh relented with a hand shoved through his disheveled hair. She recognized the tired lines bracketing his mouth, the dark circles beneath his eyes, because they mirrored her own. “I just hate this,” he croaked, his voice starting to crack with emotion.
Leah wasn’t sure whether to comfort him or remain where she was, but before she could decide, a hoarse whisper came from the bed, “Now who’s begging for attention?”
Both Leah and Hugh looked at each other and stood simultaneously. Moving closer to Harlan, they watched with bated breath for him to prove they weren’t just hearing things borne of desperation. “Harlan?” Leah whispered in return.
A miracle occurred. He cracked open an eye and instantly closed it with a slight grimace. “I didn’t think light could be this painful.”
Hugh immediately moved to the windows and started to close the drapes, while Leah sat on the bed and reached out to touch Harlan’s forehead. It was warm, but not dangerously so any longer. Her heart started to beat with renewed vigor and when she clasped his hand, it was warm and no longer cold. She closed her eyes and felt a single tear slide down her cheek. “You’re alive.”
In reply, he gave her hand a slight squeeze. It was the best feeling ever.
“Water.”
Leah gasped. “I’m so sorry!” She wiped her face with the back of her hand and immediately poured a glass and returned to hold it to his lips. She watched him swallow, and it seemed as though his color had already improved slightly. Before now, she’d only managed to get a few sips of herbal tea down his throat. “Do you think you could manage some soup?” she asked.
