Abigail The next morning, we all gathered around a small cooking fire and discussed what had happened. Aryk wanted to give us a chance to talk about what happened. He went first. “My worst nightmare was losing all of you and causing pain to the Queen. Sarah has put a good deal of trust in me to keep you all safe. My biggest fear is disappointing my old friend.” Cat looked at him with pity in her eyes. She reached over and gave him an awkward hug, made even more awkward by his pat on her head. He would not say any more, even though the whole thing was his idea. Cat went next. “We had reached my father, but he had been corrupted already, and I couldn’t save him. I had to leave him behind. He left me to fight the monsters on my own.” Rose put her hand on Cat’s shoulder and Cat looked at her gratefully. On his turn, Thomas said, “I was trapped in a coffin, buried alive. None of you could hear me screaming.” I reached over and patted his arm, and he smiled at the acknowledgment. I

Abigail Grayson carried me over to an empty tent and took me inside. When he set me down, I noticed it was full of cushions and blankets of all shapes, colors, and sizes. It looked quite cozy. “Come here you,” he said in a growl that made my knees weak. He pulled me close and pressed his lips against mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and let him lead me backward to the cushions. “Oh!” I exclaimed, as he picked me up by my bottom. I wrapped my legs around him and deepened the kiss as he knelt and laid me on the cushions, never breaking contact with my lips. My hands went into his hair as he slid one of his behind my head. I could feel his other hand moving over my body, on top of my clothes, stopping to fondle a breast. “Gray…” I moaned as he moved to kiss my neck. I tilted my head to the side to give him better access. “Say it again,” he commanded breathlessly. “Say my name.” He started to nibble on my ear. “Oh Gray… I love you.” I breathed. “I love you, too, my beautifu

Abigail One second, I was fixing my boot. The next, I was being carried off by a troll who was foolishly covering my mouth with its bare hand. I bit it hard, causing the troll to yelp and move its hand. “Help! I’m up, mmmff,” the troll covered my mouth again, this time with a glove blocking my teeth. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cat struggling in the arms of another troll. I heard magic being fired, and knew that Aryk and Grayson were fighting the others. They didn’t take us far before Cat and I were thrown into a cart with several other humans who were tied up. A troll got in as the cart started moving and tied us up, too. “A good haul today,” the troll that had tied us up yelled to the one driving the cart. “Yeah, we got a good batch. They all look healthy, too.” The two trolls talked about us like we were fish they had just caught in the river. The trip to the fortress was only a few hours by cart. It was mid-afternoon when we arrived and were unloaded like cattle in

Abigail After getting out of the water, Grayson helped me dry off and get dressed again. Having a broken leg and only one working hand made me feel like an invalid, but he never made me feel like a burden. He set me on a medium-sized rock while he got dressed. I closed my eyes and leaned back, enjoying the last of the day’s sunshine. “Abby?” I heard him say softly. I opened my eyes and saw him down on one knee in front of me. “Grayson?” I asked, thoroughly confused. “What are you doing?” “I’m asking you to marry me,” he said, placing something into my good hand. He looked at me, anxiously. He’s so worried I’ll say no. I opened my hand. He had given me a green rock, like he had when we were children and first told everyone we were going to marry. I felt my eyes fill with tears. “Are you sure?” I was shocked. “Abby, you are everything to me, and I don’t want to live my life without you as a part of it. I tried that for a while and it was the worst four years of my life.” I reache

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