Waking Up With Him
*Hezzlie*
I wake up in bed next to Rowan. It’s dark outside, so I know it’s been hours, but for all I know, I could’ve been out for days. I run a hand through my hair and notice even in the dark that my fingers are no longer coated with blood. That’s something at least.
Rowan stirs next to me. “Are you finally awake?” he whispers, like he’s afraid he will wake me up if I’m not.
“So it seems,” I tell him, speaking at a regular volume. “What day is it?”
He snickers. “Same day. You’ve been out for about four hours.” He sits up and turns the light on next to him. I take a moment to admire his bare chest and am a little disappointed to see he has shorts on when I see them peeking out from under the blanket. “Are you hungry?”
“I am,” I admit. I’m still woozy, so I don’t sit up, but I do stretch a hand over to him, and he takes it in his. “How did everything go out there?”
“As good as could be expected,” he says with a nod. “We don’t have to worry about Dark Sky ever again.” I can see the satisfaction on his face with that statement, and it makes me smile, too.
Even though that means my father is dead. I’m not exactly sure how to feel about that. For much of my life, I didn’t have a father at all. Then, when I did meet him, he was nothing like I’d hoped he would be. He was a horrible person. He deserved what he had coming. Still, it’s a bit sad to know that I’ll never have a dad.
Unless my mom meets someone and falls in love. Now, that would be amazing.
“Are you all right?” Rowan sounds concerned as he leans down next to me and brushes my hair out of my face.
“I’m okay. Still tired.” I manage a small smile.
“I’ve sent for some food,” he tells me. “I think Natalie is still working in the infirmary, but someone will bring it up. It’s weird not having Wilma around.”
“It sure is,” I agree. Mention of her makes me think back to how it was when I first arrived in the mansion. It’s so weird to think that, at the time, I trusted Wilma more than anyone and didn’t trust Rowan at all. Now, everything has been turned on its head. I guess life is like that, though.
We chat for a bit about the wounded, and he assures me everyone I healed is doing really well. James has decided to keep some of them in the infirmary overnight for observation, but I saved several lives. While there were a few of our warriors who didn’t make it and died out there on the battlefield, we had relatively low casualties while Dark Sky ended up losing quite a bit of their army.
“Aiden has reported that many of Alpha King’s Solomon’s men have sworn their allegiance to him. He’s at Dark Sky Castle now, meeting with them,” Rowan explains.
“Is he alone?” For a moment, I worry that someone might try to take out vengeance for my father’s death on my brother.
Rowan shakes his head. “Some of my commanders are there as well. And of course, Mara.” He smiles when he says his sister’s name. Images of her on the battlefield come back to me. She’s such a badass.
“That’s good. I hope that works well because it will be nice not to have a sworn enemy on our border.”
“I agree.” Rowan’s smile is a little different than usual. It’s the one he gives me when he thinks I’m being cute.
“What?” I ask, finally sitting up, though slowly.
“What what?” he asks, still grinning.
“What is that look?” I clarify. “Why are you smiling at me like that?”
“Because… you’re talking like you’re already the queen,” he admits, caressing my cheek with his palm. “And that’s great.”
I consider his words for a moment and fight off a blush. Why shouldn’t I talk like I’m the queen. I will be one soon, after all. Goddess, how in the world has this happened? How did I go from a crazy, poor girl in an insane asylum to the queen of a kingdom I didn’t even know existed.
We are interrupted by a light knock on the door. Rowan calls for them to come in, and one of the maids brings in a tray with silver cloches on it. She sets it over my lap and then bows before turning and walking away. I thank her and then pull off the lid to find some of the best smelling soup in the world. I inhale deeply and even close my eyes.
“Eat up,” Rowan insists.
“Aren’t you hungry?” I ask as I lift my spoon.
“No, I already ate,” he assures me.
I don’t have to be told twice. I dig into the soup, savoring every bite. It’s great to know I’ll have every meal prepared for me just like this one for the rest of my life—not that my mom’s cooking is bad or anything–but this is amazing.
I finish off the soup and the fresh bread, as well as the glass of sweet tea and the chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Then, Rowan moves the tray out of the way, and I fall back into my pillow, patting my full stomach and reaching for sleep again.
“I guess we’ll need to celebrate our victory another time,” he says in a teasing voice.
I perk up a little, but I’m still exhausted. “Probably so. I'm sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he assures me, leaning over and kissing the top of my head. “We’ll have plenty of opportunities for that. For now, get some rest. After all, we have another huge project on the horizon.”
I arch an eyebrow. “What’s that?”
A sly grin slides into place as he wiggles his eyebrows and says, “Our wedding.”
Now, I’m smiling back at him, equally as goofily. “Oh, yes. That sounds like a much better project than the war.”
“I agree.” He kisses me soundly, and I close my eyes, ready for more rest, and hopefully, dreams of my wedding. No matter what I dream about, I know that my reality will be amazing.
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