The Awakening (The Dragon Heart Legacy #1) - Nora Roberts Page 0,138
the bottle, the glasses, and because he didn’t want to leave her alone, brought a glass of wine to his hand.
“I could use some water.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. Coddling wouldn’t help her. “See it, will it, bring it.”
She sighed, closed her eyes. No point in telling him her head throbbed like a bad tooth. He’d just tell her to fix it.
When she opened her eyes again, she held a glass. An empty one.
“I got it half right.”
She assumed she must have looked as bad as she felt, because he lifted a hand, tipped it down, and filled the glass with water.
“Just water?”
“Only water.”
He paced, drank wine while she sat and sipped water.
“Not through the protection,” he muttered. “Not through the pixies or the charms. Through you.”
He stopped, studied her. “So it was only here, inside, as you were inside. Aye, this is how it’s done. You said he felt you, perhaps saw you when you had the vision of the black castle. And sure, oh, aye, he devised this spell—Yseult—and he’s been waiting for you to open enough to let him in with it.”
“How do I stop it? Do I just use charms to block dreams and visions?”
“You could, but no.” More canniness, more calculation needed here, he thought. “You’ll leave a window open when you sleep, and when you’re alone here altogether. It won’t stop the visions, but there’ll be a warning. As for the rest, denying him the control of them, I’ve some ideas on it. I’ll work on it.”
“We’ll work on it, please.”
“All right then.” He nodded. “You’ve a right on it. But now, you’re weary, so back to bed with you.”
She didn’t argue, not with her head throbbing and her body hollowed out.
When he took off his sword, she wanted to weep again. In relief. “You’re staying.”
“Not for mating. For sleep.” Then he stopped, stared at her. “Are you thinking I’d leave you alone after you’ve had such a time of it?”
Avoiding the simple yes that popped into her head, she climbed into bed. “I’m too tired to think at all.”
“Then sleep.” The minute her head hit the pillow, he put her under. “For quiet rest,” he began, and started to soothe her mind. “Ah, bugger it, why didn’t you tell me you have pain?”
He soothed the headache, then sat to take off his boots. “She’s a puzzle to me, friend,” he said to the dog, who watched and waited. “Women are often puzzles to a man, but she’s more puzzling than most to my way of thinking.”
He didn’t undress, but lay back to consider the ceiling and think how best to help her control her visions.
By the fire, the dog circled his bed three times, as they were wont, then settled down to sleep.
A long time passed before Keegan found his own.
They worked on a nightly spell to help Breen recognize and fight off illusionary dreams. Rain or shine, night or day, she left a window open.
She didn’t think it was the curse of self-doubt telling her she’d reached her pinnacle in sword-fighting skill. She felt she’d qualify as solidly above average under most circumstances in that area. But if it ever came to actual combat, she knew she’d have to stretch high to reach the average mark.
She didn’t think it was wishful thinking she’d improved—vastly—in spell-casting and other magicks, or in focus and control.
And she came to realize she had more skill in bed than either of her two previous lovers had given her credit for. Then again, neither of them had been Keegan. Undoubtedly having an exceptional bed partner made a difference.
Confidence in her writing went up, went down, but the joy of it never abated.
When she shut down after a productive morning, she sighed, content. She could see the end of the book—weeks off yet, but she could see it. And Bollocks’s next adventure had started to take shape.
How lucky was she? she thought, to be able to bounce from one story to the other, from one world to the other. From one life, really, to the other.
When she started to get up, prepare for that other world, her tablet signaled a FaceTime.
Though it wasn’t their usual time, she accepted the signal from Marco.
“Hey! You just caught me before I . . . went for a walk.”
“I was hoping.” He grinned at her. “Girl, you look fine!”
“I feel fine. It’s really early for you.” So early, she noted, he still wore the Spider-Man T-shirt he often slept in. “What’re you