Blood of the Earth by David A. Wells Page A

muscles to clench uncontrollably until you ran out of air. You only relaxed once your heart stopped.”
    Isabel moaned softly as she woke from the sound of their conversation. Alexander watched her with a gentle smile. With all of the trouble swirling around him he was at peace just knowing that this amazing woman loved him. With her at his side he could face any challenge.
    She came awake with a start and scrambled out of the chair and onto the bed, kneeling beside him and putting her head on his shoulder as she started crying softly.
    He put his hand on her back and caressed her gently.
    “I’m all right, you saved me—both of you.”
    “Don’t ever scare me like that again,” Isabel said. “When your mom said your heart had stopped, I felt like the world was ending.”
    “Come here,” he whispered.
    She lay down beside him and put her head on his shoulder.
    “I’m grateful that you saved me. But now the wraithkin’s taint is growing inside you,” Alexander said.
    She tensed a little but didn’t say anything.
    “You have to promise me that you won’t use your light again until we figure out how to undo whatever the wraithkin’s magic did to you.”
    She nodded. “I don’t feel anything. Are you sure it’s really there?”
    “I’m sure,” he said.
    “I promise I won’t use it unless it’s the only way to save you,” Isabel said.
    “Isabel, we don’t know what’s happening. The wraithkin’s taint could kill you.”
    “I know,” she whispered.
    “You can’t risk yourself for me,” Alexander said.
    She lifted herself up so she could look him in the eye. “I can and I will,” she said, her green eyes flashing. “When I was lost in the darkness, you risked yourself to save me. You can’t ask me to do any less. I love you just as much as you love me. Losing you would be the most horrible thing that could ever happen to me.”
    Chloe nodded, still sitting in the middle of his chest.
    Alexander sighed and shook his head. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
    “I know,” Isabel said.
    He relaxed and let himself drift off. When he woke an hour later, Isabel was resting with her head on his shoulder, and Chloe was curled up asleep on his chest. He yawned and both of them woke.
    “Are you hungry?” Isabel asked.
    “Now that you mention it, I’m starving.”
    “I’ll have Adele make us some breakfast and send word to your parents and sister that you’re awake,” Isabel said, as she got up.
    “Adele? From New Ruatha?”
    “Yep, she volunteered to serve as your house manager. She’s the one who got these quarters cleaned and furnished for us. In fact, as I understand it, she went to Erik demanding to know why he hadn’t assigned a staff to attend to you when you were in the Keep. He was a bit flustered at first. I can’t say I blame him since he’s been busy coordinating the supply operation for the army. When Adele offered to take care of our quarters, he gladly assigned her the job.”
    Alexander chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t blame him, either. He’s got more important things to do than worry about where we’re going to sleep. Besides, I thought we had rooms off the paddock.”
    “Alexander, you’re the Sovereign,” Isabel said, smiling at his discomfort. “It wouldn’t do for you to stay in the barracks with the soldiers.”
    Alexander shook his head. “One of these days, I expect everyone to realize that I’m just a ranch hand and throw me in the dungeon for impersonating a king.”
    “You are much more than a ranch hand, My Love,” Chloe said, standing in the middle of his chest with her hands on her hips and looking at him sternly. “I know your heart, maybe even better than you do yourself. You are every bit the king that the people need. Without you, they don’t stand a chance against the storm that’s coming. Through you, they may yet live to see a world ruled by justice rather than ambition.”
    Once again, Alexander felt the weight of his