Chapter 18
Duchy of Aragoni
Marco
IT WAS A FEW WEEKS after Christmas, and for some reason I awoke somewhat earlier than usual one morning. It was almost as though some external event had triggered my awakening, but I couldn’t figure out what it was at first. Then it hit me: Dani was having a nightmare and I was… holy f*****g s**t, I was tuned into it—that could only mean one thing. I shook him awake. “Dani, wake up. Wake up now.”
“What’s going on?” he said, more than a bit groggily.
“I’ll tell you what’s going on, but not until you’re wide awake. Come on.” I took him by one hand and dragged him from the bed, then led him stumbling into the bathroom, where I pulled him into the shower with me. I turned the cold water on first, and only gradually warmed it up to a fairly hot setting. Th
