Joanne’s POV
I woke up with tears on my face. Alexander was so close… he was so real. I could still smell his scent lingering nearby and feel his warm hands cupping my face. It wasn’t just a dream…it couldn’t have been. It was real. He was real.
My chest hurt—sharp and mean, like someone had tied a rope around my ribs and pulled. For a second, while waking up, I didn’t know where I was.
Then the smell of herbs and smoke brought the tent back into focus, and my stomach lurched at the memory.
I sat up too fast and the world swayed. The messenger's words from earlier kept replaying in my head: the prince was hit. He was poisoned. However, he was stable, which meant he was alive, and he was going to come back to me like he promised.
He promised me in real life and in my dream… he was
