28
Hayley
About half an hour earlier, Mahaere and the nymphs had left, and the reality of what we were about to do came crashing down on me. I was a nervous wreck while Ash and I waited for the carriage to come pick us up. I paced inside the tent, twisting my hands around my dress.
After a few minutes, Ash halted in my path, towering over me. “Breathe in, breathe out,” he instructed, doing it himself. I followed his lead. He reached over and ran his warm hands over my arms. “It’ll be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
How could he be so sure of that? We were walking into the lion's den willingly. A lot of things could go wrong.
I stepped into him. “Just hold me.”
He didn’t hesitate. In a flash, his arms were around me, and he pulled me into a tight embrace. “Everything will b
