My hand rests on my stomach.
“You’re safe,” I whisper again. “We’re safe.”
Slowly, the world dissolves into blackness.
---
I wake with a violent jolt, my body lurching upward, a scream trapped in my throat. Sweat drenches my nightgown, and my hair is plastered to my forehead and neck. For several terrifying seconds, I don’t know where I am. The mountain forest is still too real, the cold still biting at my skin.
Then, reality crashes back. My bedroom. The palace. Safety.
I press my trembling hand against my flat stomach. No child. No blood. No arrow.
“Just a dream,” I whisper, my voice hoarse. “Just the same f*****g dream.”
My heart still hammers, refusing to believe I’m safe. I swing my feet over the side of the bed and stand up. I take a deep breath, remembering how, until recent
