Only one chapter tonight (a long one) but there will be three more tomorrow! Thank you for all your support! (Added after publication so you aren't charged for the words.)
*****
~ DAVID ~
"Highness?" The dark, gruff voice snapped me out of a nightmare playing out in my head in which I was burying Zara before I'd had the chance to marry her. I sucked in a breath and lifted my face from my hands to find Stark standing over my chair, holding a thick mug out for me.
I immediately got to my feet, starting for the now-unlocked door, but Stark slapped a hand to my chest and gave me a warning look, holding the mug up and tipping his chin toward it.
I took it reluctantly and swallowed a mouthful, then winced. "Oh, dear God," I croaked.
Stark huffed. A normal man would have smiled. "Mardie insisted."
Mardie was the Royal Nurse. It was one of her tinctures, a concoction she insisted broke the grip of shock.
