Royal Reckoning by Stephanie St. Klaire

Author:Stephanie St. Klaire
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stephanie St. Klaire

15

Eli’s go bag was always at the ready. That was just how it was done in their line of work. Plus, they’d only just returned from the last mission, so it hadn’t had any time to collect dust.

He’d been quiet upon entering his apartment so as not to wake Cally. He would have to eventually let her know he was leaving, but he’d let her sleep as long as he could. While he grabbed a few extra supplies from his closet, he heard her stir. He stood silent in the dark closet and waited for her to settle, but she didn’t. He was trained to hear something as simple as a shift in the wind blow. She was definitely fitful, and he was torn between going to her and letting her work it out in her sleep.

When she started to cry out, he dropped everything and ran to her. He was just in time to catch the lamp she’d somehow managed to knock from the nightstand in her sleep-filled fit.

“Cally, love,” he said gently, sitting on the edge of the bed. He laid a hand on her hip and repeated her name. “Cally girl, wake up. It’s me.”

Cally sat straight up and belted a horrific gut-wrenching scream, and began to beat against Eli’s chest. She was fighting him, screaming no, while still sound asleep.

He knew better than to grab her wrists yet did it anyway and quickly learned why you’re supposed to wake the person completely and not restrain them. She only fought harder, and if he was to learn anything at that moment of poor judgment, it was that Cally was much stronger than he’d ever given her credit for. Especially her punch and the fat lip he was sure to feel shortly would be a nice match for the black eye he was certain he’d just earned himself. She’d struck him – twice.

Eli let go of her and slid to the bottom corner of the bed, out of reach, and continued to call for her to wake.

“Cally,” he said louder. “Cally, you’re safe. It’s me, Eli. Wake up, love. I’m here. You’re safe.”

He repeated himself time and time again, and each time he told her she was safe, she calmed and fought less. She finally woke up in a cold sweat, looking around the room, confused by his presence and how fatigued she felt.

She looked at her right hand and made a fist, wincing as she did. She rubbed her wound with her free hand and looked at Eli. “Wh-What is going on?”

“You tell me, baby,” he said, moving close to her again. “You were having a bad dream, I believe. You were quite upset.”

He leaned over and turned on the light. “See, it’s me. Just me. You’re safe.”

“That was…” Cally looked around the room as if to make sure she really was awake, and everything around her really was there. “It was so real. I don’t know where I was. I thought I was with you on an airplane.

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