Vee leapt from the princess' bed with a gasp. “Oh no! Who is that? Should I hide?”
“No. I doubt it's Nico. He wouldn't pound so loud.” When Isabella opened the door, she tried to put a smile on her face, but her lips refused to move. “Hello, sir,” she greeted the guard. “Is there something you need?”
“I'm sorry to disturb you, Your Highness, but I was asked to fetch you.” The guard bowed, cleared his throat, and continued. “A man named Thomas Harriot has arrived at the gate. He wants you to know he's still alive. He asked me to tell you, but you shouldn't feel obligated to--”
“Tom?” Isabella's eyes went wide. “Are you sure? Are you absolutely certain he's alive?”
The guard simply shrugged, so Isabella brushed him aside and dashed down the hallway. She ran so fast, she nearly tripped over the hem of her dress as she turned into the foyer. Isabella exploded through the palace's front doors, and she didn't slow down until she reached the front gate, where Tom was hunched over the ground.
“Tom!” Isabella screamed his name as she dropped to the ground beside him. “Oh god, Tom! He wasn't lying! You really are alive!”
“Isabella...” Tom whispered as his fingers grazed her cheek. “You're alright. You're safe.”
A few seconds later, he slipped back into a state of unconsciousness, making Isabella panic. “Fetch a doctor!” she shouted at the guards. “I want him patched up, cleaned up and treated! It is very important that we save this man's life!”
Obeying their princess, the guards carried Harriot into the palace and deposited him in one of its many guest rooms. A few minutes later, he was visited by the palace doctor, who looked a bit aghast when he saw the state Tom was in. The doctor insisted on sending the princess into the hallway, even though she desperately wanted to stay at Tom's side.
“Oh please...” Isabella whispered a plea to the heavens as she paced down the hall, back and forth, back and forth. “Oh please oh please oh please let him live!”
The doctor wasn't finished by the time supper arrived, so Isabella was forced to dine with Mae and her brother, who kept asking questions about why she looked so nervous.
To which she nervously replied, “Nervous? Me? I'm not nervous, nope, not nervous at all! You're just imagining things, Nico, don't be ridiculous!”
“If you say so, Isabella,” Nico said as he brought a spoonful of hot soup to his lips. As he waited for it to cool, he added, “But... if you need to talk to someone, you know you can talk to me about anything, right?”
“Uh-huh. Right. Yes.”
Isabella inhaled her food as quickly as she could. For her own sanity, she needed to return to Tom's room. When she arrived, the doctor had just finished stitching the last of Tom's wounds, which meant she was allowed to enter. Isabella sat beside Tom's bed and held his hand.
“I'm staying with you...” Isabella whispered to an unconscious Harriot. “I'm going to stay at your side until you wake. No one can make me leave you again. Not even that fussy old doctor!”
She had to wait a long time. Midnight slipped by, but he still wasn't waking. Vee visited her once—to check on Tom and tell Isabella she was leaving the palace—and then she was gone.
Isabella opened a book and started reading to Tom, thinking he might hear her voice, even in his unconscious state. She tackled six chapters, reading until her voice went hoarse. When she started to fall asleep, the tolling of a grandfather clock jolted her awake.
And then Tom opened his eyes again.
“Isabella?”
As soon as she heard his voice, Isabella's book slipped from her lap and crashed against the floor. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, to squeeze him, but she wasn't sure his wounds could withstand the sort of hug she so desperately wanted to give to him.
So she kissed him instead.
“I love you, Tom.” Isabella didn't want to waste any time telling him how she felt. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, her heart felt a million pounds lighter.
“You love me?” Tom tried to sit up, realized it was too painful, and sunk back beneath the blankets. “Do you mean that?”
“I do. I really do. So much.” Isabella sat beside him and ran her fingers through his thick, black hair. “You mean everything to me. When I saw you fall, my life might as well have been over. I need you.”
“When I fell, my only thoughts were of you... your safety, your fate.” Tom reached for Isabella's hand and brought it to his lips. “Because I feel the same way about you, Isabella.”
“Really?”
He could see the silvery tears swimming in her eyes in the pale light of the candlelit room. As soon as the first tear fell, he wiped it with his thumb. “I do. Of course I do. And I would fight a million more men to keep you safe, if I had to.” He shifted slightly, reminding himself of the pain he was in. “Uh... as soon as I recover, that is.”
“Thinking you were dead, I might as well have been dead myself!” Isabella laid beside him on the bed and gently curled an arm around him. “Promise me I won't lose you again! I couldn't bear it!”
He leaned forward to kiss her head, ignoring the pain in his chest as he moved. “You won't lose me.”
“Do you promise?”
“I promise.” Leaning closer to her ear, he whispered the words she so desperately needed to hear. “I love you, Isabella.”
As he held the princess in his arms, a tearful Thomas Harriot stared at the ceiling.
For the first time in his life, he felt lucky to be himself.
For the first time in his life, he was truly happy.
A Note from the Author
Thank you so much for reading my story! If you enjoyed it, it would be a great help if you left a review. It doesn't have to be long. Just a sentence or two is fine. It might help me believe I'm not terrible at this writing thing!
The next book in the Belles & Bullets series, The Emperor’s Bride, will be available in October 2017. The final two books (which star Carol Cassady and a couple handsome cowboys) are my personal favorites, so I hope you check them out!
For news on future releases, please follow me on Twitter! https://twitter.com/CaylenMcQueen
Thanks again!
Prisoner Princess (Belles & Bullets Book 5) Page 31