*Briella*
I lay on the plush bed, the softness of the feather mattress offering little comfort to my aching body. The potion the healer had given me sat on the nightstand, its once potent magic reduced to a mere whisper.
It had worked at first. I had been sleeping better. The dreams had lost their power over me, but it had been a brief respite.
Sleep and I were still not finding common ground. I was more exhausted than ever with the pregnancy progressing, I was starting to run on fumes.
Kryzen had put his foot down. He had been so firm, his gray eyes clouded with concern as he commanded me to relinquish my duties.
"Rest, Briella," he had said, tucking a strand of my dark hair behind my ear. "The kingdom can wait. You cannot. Our child cannot."
