Harper awoke to find herself home at last—in her husband's mansion.

Even better, she was in her husband's arms. "Matthew," she said, the name coming out as easy as a breath.

Gently pulling her in a little closer, Matthew replied, "Shush! Don't get up. Let's get some more sleep. I had a long journey riding back through the night, and I'm very exhausted right now."

Harper snuggled up against him. Looking at Matthew, seeing his strong jaw lined with stubble, his face drawn with fatigue, his eyes warm but somehow also distant. It made her heart ache to imagine everything he had gone through.

"Okay," she whispered. "Sleep as long as you need to. I promise I won't bother you."

Matthew's lips twitched into a smile and he closed his eyes, still silently ecstatic to be home again at last. He felt his wife's breathing, listened to the beat of her heart, and, suddenly, heard also a growl from her stomach.

It was hardly a noise, but with Harper that close, it was enough to keep Matthew awake. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Harper's face

ppose they should get here in a day or two."

Harper offered another devious smile. "How about sending a message to Barry?" she suggested. "Let's prepare a wonderful drama for His Majesty, so as to thank him for having forced you to fight against Kevin."

Matthew nodded his head. "Yes, that's a good idea. But in any case, I will tell my men to be merciful to Shawn."

These words were a bit puzzling to Harper, who wondered exactly what he meant by being merciful. As a matter of fact, she didn't really mean to make any trouble for Shawn. She just wanted Matthew's men to make it a little difficult for him when he went to take charge of Kevin. After all, it was the emperor who had sent Shawn to do that. All Harper wanted was to make the emperor think that Matthew and his wife were mad at him. As such, she didn't mean to cause any kind of violence. But when she heard Matthew say that he would ask his men to be merciful to Shawn, she suddenly realized that her husband was too far. But by the time she figured this out, she regretted not having clearly explained her own intentions.