He dropped his sword and came over to me, picking me up in his arms. I clung to him, shivering. Not only because I was cold and wet and naked but because I had been so sure I was going to die. He took me back into the bedroom and sat me down on the bed. He let go of me and I didn’t want that. I needed him. “Don’t leave me,” I pleaded. “I’m not leaving you,” he said. He grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around me tightly, then pulled me into his lap. “I won’t ever leave you again.”
