***Cadiz***
The knock on the door pulled me from sleep slowly, like surfacing from deep water.
I felt Raizel stir beside me, his arm tightening around my waist before he lifted his head from the pillow. His eyes were still heavy with sleep, but awareness was coming back to him quickly as the knocking continued, more insistent this time.
He leaned down and kissed me, soft and gentle, a kiss that made warmth spread through my chest despite the interruption. Then he shifted to sit up slightly, still holding me against him, not bothering to get out of bed to answer.
"What is it?" he called out, his voice still rough with sleep.
"My lord," Henrik's voice came through the door, tight with urgency. "We have a big problem."
The words cut through the remaining fog of sleep like ice water. Both Raizel and I sat up immediately, suddenly completely awake, something about Henrik's tone made my heart start racing, made fear coil in my stomach before I even knew what was wrong.
