Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1679 - 121 : A Real-Life Nightmare

*Kryzen*

I woke up to the faintest hint of dawn trickling through the curtains, the scent of jasmine still lingering in the air. The bed beside me was empty, the sheets cool to the touch where Briella should have been. I sat up, confusion knitting my brow as I called out her name softly, "Briella?" No answer came. My eyes darted around the room. Her nightgown wasn’t draped over the chair, but her slippers were missing from the bedside.

“Briella?” I called again, louder this time.

"Maybe she went for water," I murmured to myself, swinging my legs off the bed and padding across the cold stone floor.

The bathroom door stood ajar, its emptiness echoing back at me. Down the hallway, the silence of the palace weighed heavily like a thick blanket smothering any sound.

Briella had the habit of wandering when her mind was troubled in the past, but she never strayed far without telling me, not anymore at least.

I checked throughout our suite. She wasn’t in the changing area or the living space untouched. Every usual haunt between was devoid of her presence. A knot formed in my stomach, tight and unforgiving. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"Briella!" I called louder this time, urgency seeping into my voice as I climbed the stairs to the upper floors, hoping maybe she’d gone to one of the balconies to watch the sunrise. When that too proved fruitless, panic clawed at my chest, a wild thing desperate to find her.

My feet carried me higher, all the way to the top and then to the narrow stairwell that led to the roof. I wondered why she would come all the way up there.

The sky was a canvas of oranges and pinks, a beautiful backdrop to the horror that unfolded before me. She was standing on the edge of the roof, her silhouette outlined by the first light of day. Her dark hair whipped around her face in the gentle morning breeze, and her petite frame seemed so fragile against the vastness of the valley below.

"Briella!" My voice broke with fear. She didn’t turn or seem to hear me. She was teetering, her toes just over the lip of the rooftop. My heart lodged itself in my throat.

"Don’t move, love, please." My words were a whisper lost in the wind, but I kept inching forward, terrified of startling her and her slipping away from me. I had to reach her. I had to save her from the darkness that haunted her dreams, now bleeding into our reality.

"Please," I pleaded, the word barely more than a breath.

With each heartbeat, a silent prayer escaped me as I reached out, my hand trembling with the urgency of the moment. Time slowed as I lunged towards Briella, seizing her around the waist with an iron grip. She was nothing but air and grace, a feather on the brink of being carried away by the wind.

"Got you," I gasped, yanking her back from the precipice with all the strength that desperation lent me. Our bodies collided. She jolted awake with a sharp intake of breath, her eyes wide with confusion and fear.

"Kryzen?" Briella’s voice was a fragile thread in the tapestry of dawn. "What... How did I get here?"

"Shh, it’s okay. You were sleepwalking," I explained, still holding her close, feeling her heart pounding against mine. I could scarcely believe it. I had never seen her wander in her sleep before. My mind raced with the implications of what that meant, what darkness tugged at the corners of her subconscious to lead her so close to danger.

She trembled in my arms, tears welling up and spilling over, tracing paths down her cheeks. "I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you."

"Hey, no, don’t apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for." I brushed a tear away with the pad of my thumb, the gesture tender despite the coarseness of my calloused skin. The relief that she was safe and I hadn’t been seconds too late swelled within me, a fierce protectiveness taking root. "I’m just glad I found you in time. But Briella, these dreams... they’re getting worse, aren’t they?"

She nodded, a sob catching in her throat as she buried her face in my chest. "It’s always the same. Darkness... and faces. So many faces."

"Shh, you’re safe now. We’ll figure this out, together." My words were a vow, a warrior’s promise. As we stood there, clinging to one another atop the roof bathed in the soft hues of sunrise, I knew a battle loomed on the horizon. It was not one of swords and shields but of shadows and dreams. And I would wage it fiercely for her.

With Briella’s fragile form cradled in my arms, I navigated the narrow staircase that led back to our suite. Her breaths came in shallow gasps against my chest, each one sending a pulse of worry through my veins. “It’s going to be okay,” I murmured, more to reassure myself than her. The early morning air was cool and biting, but her skin felt clammy beneath my touch.

Once inside, I gently laid her down on the plush couch, her bright green eyes glossed over with a distant fear that seemed to cling to her like a second skin. I brushed a wavy strand of dark hair from her face before moving to draw her a bath, hoping the warmth would wash away the chill of the night’s terror.

"Stay right here," I told her softly. "I’ll be just a moment."

The water ran from the tap, filling the marble tub with steam that fogged up the ornate mirror hanging above it. I tested the temperature with my hand. It was perfect. Returning to Briella, I found her staring blankly at the dancing flames in the fireplace, lost in a world only she could see.

"Come," I said as tenderly as I could manage, offering my hand. "Let’s get you warmed up."

With a nod so slight I almost missed it, she allowed me to guide her to the bathroom. I helped her into the tub, ensuring her comfort before leaving her to soak alone, giving her the privacy she deserved. From the adjacent kitchenette, I prepared a warm drink—honeyed tea, her favorite—then returned to sit on the edge of the tub, where I watched over her with a silent vigil.

"Drink this," I instructed, handing her the cup once she emerged from the bath and was wrapped in a thick towel. Her fingers trembled as they met mine, the porcelain clinking softly.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice a ghost of its usual vibrancy. She sipped slowly, her gaze downcast, avoiding mine.

"Talk to me," I urged, reaching out to brush a damp lock of hair behind her ear. My heart ached at her quietness, a total contrast to the lively and fierce woman I knew. "Briella, please."

She shook her head, placing the half-empty cup on the side table. "There’s nothing to say. It’s just the same darkness."

"Then let’s not talk about the dreams. Tell me about something good, a happy memory, anything."

But she remained mute, her silence a heavy shroud between us. Eventually, she leaned into my embrace, seeking the solace of my hold. I enveloped her in my arms, the beat of my heart meant to soothe hers. And there we sat, the dawn bleeding into the day, while I grappled with the helplessness that gripped me. Something had to change. I couldn’t lose her to the shadows that haunted her sleep.

I cradled Briella in my arms, the silken sheets of our bed now wrinkled and twisted from our restless movements. Her breaths came in shallow gasps, each one piercing the silence of the night like a soft cry for help. The moonlight streamed through the window, casting an ethereal glow over her delicate features, but it did nothing to chase away the terror that clung to her eyes.

"Try to sleep," I whispered, stroking her back in slow, soothing circles. "I’m here, Briella. Nothing will harm you."

She clutched at my shirt, her fingers gripping the fabric with a silent desperation. "I can’t, Kryzen. It’s waiting for me—the darkness. If I close my eyes, it will take me."

The earnest fear in her voice twisted a knot in my chest. To see her, once so valiant and fierce, brought low by unseen nightmares was more than I could bear. I held her tighter, willing my strength to be her shield. But as the hours slipped by, marked only by the gradual shift of shadows across the room, neither of us found the respite of sleep.

Her head rested against my chest, listening to the steady heartbeat I hoped would comfort her. Even as dawn threatened to break over the horizon, she trembled still.

"Tell me about the dreams," I said when the quiet became unbearable. My voice sounded foreign even to my ears, strained with concern and weariness that comes from battling phantoms.

Briella’s body stiffened in my arms. She exhaled a shuddering breath before speaking, her words barely rising above a whisper. "It’s always dark, a suffocating, endless darkness. And there are faces, Kryzen. So many faces... I don’t recognize them, but all of them are leering and jeering at me. They’re in pain, angry, reaching for me..."

"Faces?" I echoed, a frown creasing my brow. I searched my mind for any lore that might explain such visions, any tale or remedy that could banish them. But the more I thought, the more elusive the answers seemed.

"Yes," she murmured, her voice tinged with the remnants of terror. "And they’re whispering things, terrible things. I can’t make out the words, but I feel their malice. It’s as if they want to drag me into the abyss with them."

"Shhh, it’s all right." I pressed a kiss to her forehead, though my heart raced with helpless frustration. "You’re safe. You’re with me."

But the comfort in my words felt hollow, even to me. As the light of morning crept into the room, the truth lay bare between us—neither spells nor swords could fight this battle. This enemy was one of the mind, elusive and intangible, and I was at a loss as to how to protect her from it.

Neither of us was getting any more sleep, but we were not ready to get up and face the day. So we just lay there together. I stroked her hair and whispered quiet words of love and support as I tried desperately to come up with some way I could fix this for her.

I needed to talk to someone. We needed to talk to someone. These were clearly more than just nightmares. The shadows we had faced were vanquished, but we had been warned there were others.

Would we finally come face to face with “them?"