With My Last Breath, Book Three by Cori Chaffee

Camelot,' he shouted. ‚There is always hope. And when there is hope, anything is possible!'
    The crowd cheered once more and I clapped with them, happy to see the joy that was shining on so many faces. Arthur was truly a charismatic man, someone whose very presence could excite crowds, someone who people innately trusted.
    But as I stood in appreciation of the atmosphere, a wave of nausea washed over me.
    Intense heat flushed my cheeks and the courtyard began to spin. The sea of faces and noises blended into one another and before I knew it, I was on the ground with my cheek resting in the dirt.
    Courtney Cole 51
    With My Last Breath, Book Three

Chapter Nine
    My mother raced to my side and knelt next to me.
    ‚Heleyne,' she uttered as she rubbed my back. ‚What is it?'
    I tried to open my eyes but every time I did, dizziness threatened to make me vomit. I moaned just slightly, but enough to cause my mother to panic.
    ‚Heleyne! Are you in pain?' She looked into the crowd. ‚Someone send for the medicine woman!'
    Before anyone could move, Lucan pushed through the throngs of people and scooped me into his arms. I gazed up at his handsome face for just a moment before I squeezed my eyes shut against the dizzying nausea.
    ‚When you find her, send her to Heleyne’s rooms,' he instructed my mother over his shoulder. His long steps made short work of the courtyard and before I knew it, we were entering the cool darkness of the castle.
    Once out of the sun, I opened my eyes. Lucan was staring at me worriedly as he carried me down the halls toward my bedchambers.
    ‚Are you alright?' he asked anxiously. ‚You’re very pale.'
    ‚I’m fine,' I answered, although in truth, I felt horribly weak. My hands were shaking and I didn’t know why. ‚I feel better now. I think maybe I got too hot in the sun.'
    He glared down at me. ‚You shouldn’t tax yourself so much, woman.'
    ‚But it is nice to be rescued by a knight in shining armor,' I quipped lightly.
    Unfamiliar with the phrase, he scowled at me. ‚I’m not wearing armor.'
    Kicking my heavy door open, he crossed my bedchambers in four long steps and laid me gently down on the softness of my bed. Pacing back to my window, his boots clicking on the stone floor, he looked outside.
    ‚I don’t see the old woman,' he muttered impatiently, pacing back. Sitting on the edge of my bed next to me, he grasped my hand.
    ‚How do you feel?' He was so anxious.
    I had to smile. Lucan was perfectly at home on the battlefield, but one sign of sickness or tears and he fell to pieces, at least when it came to me. He had always been that way. I reached up and brushed his dark hair away from his forehead and he leaned into my hand.
    ‚I’m much better now, my love,' I answered softly. ‚I’m happy to be with you.'
    He grinned a cocky grin, one that was still laced with concern. ‚Heleyne, there are better ways than this to spend time with me, I assure you.'
    I laughed and he laughed with me, his voice husky and rich. I felt like I could take a bath in the sound.
    Courtney Cole 52
    With My Last Breath, Book Three
    A soft knock resounded on my open door and I glanced up. An old medicine woman creeped into the room, her back hunched and her face concealed by a heavy black hood. She trudged across the room, my mother following on her heels.
    With one arm, she motioned Lucan to move away from me. He stood, but I could feel his reluctance as he lingered close by.
    ‚Move,' she hissed to him. ‚I do not want you here.'
    Lucan’s head jerked up and he glared at her. ‚Old woman, I would like to see you make me leave,' he thundered. ‚This woman will be my wife. I will know what ails her.'
    The old woman turned to him, her fragile back humped grotesquely. ‚And you shall. You shall know when I tell you. But you will wait in the hall. Go.'
    The look on Lucan’s face was priceless because for once, he was speechless. The woman, who could barely be four feet tall, certainly knew no