Colin barely registered him running out the door, his only focus on Darby, who had collapsed on the floor and lay deathly still. He rushed over to her, knelt, down and pulled her limp body into his arms, whispering no over and over under his breath. He watched her waiting for her to breathe, but her chest was still, the pulse he so loved in her neck still.
Tears began to stream down his cheeks. “No, Darby, no. I can’t live without you. Come back to me.”
Then to his utter joy, she sucked in a massive breath of air and opened her eyes. “I’m not going anywhere,” she croaked.
He rocked her back and forth. “You scared me, Darby. Don’t ever do that again.”
“Even to save Ballentine?” she asked.
“Even to save Ballentine,” he said. “But it is convenient that you did: it’s going to be much harder for my parents to say no to our marriage.”
Darby grinned up at him. “And if that doesn’t work, we can always give them some Moon Flower,” she said. “That should calm them down.”
He grinned at her. “I love you, Darby.”
“I love you too, Colin,” she said. “By the way, I was wondering how long you wanted to wait before we have those babies. I think it might be sooner than you think.”
Colin stared at her for a second, then said, “Now I think I need a dose of that Moon flower.”