Chapter 54

Nicholas had been having nightmares, vivid visions that kept him awake at night. In all of his dreams, he saw Robert, the man he had helped murder, trying to kill him. In one such dream, he went to the king's court and saw Robert sitting on the throne instead of Fabian. A grin spread across Robert's face and then he took a spear from a guard that was standing near him and threw it at him. In another of those dreams, he was in a large arena, a mad crowd around. His opponent was none other than Robert, who pummeled him as soon as the bell rang.

Usually, when he had these dreams, he would jerk up from sleep when the deathblow was struck, his body bathed in sweat, his muscles quivering with fear. When the dreams began too much for him to bear, he would roll over from beside his wife, who snored carelessly, and find his way outside. He would walk around the courtyard in an attempt to ease his mind. When he would get back, he would be quite exhausted and fall asleep immedi