Withdrawing had been the right thing for Hercules to do, but he hadn't guessed how desperate he would be for her presence or how soon that desperation would set in.

Somehow, he forced himself to sleep bundled up in what amounted to guest room blankets, but he kept remembering the downward plunge of the Hydra's swordlike teeth. He could see the forked tongue and smell the foul stench of its breath. He had defeated it both in his first nightmare and in reality, but now his mind played out scenarios he couldn't hope to counter.

As a captive audience to the nightmare theater, he watched the castle torn down by monstrous claws and Megara tumbling between its jaws. He saw the party go wrong as a Minotaur invaded and knocked the roof down on Megara's head.

Hercules shot upright in bed, sweating once again and feeling utterly pathetic in the shadows of this new home Megara had built him. What had he done since returning to Thebes aside from showing off and letting Meg look after him?

What kind of hero slept this far away from his beloved? How could he save her if someone crept into her room? Was she safe now?

Hercules barely remembered to grab his blanket off the bed and wrap it around his waist as he charged barefoot through the house toward the room where he'd left her.

He skidded to a halt right outside her room and braced himself on the wall. Of course, he couldn't barge in there. They'd parted on the understanding that they shouldn't spend the night together, and Megara wasn't expecting him. What kind of idiot would he be to barge in there while she was enjoying her privacy? They weren't married yet. He might enjoy certain privileges, but he didn't have the full privileges of a husband. Not yet.

Still… what if she were in danger and he did nothing about it because his politeness stunted him too much?

Hercules slowly tested the lock on her door.

She had definitely intended to be left alone. Nobody had broken in, but that didn't mean nobody had come at her from another angle.

Hercules jogged toward a door and climbed out onto a balcony, then climbed back around the building's facade toward the room where Megara slept. The windows were designed so that the thin mica panels were suspended between iron latticework that formed the shapes of thunderbolts and flowers.

She'd thought of everything.

Hercules peered through the amber-tinted mica and saw Megara's shape on her bed, curled up on her side, clutching a pillow against her cheek.

There was no pretense of toughness in her sleep, only the true endearing softness that he knew her for.

He sighed. She was safe. He'd probably been delusional to think otherwise. Now, he was hanging off the side of the building, wearing nothing but his blanket about his waist. A night breeze made him shiver as it hit him as he hung from the window sills.

Megara shifted in her sleep, stretched, and then she was looking directly at him. Her scream resounded through the thin mica sheets that blocked her from the same chill that had set him off balance.

"I'm sorry!" he called to her. "I had to check on you!"

Megara staggered from the bed, unlocked the door, and held it open, wearing absolutely nothing.

He couldn't leave her standing there like that. There might be someone lingering after the end of the party! They might see her like that! Hercules rushed back through the house and barreled into her, catching her up in his arms and diving into bed with her.

"What were you thinking standing there like that?" he gasped.

"That you were being stupid, and you'd made me feel stupid?" Megara huffed. "What were you thinking?"

"I had to check on you, but I didn't want to break down the door to do it."

"Why wouldn't I be all right?"

"Well… I had all these… nightmares. You got eaten or beaten by monsters. A building fell on you… I… I couldn't stay away from you. I'm so sorry if you don't want me here, but I had to check on you. I'd be too guilty if my dreams were premonitions and I ignored them, so you got hurt. My life is meaningless and empty without you."

"Shh," she whispered and threaded her fingers through his hair. "Herc, your life is not worthless. You are so important to multitudes of people and are just starting. I'm fine. Not all of your dreams can come true. They conflict. I think what's going on here is that your fear for yourself got transferred to me. Now you're afraid on my behalf because you're the one in danger, and you're not ready to admit you're scared."

"I know a lot of these things wouldn't even hurt me," Hercules said. "I've had multiple buildings collapse on top of me, and I walked it off. I've jumped down a monster's throat or into one's mouth, and I didn't even get a scratch. But you…" He traced a line down her arm and shivered. "You're so soft and delicate… Things I can shrug off and laugh about would kill you before I could do anything about it."

"So… don't leave." Megara pulled aside her blanket and kissed his cheek. "Climb in here with me, and you'll know I'm safe."

Heat and shivers of cold battled up and down his spine. "We've never slept together, have we? This might not be a good idea."

"We slept next to each other on the way to Sparta," she reminded him. "Circumstances were different, but it wasn't terrible. I know we can handle this."

He hadn't been conscious when she moved herself closer to him in the night, but he'd sensed her presence in his dreams. That was a long time ago when he'd been a boy. Now that he was a man… Hercules chewed his lip. "You have to be completely fine with it if we did that."

"I trust you," she said, arranging the pillows so that they'd be more comfortable for the two of them. "Keep your blankets around you if you want, and I'll have mine, too. We don't have to touch where it's ill-advised to; we can hold each other in an entirely innocent embrace. What do you think?"

Hercules gazed at her in the amber-tinted moonlight. The first word he'd meant to utter was lost in a groan. The night's chill had added a certain degree of enticement to her offer. Phil had refined a multitude of weaknesses out of him, but this one remained: He would do anything for her. "Sure… of course." He hopped up to lock the door once more, then burrowed under the blankets with her. "How do we do this without…?"

"Watch." Megara tucked one blanket around his hips, then cocooned herself in another, curled up with her back against his chest, and her hair draped off the end of the bed. "See? We'll be fine. Are you sure you don't need anything before we go to sleep?"

"Anything?" Hercules whispered, still in shock.

"I could soothe you to sleep."

"Oh… you were sleeping, and I woke you. You shouldn't have to put me to sleep like I'm a child."

"Wouldn't it be good practice?" there was a teasing edge in her voice, but he knew she was serious. She'd designed this very suite with a nursery attached.

"W-well… if… if you need practice."

Megara reached back and hooked her arm around his neck, pulling him closer. When his cheek rested against hers, she began to whisper-sing a song. The words were initially lost on him as her honeyed voice distracted him. While speaking, she was already enchanting, but Megara's singing voice made him tremble.

"Sleep…" she whispered, and that was when he realized the song was over.

He obeyed.

From that moment onward into the night, his dreams remained untroubled. How her body conformed to him reminded him that the two of them were united and would soon be closer than ever. Each dream that arose from then on was a premonition of another kind. He saw them cradling a newborn child in the nursery she'd built for them. There was no space for monsters or misfortune.

Even in his dreams, he could hear the music on her breath, could feel it move through her body and press her close to his.

Whatever challenges presented themselves to him in his life as a hero, he would keep her safe at his side. As long as she was with him, he could be invincible.