Chapter 36 #2
He flashes me a stern look that almost makes me want to laugh, but I don’t. Instead, I sigh in surrender. “He thinks we should all go to Torrynth.”
“Ah. He told you his big plan.”
“Oh? You guys have been planning this without us for days?”
“We’re not planning this without you. It’s just…
you know we can’t go back for long. Meela’s father might not let me live through the night.
” He glances at her for a moment. She’s deep in conversation with Gaethri and Rhydra.
“Besides, it didn’t really feel like we were getting anywhere studying in the library every day. ”
“That’s where I found the account of what happened. And how to reverse it.”
“True. But that also took you years.” He rolls his head around in a dramatic fashion as he speaks. “I think maybe we need to travel the continent more. I think people remember more than we know. We just need to find the right people.”
I mull his words over, pulling my lip to the side. “It’s possible… but I still can’t.”
“Why not?”
I glance off to the side and lock eyes with a frowning male. He’s still watching. Glaring.
“Ah.” Raef nods knowingly.
“I can’t,” I say weakly.
“I’m going to be completely honest with you, Sand. I know my brother better than anyone, but I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with him lately.” Raef’s voice takes on a rare, more serious tone.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… we all see how he looks at you. How you look at each other, actually. We’re not blind.”
I lower my gaze.
He continues. “He’s keeping secrets from me in a way he never has. You know he still won’t tell me what Maethrel said? What the fuck…”
“I actually… understand that.”
I look up as I feel him recoil slightly. He cocks his head back, looking betrayed.
“You can’t mess with the future,” I say.
“If Maethrel told him something, something that will help us succeed in our quest, and us knowing would jeopardize everything… then he needs to keep that to himself. It’s the only way.
Maethrel wanted that private moment with just Daegan for a reason.
” I lock eyes with him, squaring my shoulders. “I trust him in that regard.”
He rolls his eyes, along with his head, then releases a smoky breath. “I guess,” he mumbles begrudgingly. “I absolutely can’t stand not knowing, though. I just need you all to know that.”
“Noted.” I smile.
“Anyway, I don’t know what that has to do with him acting like a real bastard.”
“He says he doesn’t deserve me…”
“Oh, that fucker. Always so damn dramatic.”
I laugh a little. It’s a sad laugh though.
“There’s more to it than that,” he says, sounding sure of himself.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugs.
“Great. Thanks for the help.”
“Anytime. Now get out of here before he burns a hole in my head. I’ve never seen a dragon shoot fire with their eyes, but miracles happen every day.”
I chuckle as Raef drops my hand and gently nudges me away.
I walk toward Daegan with confidence, and he keeps his eyes on me the whole time. He’s leaning against a wood post with his arms crossed, his face so very serious.
Ass.
“Thanks for keeping a close eye on me all night, but you’re off duty. I’m going to bed.”
He smirks, nearly letting out a laugh. “Okay.”
I raise my eyebrows and do an awkward sort of head bow thing before I turn and walk off. Then my cheeks flush with embarrassment. What the fuck was that?
I pass the rest of our group on the way out. They’re all huddled around the table, except for Gaethri, who gazes upon the room with a distant look. They break apart and look at me as I approach. That’s weird.
“Goodnight, everyone. See you in the morning.”
“Goodnight,” they all say back, smiling. All of them.
I raise an eyebrow and give them a weird look, but I’m too tired to question them.
I continue toward the hall, then the stairs.
“Really?” I ask, exasperated, whirling on Daegan.
“Did you think I was going to let you walk to your room alone?”
I roll my eyes and continue walking. I don’t have the energy. When I reach my door I mutter a quick “thanks,” open it, and shut it behind me.
I freshen up from the night, cleaning my teeth and face, then go through my limited options of nightwear, choosing a thin, short, night dress. I change into it then crawl into the medium-sized bed in the corner of the room.
It feels like the moment I close my eyes Meela enters. I know it’s her immediately without even opening them.
“Hey, so…”
I peel my eyes open, suddenly alert. “What,” I moan.
“Don’t hate me.”
“What, Meela?”
“I need, like, a really huge favor from you.”
I sit up, not liking where this is going. “What could you possibly need right now?”
She eyes me with a mischievous smirk, taking in my outfit.
“We could die tomorrow, you know?”
“We won’t.” I say it with confidence.
“Well, we could. And I’d like to have sex one last time before that happens, so…”
“No.” I shake my head vigorously. “Nope.”
“Oh, come on. I’ve never hooked up with a dragon before. I need to see. Just once.”
I shoot her a menacing glare. “Do you like him?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Elle. I’m positive. I told you I would never…” She shakes her head. “We’re getting off track. I need you to be a brave wench and let me switch rooms with Daegan for the night.”
“Make Gaethri or Rhydra take him.”
She gives me a look that says that’s the stupidest idea she’s ever heard, and she knows I know it too.
“Okay, then we rent another room. I’ll go talk to the innkeeper myself.”
She shakes her head. “Tried that first. Sorry.”
“She said earlier there were plenty of rooms.”
“Yeah, and you saw how many more people there were downstairs this evening.”
I roll my eyes and cross my arms, looking away from her.
“Look, if you really, really aren’t comfortable with it, I’ll stay. For you. But honestly, you have nothing to worry about. That tough ass is completely soft for you for some reason. You’re safer with him than you are with me, to be honest.”
I sigh, rolling my eyes. “Fine,” I relent.
She smiles in triumph, grabs her bag, then hovers in the doorway before she leaves. “See you in the morning.”
I give her a fake, tight-lipped smile as she goes, then I sit on the edge of the bed, waiting for a knock from my new overnight guest.
I don’t wait long.
I get up, open the door, and barely glance at him as I give a thin-lipped smile and head back to the bed. I really am tired, and I’ve accepted this awkward turn of events.
I hear the door shut behind me as I crawl back into bed, shimmying under the covers. He watches, frozen, from just inside the door.
“You’re not sleeping naked.”
He chuckles. “Fine.”
“Well?” I glance at him sideways from the comfort of the fluffy, silky pillow. “I’m really tired. Do what you need to do so I can dim these lights.”
“You sure you’re okay with this? I can always sleep on Gaethri’s floor. I have a horrible feeling he’s a brutal snorer, though.”
I laugh. “Shut up and get to your side, please.”
He nods, then pulls his shirt over his head, exposing his abs and that thin trail of hair that leads down the middle, disappearing below his pants.
“Is this okay?” He holds his hands out in question.
“Fine.”
We make eye contact as he folds the shirt, so I turn and face the wall. I hear a little more shuffling, and then the bed jostles beside me as he lies down. There’s enough room that we’re not touching, but I can already smell his scent. The one I fear will stay with me forever.
“Goodnight, Elle,” he says in his smooth, silky tone.
My heart skips.
“Goodnight,” I whisper.
But the racing of my heart has made me suddenly… not tired. I stare at the wall with my eyes wide open.
I turn and face him. He’s lying on his side, his large bicep wrapped around the pillow, already looking at me. I can barely see the colors of his eyes in the dim light.
“I’m nervous,” I confess in a whisper.
His tongue swipes across his lips before answering. “For?”
“Everything has been too easy. We’ve been so lucky so far. I just have a really bad feeling about tomorrow…” I’ve been feeling it for a few days, but I’ve been pushing it aside. It must be a normal feeling to have before a journey like this.
“We’re exploring the unknown. That’s a normal feeling to have. You haven’t been out in the world much…”
“Are you nervous?”
“No.”
I smile. “Of course not.”
“We’ll be all right. It’s what happens after that I’m more concerned about.”
“Meaning?”
“Facing your father. How we’re going to continue to work together when we’re no longer welcome in your home.”
“We’ll figure it out,” I whisper.
Our eyes lock, and a moment passes. Then he takes a deep breath, turns onto his stomach and wraps both of his arms under the pillow. The sheet is only pulled over his bottom half. His muscled back and shoulders are glowing in the dim fire light.
I flip over again, closing my eyes. Somehow, I believe him. His presence, though frustrating, still comforts me in a way I can’t explain.
“I’ll look after you tomorrow, Elysande,” he says softly, sleepily. “Nothing bad is ever going to happen to you if I can help it.”
I smile to myself, then drift off into sleep shortly after.
In the middle of the night, I wake to the feeling of an unnaturally warm arm wrapped around me, and a body pressed against my back. A smoky, comforting scent surrounds me, and I drift back into sleep again.