Chapter 27 #2
Drucinda pressed her lips together and offered Paige a consoling glance. “They probably felt it was best. I’m sorry, Paige. I truly am. I wish I had been able to convince your mother she could trust me.”
Paige swallowed hard, dismissing the “could haves” as she yanked the boot from her foot and set it aside. “Whatever. It’s fine. I had a nice life at the convent. I could have been bounced around through multiple families.”
Drucinda curled the corners of her lips before opening her mouth. Her lower lip bobbed for a second before she clamped her jaw shut. “We should get some rest.”
“Right, yes.” Paige shed her coat and tried to shimmy out of the thick snowsuit.
Thorn huffed as one of the stovepipe legs smacked him in the snout. “I’m going to Devon’s tent.”
Paige slid her eyes sideways to Drucinda as the dragon slithered his way out of the tent before zipping it shut again. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine. He snores, so it’s for the best. Let Devon listen to it all night.”
A chuckle escaped Paige’s lips as she slid into her sleeping bag. “Yeah, let Devon listen to it.”
Drucinda zipped her sleeping bag and lay back onto her pillow. “You really don’t like him, do you?”
“Uh, he tried to kill me, so not really.” Paige let her head hit the pillow, wiggling down into the snuggly sleeping bag.
Drucinda rolled onto her side to face Paige. “He didn’t, really. He only marked you.”
“Which is deadly.”
“Yeah, if left untreated.”
Dewey stopped zipping his sleeping bag and poked a claw at Drucinda. “If it wasn’t for me, she’d be dead.”
“Kudos to you, little man, but Devon can also reverse it. Which I’m certain he would have after you married him.”
Paige scoffed. “What’s with the weird proposal?”
“He likes you.”
Paige rolled her eyes as Drucinda snuffed out the lantern and plunged the tent into darkness. “Yeah, right.”
“He does. I can tell.”
Paige squinted in the dim light, trying to assess Drucinda’s expression. “Did you date him?”
Drucinda giggled as she rolled onto her back. “What?”
“Did you date him? Is that why you say you can tell?”
“I didn’t date him.”
“Did you do other things with him?”
“Of course,” Drucinda said, fidgeting in her sleeping bag as she relaxed into the soft material.
Paige pushed up to an elbow, her features pinching. “Seriously?”
“Yes, of course. We grew up together. We played together as kids. Knights and Vampires. Capture the artifact. Valkyrie, May I. All the good ones. Although, he was much more sheltered than I was.”
“Wait…” Paige paused as her mind tried to understand the conversation.
“What? Oh, sorry, you probably didn’t play any games as a child.”
“But…” Paige shook her head. “Are you saying you grew up with him and just played childhood games?”
“Yes. What did you think I was saying?”
“I thought you…I thought the other things you did with him were…”
“What?” Drucinda asked.
“You know.”
“Obviously, I don’t. What are you trying to say?”
“I thought you and Devon…were a couple.”
Her laughter shook her sleeping bag, unzipping it slightly and startling Paige.
“It’s not that ridiculous.”
“Of course it is. Devon’s like my kid brother. No, we did not date. No, we haven’t slept together. Honestly, Paige.”
Paige settled back into her pillow, with a frown.
“I think she’s saying it makes sense since you’re both hot,” Dewey added.
Drucinda zipped her sleeping bag again. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Not really. Aesthetically, you’re both very pleasing. You have exquisite features, grace, and poise. Devon’s got an alarmingly sculpted physique, square jaw with dimples, perfect hair, that little bit of stubble that drives the ladies wild but doesn’t look unkempt.”
“Not that,” Drucinda said. “The concept of Devon and I together is ridiculous. Your other assessment is spot on though, little man.”
“This is exactly what I mean,” Dewey said. “Normally, I hate references to my small size, but from your perfectly formed lips, I don’t mind it. You’re both so smooth, it just makes sense.”
“Sense or not. It’s ridiculous.”
Paige stared at the canvas ceiling above her. “He’s just a flirt, that’s all.”
“Yes, he is that,” Drucinda agreed. “And that’s how I can tell he truly likes you.”
“No, the point is, he’s a flirt. You know, he says that to all the girls.” Paige waved a finger through the dark air.
“That’s just it. He’s not flirting with you. Not really. I mean, of course he has his normal swagger. That’s just Devon. But he’s not giving you the full-court press.”
“Oh, right, he’s not flirting with me. That means he likes me. This is like when boys pull your hair and torment you in grade school, it’s because they really like you.”
“No, that’s not it at all. He’s not casually flirting. Because you mean that much to him.” Drucinda yawned and snuggled further into her sleeping bag. “He likes you, Paige. Whether you believe it or not.”
Paige’s features pinched as she considered the statement. Dewey’s quiet snoring filled the tent, followed by Drucinda’s rhythmic breathing.
Paige rolled onto her side, balling her pillow and sighing. Could she trust Devon? The question hung in her mind as she let her eyes slide closed.
A growling shriek startled her awake. The canvas on the tent shuddered. Sniffing sounded before the canvas shook again. Three high-pitched yips tore through the darkness. Paige smashed her hands over her ears, gritting her teeth.
Drucinda slowly eased herself to sitting, her dark figure limned by the dim ultraviolet rays outside the tent.
“What is that?” Paige whispered.
“That is an ice panther.”