Page 75 of Hidden By the Gargoyle

“Dax, what the heck?” I yelped.

“Garrett will meet us at the cabin later to get our statements. Right now, I’m taking you where I can keep you safe. I didn’t want to risk distracting them while they were fighting or carrying you while you were unconscious, otherwise we would already be there.”

I didn’t argue because there was nothing I could say. Honestly, I didn’t want to stay there and watch all of this unfold. I wanted to lie down on the couch and cover my face with an ice pack. Now that I wasn’t distracted, I realized my head throbbed with each beat of my heart.

Dax landed in the yard and carried me into the cabin, locking the door behind us.

“What about your car?” I asked, my voice faint.

“Poppy will drive it and follow Kent over.”

Dax seemed to know that I was in pain because he was incredibly gentle when he set me on the sofa.

I looked up at him when he straightened and said, “We have to stop meeting like this.”

His expression said he didn’t find my joke funny in the least.

I didn’t have the energy to give him a hard time. I just laid my head back against the armrest of the sofa and closed my eyes.

“What do you need?” he asked.

“Ice pack,” I whispered. “My head hurts.”

I heard his footsteps retreat as he walked to the kitchen and opened the freezer. A few moments later, an ice pack wrapped in a towel was laid over my eyes.

“Lift your head up,” he murmured.

I did as he directed and sighed as he slid another pack beneath my neck.

“That already feels better,” I said.

“Do you need Minerva?” he asked.

“No, I’ll be okay. She left me some tea the other day. It’s in the cabinet in a purple box. Can you put a small spoonful in a cup of hot water for me? It will help.”

I tried to relax, letting the chill from the ice packs ease the ache in my head. I was almost asleep when the floral scent of tea penetrated the fog of exhaustion surrounding me.

Dax’s voice was close when he said, “Ally, I need you to sit up and drink this.”

I reached up and removed the ice pack from my eyes. Dax sat on the coffee table, a steaming mug in his hand. The liquid inside it was pink.

I sat up slowly and reached out for the cup. He didn’t release it when I took the handle, making sure to support it as I brought it to my mouth. I took a couple of sips, letting the warmth wash over me.

“Just a little more,” Dax insisted when I tried to lower the cup.

I kept my eyes closed and took two more sips. “There. Give me a few minutes and I’ll drink some more.”

Dax took the cup from my hands, and I heard it click when he sat it on the coffee table.

Within a minute, the ache in my head began to fade. I leaned back against the couch and let my head rest on the cushion behind me.

“You ready for more?” Dax asked.

“Not yet. It’s starting to kick in, but I need a few minutes.”

After another minute, the pain was much more manageable, and my thoughts no longer seemed to be moving at the speed of molasses.

I raised my head and leaned forward to grab the cup, but Dax was already there, taking it in his hand and guiding it into mine. Once again, he supported the cup as I lifted it to my lips. I drank about half the cooling brew this time before I lowered the mug.

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