Page 79 of The Silent Mountain
“That was your plan all along?” I ask, surprised.
“Well, I know you,” she says with a chuckle. “You wouldn’t want them to see you weak.”
Instead of feeling called out, I just feel amused and grateful for how she thinks about me. Stefan doesn’t waste any time either. He just shifts and waits for us to settle down on his back before swiftly carrying us back home.
Alana makes sure I rest immediately, even lying with me. She probably knows I am not to be trusted on my own. “My own mate doesn’t dare to leave me alone,” I chuckle.
“Well,” she smiles. “I bet if I left your side, you would just get up and go back to work. I am not taking that chance. If it helps, I am tired, too. Stefan and I were flying back from my meeting with Flynn when we spotted you above the sea.”
“I wish I could have saved him,” I say into the darkness of the room. The sun has set by now, and dim moonlight shines into our bedroom.
“Without you, this would have been a tragedy,” Alana says quietly.
“But every life matters,” I say.
“You are right, it’s still a tragedy that we lost someone today.”
“What did you find out today?” I ask her.
She gives me a brief rundown of her meeting with her brother. Her suggestion about the cult worries me deeply, and even more so that Stefan, one of the smartest people I know, agreed with the possibility of this option. “I can’t have the nightmare repeat itself,” I say. “I just can’t allow it to happen.”
“We won’t,” Alana says firmly. “As long as I am here, I won’t allow any stupid cult to do anything to the dragons!”
Her words and the confidence they are spoken with help me doze off. I fall into a deep, exhausted slumber. A dreamless sleep that feels like only the blink of an eye. When I wake up again, though, it’s pitch black, and the night has progressed far.
There is something else though, something unsettling. I sit up abruptly, touching the space next to me. It’s cold. Alana isn’t here, and she must have left a while ago. I can feel the beast inside me growing with restlessness and worry. Where is she?
twenty-five
It Lurks in the Dark II
*ALANA*
IcansmellhimbeforeI even see or hear him. His scent is just everywhere, so strong. I’ve grown so accustomed to it that I don’t think I can live in a world where his scent doesn’t exist. I have obviously very much fallen for my dragon king, and I am not embarrassed anymore to admit it; not to me, not to him or anyone else.
I am in love with Favian, and I want to be his. In fact, I am already his, only the mark is still missing, but it’s just a technicality now. There is no way I will let him walk away and mark another woman. I want to be his.
I can feel his strong arms engulfing me from behind. “What are you doing outside?” he asks softly.
“I couldn’t sleep,” I admit. “And I felt restless.”
“How come?”
“Just a feeling.”
A feeling.
I try to turn around to look into Favian’s eyes, but he holds me so tightly I can’t quite move. It’s comforting to be held like that, and a tad unusual, but also… so comforting. It’s almost lulling me to sleep. I feel heavy and tired. Shifting my weight slightly, I lean further into his touch when I can feel this twinge again. Why isn’t he talking? He isn’t doing anything. That’s not like Favian. Favian would have already asked more questions. He has trust issues, not necessarily in me anymore, but in my ability to stay safe. He has lost so much that whenever something goes unplanned, I can feel his worry.
I feel nothing now.
And his embrace… It’s almost like he is holding me hostage.
Why don’t I feel anything?
I push at his arms, tugging with more strength now. “Who are you?” I exclaim when I have ripped myself free. I spin around to look at him, but his image disappears. It turns dark around me and cold. So cold and heavy.
My throat burns.
