Page 12 of Sanctuary with a Dragon
I trilled in annoyance, eyeing Shay with exasperation. I was grateful he’d come to explain things, but hewas clearly enjoying needling Alaric too much to be fully helpful.
Fed up, I hopped and glided over to Alaric’s chair. I nuzzled his knee in thanks for bringing Shay to help.
He froze at my touch, then slowly lifted his hand to rub my head feathers. I nuzzled his hand gently and trilled. His answering smile was soft and full of warmth.
Then I turned to Shay and offered a similar trilling sound. He got thanks, but no nuzzles. He was a pest, and his grin said he knew it.
I wanted so badly to ask him more detailed questions about my health. As though he’d read my mind, he said gently, “I’m not sure what your health was like in your human form, but from what I’m seeing, it looks like it was rough.” His sly grin was gone, replaced with genuine concern.
I nodded at his observation, my throat bobbing in a swallow. Yes. Overwhelming. Awful. Obliterating. I’d often felt broken—emotionally, mentally, physically… even spiritually. It was hard to pray when you felt awful and were in pain, or when your mind was so thick with fog that you couldn’t even string a sentence together.
Shay paused, and Alaric’s fingers stopped rubbing my head, as if he too was bracing for the worst.
“The good news is that those symptoms will be very diminished in your shifter forms. You’ll experience less pain and fatigue. Your shifter forms will also help youheal over time. But it’s going to be a slow process. Shifters heal faster, but not overnight.”
I felt like I was going to cry. Could ravens cry? I didn’t think so—not emotional tears, anyway. It didn’t matter. I was crying on the inside.
I would heal? Completely?
I started trembling, and the most awful cry came out of my raven throat. Alaric, clearly not knowing what to do, hovered over me with his hands splayed, unsure whether to touch me or not. Finally, he set his hands palms-up on his legs, giving me the choice to come to him. I tottered somewhat drunkenly to his hand. He picked me up, bringing me close to his chest, and covered my body lightly with his warm, gentle hands.
“It’s okay,” he rumbled softly. “It’ll be okay.” I almost felt like he was telling himself that as much as me.
Wouldit be okay? I didn’t know. But I had hope. And that was more than I’d had a few days ago.
I sleptthe rest of the day, only waking when my stomach started growling frantically again, like I hadn’t eaten for a month. Alaric, who was reading a book in the recliner as I slept, looked up and smiled.
“Awake? Good. I thought I’d make us dinner.”
Yes, please. And though I was craving somethingmore substantial than my raven form could probably process, I didn’t care what it was, as long as it was filling.
We made our way to the kitchen, and he stood in front of the fridge and freezer, eyeing what he had. I butted into his space to look too, making him laugh.
His fridge was a little empty, but he had chicken, vegetables, and some teriyaki sauce that sounded good together. Reading my mind, or maybe just following my glances, he pulled all of the ingredients out.
“Shay left a few hours ago. He went back to his hotel down in Port Noble, the town at the base of the mountain.”
I bobbed my head, already familiar with the town’s bird’s-eye layout. I’d flown over it on my way here. It was rimmed on one side by an inlet that led to the Pacific Ocean, and bordered on the other side by forest.
It was more mountainous here than in Anchorage, so it was a good bit colder. I only knew this because Shay had complained about it endlessly before I’d drifted off into a nap. It seemed that neither Alaric nor I felt the cold much.
I could only think of a few fictional paranormals who could stay warm in cold temperatures, and after meeting Alaric, I was betting he was a shifter.
Shifters in books were always portrayed as big—at least some types of shifters. I squinted in thought. He couldn’t be anything small, but that still left a wide range of choices. Too wide to narrow down.
I’d noticed earlier when I’d been next to him on the chair that he put off a lot of heat. It could be a shifter thing. I was certainly warmer as a bird. But for him, I thought it might tie directly into what he was.
What kinds of shifters produced heat?
I could only think of one, and the thought was ridiculous. Shifters and paranormals, sure. But dragons? I shook my head. Not a chance.
I puzzled over it as I tapped the spigot, and Alaric let me wash my talons before working on anything in the kitchen. I knew exactly where my talons had been, and eww. I hoped I’d get a bath later.
I ripped into a bag of salad mix and squawked in surprise when it exploded all over the counter. I made a frustrated moaning sound. Salad everywhere as far as my eyes could see. I’d even gotten some on Alaric.
He laughed as he picked it off his clothes and out of his hair, then hunted down a broom and dustpan to clean my mess.
“It’s hard when you don’t have hands, huh?” Alaric said, and I warbled mournfully in reply. I missed my hands, and I’d only been without them for a few days. How was I going to handle three months of this?
