Page 23 of Sanctuary with a Dragon
Shay came in without knocking, bundled up from the cold and shivering. He gawked at the menagerie outside, then went to shut the door. But before he could, someone knocked briskly.
Alaric stiffened, then three men walked in.
“The council’s here,” Shay said.
“I see that.” Alaric’s tone was ice cold. “They can wait until Everly is taken care of. She’s the priority.”
“Of course, as she should be,” the man with curly hair said with a slightly Italian accent. “We’ll wait over here.” They all found seats opposite us, and then every eye was suddenly on me. I felt like I’d suddenly joined a circus and was the headlining act.
Shay cleared his throat. “Well, Everly. Let’s see what trouble you’ve found today.”
I glared at him. It wasn’t like I wastryingto find trouble. I didn’t have to try. Trouble found me.
“Everly, if you don’t mind, I need to touch you to ascertain if the magic has changed.” He reached for me, but Alaric scooped me up from the pillow and held me against his chest, frowning.
“You can touch her while I’m holding her.”
Shay eyed him. “Don’t be an idiot. I’m not going to harm her.”
“It’s not harm that I’m worried about,” Alaric muttered. One of the men on the sofa snorted andlooked away from us toward the painting on the wall over the fireplace. It was a forest scene, dark and mysterious, with a castle on the edge of a cliff.
The man who’d snorted was large, maybe Alaric’s size, and I wondered if he was a dragon shifter as well.
“Alaric,” Shay growled, putting his hands on his hips, “I need to hold her or my magic won’t be able to read her. Hand her over.”
Alaric ignored him. Grumbling internally, because we were getting nowhere, I pecked Alaric’s hands until he reluctantly let go of me, then hopped onto Shay’s outstretched hands. I had no idea why Alaric was being testy about this. It was probably a private disagreement between the two of them.
Shay sat on a nearby recliner as he checked me over with his magic. It was softly luminescent—I could see it with my raven vision—and it felt warm and soothing. I almost nodded off, forcing myself to stay awake by staring curiously at the three… men?… on the couch.
One of them was average build, though a little tall. He was the one with the Italian accent and had very curly hair. His eyes were disconcertingly sharp, as if he missed nothing. The one in the middle had armor on, and twin curved swords peeked from behind his back. It sounded like they were... singing? I blinked, staring at them. Yes. They were singing. Okay... that was interesting.
The third man, the man who I thought might be a dragon shifter, was already staring at me when I shiftedmy eyes to him. Suddenly, a starburst of light flashed brightly in his eyes, and I flinched back against Shay in shock.
Alaric growled, literally, and the man held his hands up.
“Peace, dragon shifter. I was just curious.”
Curious about what? And how did… whatever he did… assuage his curiosity? I shivered. What kind of supernatural had starbursts in their eyes, anyway? Unnerved, I looked toward Alaric. He didn’t even notice my gaze—he was too busy contemplating the man who had flashed his starburst eyes at me like he planned to heave him over a cliff later.
Shay finally settled back into the cushioned recliner, sighing.
“I don’t think it has anything to do with the magic laid upon her,” Shay said after his examination. “It might have something to do with... other things, though.” Here, he gave Alaric a very pointed look, but Alaric just shook his head.
“It can’t be that. There’s no precedence for it.”
“And thingsneverhappen without precedence,” Shay said sarcastically.
It can’t be what? Precedence for what? Angrily, I pecked at Shay’s hand in frustration.
What were they talking about? Shay pulled his hand away, grimacing. “Sorry, Ev. It’t not important. Just stuff we were talking about earlier.”
Uh-huh. Yeah, I’d believe you, except you’re avoiding my gaze.
The Italian man with curly hair said, “Fascinating,” as though we were a scientific experiment he was gathering good data from. Alaric covered his eyes with his hands and sighed deeply.
He stood wearily, facing the three men. “I have something to work out tonight before we can meet. Can I meet with you three tomorrow?”
“Of course,” the curly-haired man said, standing easily and making his way with his companions to the door. He turned back. “It will be the full council. What time shall we meet?”
