Page 18 of Sanctuary with a Dragon
As though he sensed my sudden fear, he gently pulled me from his shoulder and cradled me in one of his big hands.
I knew ravens were larger birds, but somehow I still fit comfortably there. It was like one of those magically expanding spaces in books. I snorted at the ridiculous thought, and Alaric eyed me for a second, before turning to Alissa.
“This is my bird, Everly. She lives here now, and since she’s still adjusting to her new living space, she remains with me.”
Alissa seemed to accept this fairly well with a puzzled nod as she brought the dishes to the table and sat down.
Who got a raven for a pet anyway? It’d be way cooler to get a bird you could actually talk to a little—like a cockatoo. I’d just seen a pretty white one scrolling Instagram last week. They were so cool looking, with a mohawk and everything.
Alaric set me on the table beside him, and Alissa immediately protested. “Really, Alaric, must the bird be on the table? It’s unsanitary.”
I glared at her.I’ll show you unsanitary, lady.
Turning my back on her, I stared pointedly at the far wall. The kitchen was large—way bigger than mine back home, so the far wall was many feet away.
“Did it just—” she spluttered.
“Did it just give me the cold shoulder?”
Alaric coughed into his hand, clearly stifling laughter. His eyes were sparkling with amusement, and I preferred that to the dull, hollow look he’d given me earlier. I thought maybe he was worried about something to do with me, but I couldn’t figure out what. Whatever it was, he looked like he was hurting.
He cleared his throat. “Of course not. Everly’s a bird. She doesn’t understand what you’re saying.”
“If you say so.”
I ignored the rest of their conversation. I’d just noticed the food on Alaric’s plate—oddly colored through my raven eyes, but I thought it might be green beans, a steak, and a potato with butter, chives, and sour cream. I zeroed in on the baked potato, and my mouth started watering. With two hops and a nearfaceplant, I was there—delicately balancing on the edge of the plate and shoving my beak into the potato like I hadn’t eaten in weeks. I wasstarving!
Alissa screeched, jumping up from her seat, and I winced.
Ugh. Bird hearing was intense.
Alaric, valiantly trying not to laugh, soothed Alissa and coaxed her back into her seat. She went—reluctantly. I kept a wary eye on her as I inhaled more of the potato.
This peripheral vision thing was wild. It was one thing to know you could see 180 degrees. It was another thing entirely to experience it. It was still a bit tricky, even days later, but right then it was incredibly handy.
Alaric rose and fetched a small dish, filled it with water, and set it beside his plate. I nuzzled his hand in gratitude—accidentally getting potato all over him—then hopped over to the water dish and guzzled it down. He stood to refill it, but I followed—flying then awkwardly hopping—until I reached the big farmhouse sink. Clearly amused, he turned down the flow of the faucet from gushing to trickling so I could drink straight from the tap.
How long had I been asleep this last time? I felt like I hadn’t eaten or drunk anything indays.
Once I’d had enough water, I flapped smoothly back to Alaric’s place at the table, knocking several things over on the table from the gust of wind mywings made. Alaric merely picked them up without comment.
While chatting with Alissa, he quietly cut his green beans into smaller pieces and nudged them to the edge of the plate, closer to me. I trilled happily and started in on them, happy as a clam. This meal was much better than what I’d been eating. No offense to the meals Alaric had laid out for me, but I’d been craving something more substantial for days now.
He glanced down at me with that same fond look I’d caught from him earlier, and my heart stuttered.
I didn’t know why I was behaving so badly. I wanted to blame it on my raven instincts, but honestly, I thought I was just feeling... free.
For the first time I could remember, I wasn’t stressed. I wasn’t in pain. I wasn’t sick. My brain was clear. My thoughts were lined up like polite little ducks in a row, not tripping over each other for once, or floating away from me.
And being in bird form? It felt like a masquerade. Like I could laugh, dance, talk—be myself—and no one would know who I really was when the night ended. It was freeing in a way I couldn’t even describe.
As the meal wound down, Alissa popped up and began clearing the table, but Alaric insisted she leave it. She cooked, after all.
I nearly rolled my eyes. She may have cooked, but she’d also invaded his privacy and space, even afterhe’d politely refused her. At the very least, she was rude.
“Well, this was a nice dinner. I should cook for you again in a few days,” Alissa said, grabbing her jacket and purse.
Alaric’s face was an unreadable mask. “I’m sorry, Alissa. I’m very busy this week. Thank you for dinner, though.”
