Page 59 of Sanctuary with a Dragon
“Can you check on him?” I whispered.
Alaric nodded, and we split up. I guided Piper to our section of the lodge and opened the door to the right of our suite.
The room had the same layout as ours but was bathed in sunset colors—soft orange rugs over pale wood floors, pale purple couches, seashell-pink kitchen walls glowing under a small lamp, and sand-colored curtains drawn over the windows.
Piper gasped softly. “It’s… lovely.”
It really was.
“I’m right next door if you need anything, okay?” I said. “I’d offer to watch Alanna in the morning so you can sleep in, but I’ll probably be a puppy or a raven again and, well… lack thumbs.”
Her expression said she hadso many questions, but she kept them to herself.
“Thank you, Everly. For tonight. For everything.” Her voice was husky with emotion. “I haven’t had a safe space in a long time.”
I wanted to hug her, but I sensed she wasn’t ready for that. “Genuinely, I’m so glad we could help. Sleep well, Piper.”
I went back to my suite to wait for Alaric, expecting another gentle lecture about scaring him half to death. But it never came, because the moment I sat down on the couch, I fell asleep.
I was with Elandor on this one.
Our adventures were exhausting.
Chapter 18
Everly
The next day, I couldn’t get out of bed. I lay there with the early morning light streaming through my windows and groaned. Everything hurt. Pulling a pillow over my head, I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, breathing through the pain.
The muscles in my thighs and arms were seizing as though someone had taken a meat tenderizer to them over and over. My thoughts were slow and fogged, and I was so weak I doubted I could stand, let alone make it to the bathroom or shower.
Giving up on getting up, I curled up on my side again and forced myself to sleep. Maybe I’d feel better when I woke.
“Everly?”
“Everly.”
I blinked groggily, my vision clearing enough to find Alaric’s worried expression hovering over me.
“Alaric? What are you doing here? Did something happen?” My voice came out raspy and dry.
His expression didn’t ease right away. “We were worried about you. You’re normally up by now—it’s noon.”
I nodded slowly, still fighting through the fog in my mind. “Yeah,” I rasped. “I was too weak and in too much pain to get up earlier, so I went back to sleep.” My throat felt like sandpaper. “Sorry I worried you both.”
Alaric picked up my empty cup and refilled it at the bathroom sink. I drank greedily, one cup, then another, until my tongue no longer felt like dust.
Sitting up made every muscle complain, but at least the pain wasn’t as sharp as before. I still felt weak, but not helpless. I wouldn’t be running any footraces anytime soon, but standing seemed possible.
Is there anything we can do for you, treasure?
I blinked up at him. I was getting used to Alaric and Elandor sharing the same space now, though it still threw me sometimes. It was hard to know where to look when they spoke. Usually, you looked toward someone when you talked—but in this case, looking anywhere felt awkward. I settled on staring at Alaric’s chest again, which made me feel like I was checking him out.
Elandor’s laughter rippled through my head, and I couldn’t help smiling and rolling my eyes.
“I’m okay now,” I said to both of them. “I think I’ll get up and shower.”
Alaric nodded, though concern lingered. “Can I order you something to eat, or grab your clothes for you?”
