Page 63 of Sanctuary with a Dragon
Chapter 19
Alaric
Iwoke up gasping for air, sweat slicking my chest and face even though my dragon fire felt like it had been drowned in ice water. I flung the sheet aside and rolled out of bed, padding silently across the living room to Everly’s door.
Peeking inside, I found her curled in raven form, resting on a fluffy white pillow. My chest loosened. She was safe.
Want to talk about it?Elandor’s voice was quiet in my mind as I closed her door and rested my forehead against it.
Not really,I answered.Just a bad dream.
You’ve been getting a lot of them.
He wasn’t wrong. I straightened slowly, my shoulders tense. Ihadbeen getting a lot of them lately. I’d told myself it was anxiety, but what if it was something more—something darker?
Everly would know,Elandor offered gently.She’s attuned to the dreamscape. If someone were after her, she’d feel it.
Yes,I countered,but what if she didn’t?
I groaned softly, pressing my palms against my eyes. That was the problem with anxiety—it was alwayswhat if?What if I failed? What if I made things worse? What if she grew to hate me? What if I couldn’t be the king my people deserved?
I was sick to death of what ifs.
I slumped onto the couch, tired of being afraid all the time. They called me the strongest shifter in the world, and yet sometimes I felt as helpless as a newborn.
My heart thudded painfully, and I pressed a hand to my chest, willing it to slow.
I was so tired.
So everlastingly tired.
Something had to give.
Leaning back against the cushion, I closed my eyes.
How could I protect my people like this? How could I care for Everly when I felt this broken inside?
Tears slipped down my temples, mingling with the sweat still clinging to my skin.
I’d finally found her—my mate, my heart—and my greatest fear was losing her. Somehow. Through my own failure or my own hesitation.
That dream again—her being taken from me while I stood frozen, legs trapped in quicksand, watchinghelplessly as she vanished. And every time, I woke convinced it had really happened—until I found her safe, breathing softly in her bed.
I’m just so tired, Elandor.
I know. I’m here.
Thank you.
Always.
I exhaled slowly, my heart rate easing under his steady presence. Eventually, exhaustion pulled me under again.
When I woke,Everly was human again—she spent less and less time as a raven these days—and she was in the kitchen, trying to move quietly as she made breakfast.
I rubbed my eyes and sat up, surprised by how rested I felt. “Hey, what time is it?”
She glanced over the counter and winced. “Did I wake you? I’m so sorry.” She checked her phone. “Just after nine.”
