Page 64 of Sanctuary with a Dragon
Seven straight hours. No wonder I felt human again.
I stretched, then headed for my room. “Let me get cleaned up. I’ll join you in a minute.”
“No problem.” She hesitated. “Hey, do you mind if I borrow Elandor for a bit? I want to work on one of the gold threads. After everything the past few days, I think I’ve figured out how to step into the dreamscape whileawake. I didn’t want to just pull him from you again and give you another heart attack.”
I paused, turning back. “I request that I go with you this time.”
You can’t,Elandor warned.
We can at least try.
He sighed.Fine. We can try.
Everly frowned thoughtfully. “I think I might be able to bring you, but I’m not sure what’ll happen in the dreamscape. I didn’t mean to pull Elandor in the first time—my magic just… acted on its own.” She grimaced. “Also, I have a feeling that only one of you can be embodied there.”
And that needs to be the scary dragon,Elandor said.
I’m scary too,I muttered.
For a human, yes. But I can protect her as a dragon,he said matter-of-factly.
I huffed.Good point.But I wasn’t giving up that easily. “I’ll be right out,” I told Everly and ducked into my room.
After a quick shower and clean clothes, I found her flipping through channels on the couch. She stopped occasionally on cooking or renovation shows, but nothing held her attention for long.
“I’m ready,” I said. “Let’s leave a quick note in case something goes wrong, so Alpha Riggs knows what we’re doing.”
Everly turned off the TV and stood. “Would they need to hire a mage to rescue us?”
I frowned, looking for a pen. “Probably not. More likely they’d call a dreamweaver—kind of like the humans’ sandman. They weave dreams for mortals and have the power to help if things go wrong.”
Everly went still, and I felt Elandor’s low rumble in response.
You’ve upset her,he chided.
I turned, seeing how pale she’d gone, and immediately pulled her into my arms. Elandor’s soft thrumming echoed between us. “It’ll be okay,” I murmured. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“I just don’t want to hurt you,” she whispered.
I winced and rested my chin on her hair. “Then let’s think positively.”
“Okay,” she said after a beat. “I’m positive something’s going to go wrong.”
I chuckled and gave her a squeeze before kissing the tip of her nose. “Not quite the kind of positive I meant.”
She smiled mischievously. “Sorry. I only have freaked-out pessimistic thoughts today. If you want optimistic Everly, you’ll have to come back tomorrow.”
Elandor and I chuckled. “Okay, we’re ready when you are.”
Everly bit her lip, drew a deep breath, and closed her eyes. The moment she connected with the dreamscape, I could feel it. I could also feel the golden shifter threads, even though I couldn’t see them. Their power hummed in the air around us.
Between one blink and the next, the world changed, and we stood in the dreamscape.
Only... I wasn’t corporeal.
Everly took one look at me and her eyes went wide with horror. Elandor stood beside her, fully solid, towering and magnificent, his scales shining in the sunlight.
“Please tell me I didn’t kill him,” she whispered to Elandor, panic threading her voice.
