I have no idea how to respond to his words. I’m still trying to figure out if he’s teasing me or not. “Well, that’s because yourhome is a huge, cold, dark castle.”
He makes an agreeing sound in his chest. “It was,” he concedes but doesn’t say anything more.
Taking the bait, I ask, “It was, but it’s not any longer?” I ask in confusion.
“Now you’re getting it.”
“Getting what? I’m not getting anything!”
He continues in a low voice. “It used to be quiet. Cold. Empty.”
“Dark,” I add.
“Yes. All those things. But then you came along. Suddenly, it was no longer empty or cold and certainly not quiet,” he adds with a low chuckle. I try to elbow him in the ribs, but he just catches my elbow. “There was color where there didn’t used to be color, sunlight where there used to be darkness, warmth where there was cold, and…” he pauses. “Laughter. I didn’t think I’d ever hear Auri laugh again. Suddenly, she was and often.” He pauses. “She was never confined to her room, but she sort of just stopped leaving it…until recently. There’s one common denominator for all that.”
“You left the house more often?” I ask, trying to get a rise out of him.
“Nah. I didn’t really realize the common denominator until I went back home. I was barely there two days back in the Dragon Kingdom, but even then it was enough for me to realize it.”
“Realize what?” I ask in confusion. “You’re talking in circles.”
He chuckles again. “I don’t mean to. Let me put it plainly. It's you, Harper.”
“Come again?”
“You’re the one that makes it warm, colorful, makes Auri laugh, coaxes Elowen to bake more and enjoy life more, and makes it feel like what it’s supposed to feel like.”
“And what is that?” I challenge.
“A home,” he says simply. I reach out until I feel his face and then work my hand up to his forehead, even though the action pulls at my leg and ribs and causes pain. “Uh, what are you doing?” he asks.
“I’m trying to feel if you have a fever because you’re acting delusional.”
“No fever here, Harper,” he says calmly. “But you can keep feeling me up if you want. I don’t mind.”
I snatch my hand back like it’s on fire. “I am not feeling you up!”
“Okay.”
“I wasn’t,” I try again.
“Okay,” he repeats. I sigh in exasperation and try to move some. Pain shoots through my leg, and I gasp. “What’s wrong?” Rauk immediately asks.
“I just moved my leg by accident.”
“I’m sorry you’re in pain.” His voice is gentle, more than I’ve ever heard it. Well, maybe except for when he talks to Auri.
“I still think somebody body snatched you,” I mutter to him. It gets quiet between us, and I try to get comfortable. But every time I try to move my leg, pain shoots all through my leg.
“Can I help you move somehow, so you can get comfortable?”
I scowl in the darkness, trying to focus on anything but thepain. “No.” It's been long enough now that the pain is starting to spread. I’m starting to feel pain in other places in my body, but I do my best not to focus on them. I’m also aware of the dropping temperature. When a shiver runs through me, jerking my leg, I hiss in pain. I feel more than hear Rauk shift closer, but I don’t say anything.
When he speaks, I can definitely tell he’s closer. “You and Redara did good out there today. You two make an incredible team.” His praise warms me, even though I don’t admit it.
“Well, you and Nox don’t make a bad team either.”
He’s quiet a few moments. “I’m sorry we didn’t get here sooner. It took longer to get everyone mobilized and down here than I thought it would.”
