“No.” I would crawl inside before I let him carry me.
“You sure?” he asks, and I can hear the derision in his voice.
“Yes,” I grind out. “What about the dragons?”
“They’ll be fine.” His answer isn’t too reassuring.
Redara?
I’ll be fine. Noxlyn is showing me to his cave where we’ll stay tonight.
Cave?I don’t get to ponder it anymore because Rauk has already disappeared inside. I force myself to move. It’s awkward, but I finally manage to make it through the entrance he went through. I can barely see, but I keep his figure in my line of sight and manage to follow him. He doesn’t say a word as we walk down a long hallway, and I certainly don’t make conversation. I honestly couldn’t tell you if we walked up stairs, down stairs, how many rooms we entered...nothing.
He opens a door. “In here.” I walk past him and blink as my eyes water again. “I wasn’t exactly expecting company.”
“Well, good thing I’m not company.” I drop my bag on the floor.
“Are you going to need anything?” The words sound likethey pain him.
“Just sleep.” He disappears without another word, and I close the door and walk over to the bed. I can barely see it. Using my hands to feel, I grab a pillow and a large fur off the bed and drop to the floor. I am acutely aware of the fact that I’ve been riding a dragon for a very long time. I need a bath desperately, but seeing as how I can barely function, a bath will have to wait. I do manage to find the bathroom, so can relieve myself. Since I didn’t take a bath, I don’t climb on the bed; I’ll sleep on the floor for now. I can’t keep my eyes open another moment. I kick my shoes off and pull my weapons from their sheaths and lay down. The moment my head hits the pillow, I’m out.
A full-body shiver wakes me from sleep the next morning. I open my eyes and blink, noting that I can see again. My eyes are definitely sore today, but there’s no lasting damage from the abuse they took yesterday being in the cold wind as long as I was. I reach out to Redara to see how she’s recovering.Hey, Red, how are you doing? Are you recovered from yesterday?
It takes a few seconds for her to get back to me.Still sleeping.
Well, that answers that question. I guess she’s doing okay. I shiver again and stand to my feet. I notice there’s a fireplace, but it hasn’t been lit. In the light of day, I take in the room I’m standing in. It’s dark. There are windows, but the dark coverings over them keep out any and all light. There’s a massive bed in the middle of the room with a dark covering on it. I make my way to the bathroom next.
After a hot bath, I feel so much better. I dress in a pair of blackpants and a long-sleeved shirt. I pull on socks and frown when I can still feel the cold from the floor soaking through them. Anxious to leave behind my dark room, I open the door and step out into the hallway. The hallway is just as dark as my room was. There are lights on the walls, the same kind of light they have in the Wolf Kingdom. I follow their light down the long hallway of closed doors. I come to a huge, open room and a delicious smell hits me. My stomach grumbles, reminding me I haven’t eaten in quite a long time. I follow the delicious smell and pass what looks like a very formal dining hall with a long table, a few closed doors, a formal sitting room that’s as large as my apartment was, and an entryway with huge double doors. My nose leads me to a swinging door, and I push through and step into a large kitchen. A blast of heat hits me from the huge opening in the brick wall, and I see the fire burning inside. I also see bread baking close to the front and a pan of something else further back. My stomach growls again.
“Good morning. I didn’t even see you come in.”
I turn around at the sound of the voice and take in the woman standing before me. She has her hair pulled back into a tight bun, though there are a few gray hairs that have escaped it. Her face is kind, and her gray dress with a white apron over it is clean and neat. “I’m Harper,” I say automatically.
“Harper,” she says with a beautiful smile. “My name is Elowen.”
I nod. “Nice to meet you.”
“You as well. Now, what can I get you to eat? You must be starving after your long flight.”
My gaze takes in the rest of the cooking area. There’s a long prep counter with all kinds of bowls and cooking dishes. There’s a large, deep sink with running water. I’m pretty sure Hector would love this place. I take in the window over the sink, and I head that way. “It’s sunny out.”
“It is,” Elowen responds to my somewhat dumb statement. It surprises me, though, because everything inside is so dark. Not in here, though. In here it’s sunny and warm and...something. I can’t quite put my finger on it. “How about a cup of tea and a biscuit?” Elowen asks.
“Oh, you don’t need to take care of me. I can find something to eat if you just point me in the right direction.”
“It’s no trouble. Here.” She slides a tea cup towards me and pours amber liquid into it from a teapot. “That’s my own special blend; tell me what you think of it. There’s honey in that jar if you want some.” I debate a moment but then reach for the tea. After a moment of indecision, I add some honey and take a sip. My eyebrows rise, and she smiles. “It’s good, isn’t it?”
I have to admit it. “Yes, it’s really good. I’m not usually a tea drinker, but I might have to make an exception for this.”
“I hope you do. Now, here’s some food.” She slides me a glass plate with a biscuit, some figs, and a few thick strips of bacon. My stomach growls again, as I reach for the plate.
“Thank you.”
Chapter 6
I take a bite and barely swallow before I open my mouth. “How are these so good?” I take another bite of the biscuit. “These are amazing.” I take a bite of the crispy bacon that is salty perfection and take a another sip of the tea, and my eyes nearly roll back in my head. “This is so good.”
Elowen chuckles. “I think you might be starving from your long flight yesterday. Rauk’s always starving after a long flight.” I don’t react to her words as I plow through my food. When I finally feel like I’m not going to starve to death, I slow down and glance around the kitchen again. “It’s so much brighter in here than the rest of the dungeon.”
