Four
Zamir
"You look cozy."
The voice pulled me out of the sleepy fog I'd fallen into when I'd woken up buried under a mound of fluff, and I removed the cat from my face to find Nolan standing in the doorway, his green eyes twinkling as he watched me.
I'd somehow ended up spread out on two dog beds, with Clip asleep between my legs, one of the cats on my stomach, and the other on my face. I turned my head, jerking back when I found the chickens standing close enough to touch. How long had the creepy little shits been watching me?
"Um, hi," I mumbled as I peered up at Nolan through squinted eyes, the sunshine hitting me right in the face from the open window.
The beginnings of a headache made itself known, and I groaned as I struggled and failed to sit up.
Nolan smirked, finding amusement in my discomfort. For some reason, I liked it. Something about this age-old dragon had me... mesmerized.
"Come to the kitchen when you've unearthed yourself. I have something for the pain," he said, then disappeared, leaving me under the watchful gaze of the Murder Triplets and the furry weighted blankets who refused to rise.
"Come on, guys. I gotta get up," I said, but of course, none of them cared. After much shifting around, I managed to slide out of the beds, though the blanket I'd brought over had to be sacrificed to the cat overlords.
The bunnies were fast asleep in their closed enclosure with the door firmly shut. Why was their door closed but not the chickens'?
Shaking my head, I followed the scent of the fresh coffee as the Murder Triplets trailed after me.
"Your chickens are planning to kill me," I told Nolan as I slumped against the counter, hanging my head as I braced my palms against the cool countertop. Hey, I bet that would feel great against my head.
To test the theory, I pressed my forehead against the cool marble, and sighed in instant relief.
"Here, drink this," Nolan said as he placed something beside my head with a soft clink, and I turned my head, eyeing the shot glass. The blue liquid inside sparkled in the warm daylight that filled the room.
"Are you trying to get me drunk again?" I asked as I straightened up, and Nolan rolled his eyes.
He turned to the coffee machine, and light sparked off his piercings, pulling my gaze to his plush lower lip. "It's not alcohol. It'll help with the hangover, trust me."
With a shrug, I downed the liquid, hissing at the sharp, spicy taste.
"Whatisthat?"
Nolan placed a mug of coffee in front of me, then hid the curve of his lips behind a mug of his own. "A blend of spices and dragon fire. You'll feel better in a few minutes."
It was hard not to trust him, which was strange since I never trusted people so soon after meeting them. I hadn't trusted Headmaster Morrigan when he'd found me in those woods all those years ago and invited me to the Sanctuary with the promise that I'd never have to hurt someone to feed again. He'd kept his promise, but it'd taken me years to trust him beyond a shadow of doubt.
Yet I'd let this man take me back to his place, and introduce me to his adorable furbabies. I'd consumed whatever magic drink he'd made me—and I had to admit my headache had mellowed out—and now I was sipping the delicious coffee he'd made. What was next, eggs and bacon?
As if he'd heard my thoughts, Nolan turned to me, one hand wrapped around the open refrigerator door. "Eggs or pancakes?"
"You don't have to make me breakfast," I insisted as I downed the rest of the coffee. If I were human, I'd have burned my tongue in my haste, but all I felt was the hot liquid coursing down my throat before filling my belly with warmth. It almost replicated the way a new life force felt when it first settled in my gut, but the hunger that always lingered deep inside me clawed at my skin from within, assuring me that it had not been sated in quite a while. I needed to get back into the Sanctuary before it got to be too much.
This wasn't the first time I'd reached the edge of starvation—hell, I'd surpassed it a few times—and the one thing I was grateful for was that I never went rabid in my hunger. Maybe it was the years I'd spent alone in the woods before the headmaster found me, but my body shut down the moment I got too ravenous—I believed to save energy—instead of attacking anyone around, and I considered it to be a silver lining.
"I'm making some for myself, and I always end up making too much," he said, which I couldn't help thinking was a lie. Why was he taking care of me? What did he get out of this?
"If you're sure, I'll have eggs. However you like them," I relented, only because Muffin and Clip chose that moment to join us, and their adorable, fluffy faces distracted me. "By the way, can I ask why you lock up the bunnies?"
"They get anxious at night. They feel safer with the gate closed," Nolan said as he mixed the eggs before pouring them in the pan, his hands moving as deftly as they had last night at the bar. As I ruffled my fingers through Muffin's fur, my eyes stayed latched onto Nolan's hand, far too fascinated by the way he handled the spatula.
What the hell was wrong with me? I was acting like a... No way.No way.
I hadn't sensed anything, but that could very well be because of how powerless I was at the moment. I needed food, the right kind of food.
