He nodded and focused on the road. I picked a small hotel that looked cozy and warm, not fancy, but something about it felt safe. Twenty minutes later, we checked in. There was a cute coffee shop next to it, too. I made a mental note to grab a cupbefore we left in the morning. I could almost imagine we were on vacation right now. I wish.
When Dagon and I reached the elevator, I saw he had only one key.
“Huh?” He realized I was looking at his hand.
“We’re staying in one room. Two beds. Don’t worry.”
My jaw dropped.One room?“Why are we staying in one room?”
"Because we're far away from home, chasing down some demons, and searching for a powerful object. We're not separating even for five minutes." I raised my brows, and he added with an authoritative voice that made me shiver. "Clear?"
“Yep.” I probably should have felt embarrassed at how fast I agreed, but I wasn’t stupid enough to deny that I was relieved he was here. I wasn’t doing this alone.
The room had two beds, a TV, and a small table. I dropped my bag near the bed closest to the window.
Dagon asked, “Do you want to order room service? I’m not in the mood to go out.”
“I don’t want to go out either. Let’s see what they have and order?”
After ordering, I grabbed a change of clothes and went for a quick shower. No way was I changing in front of Dagon. When I came back, he headed into the bathroom. I could hear the shower running and had to fight hard not to imagine him naked.
My mind drifted again. This time back to the moment everything changed between us. It was a few months after my eighteenth birthday.
Today was Dagon’s big day. I was so excited to see his competition. I've seen him before in competitions and he's absolutely amazing. But this one is the final for the school year and the most important. He had been over the moon last night, practically bouncing off the walls. He recited his openingargument in front of me and I cheered for him. Then he showed me all of his notes, and I couldn't stop smiling because he was so passionate about History and this competition. If he wins, and I know he will, this will guarantee he'll get a scholarship for his dream university.
All of us were planning to be there, cheering him on. I smiled to myself, remembering our conversation the day before. No matter how much I tried to pretend otherwise, my heart fluttered every time he looked at me.
I was doomed.
Still, I wouldn’t trade our time together for anything.
There was still an hour before the competition started, and I needed to swing by the library quickly. Since I was close to the school, I decided to walk. I just had to cross the street, and I would be there.
When the light turned green, I stepped forward without thinking to double-check for cars. Seconds later, I heard the screeching of tires.
I turned just in time to see the vehicle hurtling toward me. I knew it was too late to move. It all happened so quickly. My life didn’t flash before my eyes. There was nothing besides paralyzing fear, the sound of my heart pounding, and then darkness.
Something tried to push through the fear, something right at the edge of awareness. But I never got the chance to understand it.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital bed. My head had been spared, thanks to an instinctive twist at the last second. The damage wasn't as severe as it could have been. Of course, it still hurt like shit. My right leg and arm were broken, and my ribs were bruised pretty badly.
I didn’t remember how I got there. Maybe the driver called an ambulance. A few minutes after I opened my eyes, the doorslammed open, and Dagon stormed toward me. His eyes were frantic with fear.
He knelt beside the bed and took my left hand. His were trembling. I'd never seen Dagon's hands tremble before. Not once.
"Are you alright? What happened? Who was this piece of shit? I swear, I'll kill him."
His gaze swept over me, scanning for damage, cataloguing every bruise, every bandage, like he was memorizing the inventory of what had been done to me. I tried to speak, to answer any of the questions, but the words got tangled somewhere between my throat and my swollen lip.
That's when his eyes locked on the blood on my hand. A small smear. Dried, brown, and easy to miss. I guess the nurse hadn't noticed it. I hadn't either.
The change in him was instant.
His whole body went still in a way that wasn't stillness. It looked surreal. His breath caught. His fingers around mine went rigid, then loose, then rigid again, like he couldn't decide whether to hold on or let go. The color drained from his face so fast I almost reached up to catch him, certain he was going to drop.
"Dagon?"
He didn't answer. He didn't look at me. He just stared at that small patch of dried blood on the back of my hand like it was the only thing in the room. I had never seen Dagon Hughes afraid. Until that moment, I hadn't believed he was capable of fear. Not the kind I felt in my bones every time the world got too loud, not the kind that made you want to crawl out of your own skin. Dagon was the wall against that kind of fear. He was the person other people stood behind.
