Page 3 of Dragon Heir

The door was flung open and a large woman sauntered in. She wore an old-fashioned Victorian dress with painfully high heels and a corset that made me wince. A floppy hat covered her bouncy black curls and her nose was perpetually lifted.

The woman was followed by a man half a head taller than her. He wore heavy walking boots, tan trousers, and a vest over a white shirt. His short dirty blond hair matched his clothing and he had the same disinterested expression as the woman. They were a perfect match for each other as they welcomed themselves into the room.

Raines followed behind them with a faint hint of displeasure on his usually stoic demeanor. “Lady Vargas and Lord Ware, My Lord. They insisted on meeting with you.”

“I insisted on nothing of the sort,” Vargas countered as she strolled over to the bed. She stopped at the foot and looked me over from the tip of her nose. “Hmm. Quite a pretty little thing, is she not?”

Lord Ware joined her at the foot and pressed his hands against the high board to examine me. I squirmed beneath their scrutiny. “Quite. A proper addition to our little group.”

Vargas turned to Allard and Will. “But what ails her? Surely nothing of the human sort.”

“Lady Thorn merely overexerted herself earlier and is in need of some rest,” Allard assured her.

Vargas nodded her head. “Good. Then we shall expect to see you down soon?”

“Of course,” Will assured her as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “But could you give us a moment?”

“Naturally,” Ware agreed as he pushed off from the foot. He turned to Raines. “Now what about that bath?”

“The water is warming at this moment, Lord Ware,” Raines promised.

“A bath!” Vargas mused as she looked down at herself. “What a wonderful pleasure after such a long flight!” She whisked herself out of the room and Ware tromped after her.

Raines followed behind them and cast a questioning glance at Will. He pursed his lips. “See that they’re made comfortable, and away.” Raines nodded and shut the door behind them.

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, I guess that interview went better than I expected.”

Will took a seat beside me and examined my face. “You still look pale. You should rest for a while.” He pressed a hand to my forehead and pursed his lips. “No fever. Thank goodness for that.”

My eyes twinkled at him. “Already worrying about the kid?”

He grinned. “Child and mother.”

Allard pressed his fisted hand against his mouth and cleared his throat. “I seem to be out of place here. If you will excuse me, I believe I will take up that tempting offer of a bath.” He bowed his head to us and slipped out of the room.

Will reluctantly stood but kept a gentle grip around one of my hands. “You’re sure you don’t want me to remain at your side? I would gladly risk their ire and be here with you.”

I laughed and wrapped my other hand around his. “I think you’d rather do a lot of other things than be with them, but I’ll be fine. I’ll probably just take a short nap and be awake in no time so we can suffer together.”

He leaned down and pressed a kiss against my forehead. “Sleep well.” He set his hand over my stomach and his expression softened. “Both of you.”

I was all aglow as he stepped away and out of the room. That is, until a faintness fell over me. I guess I really was more tired than I thought. A sigh escaped me as I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

Sleep was soon mine, but it wouldn’t be undisturbed.

Chapter Three

I had the strangest dream. I lay in bed as I had done before I fell asleep. All was quiet and calm but for the muffled noises downstairs as the guests were pampered and pleased.

Then a noise disturbed me. I turned my head to look toward the window. A strange black thread slithered through the crack between the window panes and dropped to the floor with a soft thump. The thing was about a foot long and was very worm-like except for its completely blackened and spine-covered flesh. It lifted half of its body off the floor and turned its pointed end to and fro.

That’s when I noticed it. The single gray eye was as small as a pin and was embedded into the very tip of the creature’s ‘face.’ The hideous eye stopped on me and the thing trembled.

My heart pounded in my chest but I found I couldn’t move, much less scream. The thing crossed the rug and disappeared beside the bed before reappearing around one of the posts at the foot of the bed. Its slender body slid onto the sheets but paused. I felt as if the thing watched me for a moment before it slithered closer. Its body brushed against my leg and a chill ran down me. It felt as cold as ice.

It had reached my waist when a bright light emanated from my body and blinded me. It was a warm light but something in it alarmed me. Terror welled up as I was struck by the possibility that this wasn’t a dream. That this was real and I was in real danger. My horror gave me the strength to open my mouth.

I shot up in bed and screamed. Footsteps stampeded up the stairs and down the hall, and the door flew open. Will flew into the room with his eyes bright red. He rushed over to the bed and grasped my shaking hands.

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