Page 18 of Redeeming the Dragon

The final thing for me to do was simply to retire for the night. I did, climbing into the vast bed, whose firm mattress was considerably more comfortable than my straw-stuffed mattress back home. Drawing the blankets over my shoulders, I shut my eyelids and breathed out a whispered prayer for safety—both mine and my family’s.

I still didn’t know why I was here, where I was, or for how long I’d remain in this place. Nevertheless, I was alive, which was more than I’d thought I would be when this adventure began. And that realization helped my rising anxiety to dissipate.

“Lights out,” I said softly, and the cavern’s glow winked out into darkness.

Nestling into the blankets, I strove to make myself comfortable while pushing away fears and questions for the time being.

Sleep,I ordered my brain.I will explore further tomorrow. For now, ‘tis time to sleep.

I rolled over onto my left side, away from the curtained doorway. The silence was a mixture of provoking and comforting. Yet, strangely, I felt at peace.

Until the man came into my room and lay down beside me.

Chapter 9

Scarcely had I drifted away, into the warm and forgetful recesses of sleep, when something pulled me back. My eyes flew open, and I blinked furiously.

What was that?

An unsettling awareness draped over my body, freezing it on the mattress. I was still staring at the wall, yet I sensed something had changed. There was another presence in the room. A presence that was at once both familiar and unfamiliar.

Am I dreaming?

The awareness deepened.

Someone. Is. Here.

My throat became tight. So tight I could barely swallow.

Who is it? Who is here?

And then…beside me, the mattress shifted as somebody moved.

My fingers clenched the sheets.

Whoever was here, was not only in my room. They were in my bed.

I opened my mouth to demand the intruder’s identity. To ask about their purpose. To scream. But who would hear me? The dragon? The dragon had gone away and left me alone. I had no idea where he’d taken himself. Would the dragon even care if somebody had invaded my room? Perhaps the dragon was serving this stranger and had brought me here for him—whoever he may be. A powerful sorcerer? A magician?

Breathe, Lorna. Breathe.

I put all of my willpower into calming my racing heart and steadying my breaths, hoping the intruder would think I still slept.

The person beside me released a heavy sigh, almost a groan. The timbre of the voice was masculine. And…oddly familiar.

If I turn over, if I talk to him, if I ask him who he is, will he answer? Is that a good or a bad idea? What to do, Lorna? What to do?

Truthfully, it did not matter if I lay here ignoring the intruder or if I rolled over and confronted him. Should he wish to harm me, he could harm me either way. Nothing I could say or do would stop the matter, short of fighting him off. With me lacking any weapons, or even any training in physical combat, that seemed unlikely.

You have survived thus far,I comforted myself, despite the cold terror washing over my body from my scalp to my toes.Even now, he makes no move towards you. What makes you think he wishes you harm?

Being quiet and still, waiting patiently, went against my nature. Firming my resolution, I decided to force the issue. With a request for help from the Powers of Good, I pushed myself up and rolled over to face the man in my bed.

“Who are you?” I demanded. “What do you want?”

The man did not move. I couldn’t see his reaction.

“Who are you?” I tried again, infusing steel into my voice to hide the trembling. “What do you want?”

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