Page 48 of Wanted: A Roommate Who Isn't Evil

It would have been an adequate time to smile, but for whatever reason a smile never came. Dranian studied the living room, wondering if it had always been so big. If there had always been so much extra air and space everywhere. A light chill moved through the empty apartment, and Dranian shuddered. He wentto Dog-Shayne’s side.

Now that it was just the two of them, Dranian turned to his pet and said, “I demand you barf up that thistle.”

Dog-Shayne blinked at him with all the innocence and adoration of a true, reliable ally. And so, Dranian decided to let it go. He was feeling tired anyway. He stood and stretched, thinking about going to the grocery store for pasta noodles now that Dog-Shayne’s safety was no longer a concern. Perhaps Dog-Shayne could carry some of the groceries home.

But Dranian’s eyes burned from lack of sleep, his body wanted to fall to the floor, and every particle of his being wanted to rest. He wouldn’t make it to the grocery store in this state, even when morning came. With a sigh, he decided he would sit on the couch and allow his eyes to close for a second—just to relieve the sting.

“Dranian.”

He stood face-to-face with a bright-eyed female. He nearly jumped out of his skin—he tried to fall backwards, to wake himself from this dream, but she latched onto his arm with a force that didn’t feel at all natural.

“Your friend is here where I am,”she said, like before. Only this time, she added,“Shayne Lyro.”

Dranian halted his escape.

How did she know that name?

Lily’s words rang in Dranian’s ears from when she’d discovered Shayne wasn’t in the kingdom of Florida like he’d told everyone. It was too much of a coincidence to believe. In fact, it was so absurd, Dranian couldn’t even imagine it. That Shayne had found himself in the company of a real dreamslipper.

Something doubled over in Dranian’s chest—but he could not be fooled this easily. He swallowed, drawing in caution, every breath a risk.

“Who are you?” he asked the female. Speaking to a dreamslipper only gave them more control, but looking at this fairy now, it didn’t seem like control was what she was after. In fact… Dranian slammed his eyes shut, refusing to acknowledge what his mind might have been telling him all along.

That she was familiar.

“I think you know who I am. I can tell you remember me. Snap out of it and listen! Do you know how hard it was to find you like this? And now you won’t even hear what I have to say?!”she said with a tone of accusation.

Dranian inhaled deeply as he remembered that girl with no name from the village. The one who could slip into dreams. The one he had watched slay a hogbeast with just a half-spear. The one who had sunk to the bottom of the Twilight Lakes.

“You’re dead,” he said back. “That’s how I know this is a trick.”

Shock crossed the girl’s face. She stared at him for several passing heartbeats, her lips parted, her eyes widening.“You thought…”

“Queensbane, get out of my head, you ghost!” Dranian roared, and she took a staggered step back. Wind and rain formed in the space around them, mimicking the torment in Dranian’s soul. It blew at his clothes; it tousled her black hair.

When she spoke again, it was quieter this time.“I know you have no reason to believe a dreamslipper. I know you think you can’t trust a word I say because I could have stolen any of this information from your dreams. But Shayne Lyro is going to die,”she said.“He said you and him were the best of friends. That’s why I’ve been trying to find you.”

“Why should I believe that?” Dranian looked around his dream now, wondering if a cliff would form so he could hop from it, or a lake which he could fall into. Something that would startle him awake.

“He called you a grumpy latte addict,”she said, and Dranian’s eyes slowly drifted back to her. Dreams were strange things—maybe he had heard her incorrectly.

“What did you just say?” he asked anyway.

“He called you a grumpy. Latte. Addict,”she articulated.“He doesn’t even know I’m reaching out to you. He didn’t want you here. But he cares about you, I can tell. So, I found you anyway.”She set her jaw.“I have no reason to help either of you. You never came back for me like you said you would. But you saved my life once. So, I’m returning the favour.”

Dranian slapped a fist over his mouth. It was possibly the mostexpression he’d ever mustered on one occasion. But that information she spoke of had not been anywhere near the forefront of his mind all these years. It would not have been easy for a dreamslipper to access knowledge like that if he’d never dreamt about it. So, either this was the most powerful dreamslipper he had ever heard about, or…

Or this really was her. That girl. The one with no name.

And she really was with Shayne.

“Where are you?” he demanded, dropping his hand and stepping in. His faeborn heart began to pound. He needed to get to Shayne. To her.

She looked between his eyes like she was trying to gauge if he truly believed her now. Then finally, she said,“I’m at the House of Lyro.”

Dranian’s mouth slammed shut.

No.

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