Page 60 of Dragon in Denial
And so it went, all the way down the hall, until they reached the final door. Ketu twisted the knob and opened it.
The smell that hit Antoinette was strong and it wasn’t of disuse. More like a powerfully scented candle, like the occupant was a fan of Bath & Body Works. Otherwise, it was an elegantly appointed room, with cherrywood furniture and a gorgeous four-poster bed with thick wooden pillars at each corner linked by a carved gold canopy. The bedcovers were red and gold damask.
And there was a figure lying underneath the spread.
Antoinette jerked her head up and caught Ketu’s eye. “He’s not dead,” she whispered, staring at the man who appeared to be sleeping in the bed. He was on his back, the blanket tucked around his chest, his arms lying at his sides. His salt and pepper hair was long and wavy. He had a full beard that reached his breastbone, at least.
“Of course he’s not. Did you honestly think I’d kill my own father?” Darius stepped out of the shadows, struggling with another person as he did so.
Delilah.
“Guess going through the front door wasn’t the smartest option,” Rahu remarked under his breath.
After a few moments, Darius managed to get his arm around Delilah’s neck and pressed his forearm against her windpipe. She stopped attempting to get out of his grasp.
“Yeah, we did,” Ketu said. “The guy’s been MIA for over five years.”
Darius nodded at the bed. “As you can see, he’s alive and well.”
“I don’t know about the well part,” Rahu said.
Antoinette had to agree with him. If the reeve was alive, he was barely breathing. She studied the bedcovers and couldn’t see them moving.
“Go ahead,” Darius said. “Check for a pulse. You know you want to.”
Ketu nodded, and Antoinette moved closer to the bed. The scent of herbs was more cloying here than even down in the garden. An insulated cup with a plastic lid and a straw sat on the small table next to the bed, and a low light cast a pale blue glow over the person lying on his back, his mouth partially open, his eyes closed. Antoinette jerked away when he smacked his lips and let out a sleepy sigh.
Yep. Definitely alive.
Antoinette started to back away, but the cup caught her eye. Actually, her nostrils. The scent of herbs was strongest near the table. Had the reeve been drinking an herbal tea? Out of an insulted cup instead of a teacup from his own kitchen?
“The guy must really struggle with insomnia,” Rahu said. “This place stinks of sleeping aids so strongly even I’m getting lethargic.”
Antoinette swung around to stare at Rahu. “Are you sure?”
“Am I sure that it stinks in here? Hell yeah. Can’t you smell it?”
“I mean, are you sure they’re sleeping aids?”
“Trust me, my mom tried everything known to the dragon world to try to get me to calm the hell down at the end of the day. I know my sleep aids.”
“What are the herbs?” Delilah asked, her voice cracking as she gasped for air around the constriction against her throat.
Antoinette frowned and sniffed at the straw. “Lavender. Passion Flower. Something else.”
“Valerian root,” Rahu supplied.
“Yes, that’s it,” Antoinette said. The same herbs that were in the garden in the backyard.
“Mixed together, with a dash of turmeric and a bit of honey; that’s more than a sleep aid,” Delilah said. “That’s a recipe for sedation.”
Antoinette turned to Darius. “You’re keeping him drugged. That’s why he isn’t attending meetings. Or, frankly, being involved in his own colony at all.”
“Bullshit,” Darius said. “The kid’s right. He has problems sleeping.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Delilah said, and he tightened his grip around her neck.
“Well, this changes things,” Ketu muttered.
