Page 49 of Sprite Wedding
Would I ever have that chance again?
ZOE
Birds sang and chirped so close it was like they were in the room. My eyes fluttered open. I had to squint at the sunlight beaming onto my face. Oh, yes, I’d slept outside.
The scent of dew on the grass reached my nostrils. I unzipped my sleeping bag. Although it had turned cool overnight, I hadn’t felt it. In fact, I had a light sheen of sweat covering me.
I rolled onto something hard. My toolbelt. I’d ensured I had plenty of weapons within arm’s reach just in case. We didn’t know what had happened to Lucas, and until we did, I had to be prepared for anything.
When I sat upright, I turned to the other direction and sighed. Lucas remained as immobile as he had yesterday, still in dragon form. He didn’t appear to have budged at all from inside the stone. How could he? It was hard and unyielding.
“Good morning, Lucas,” I said aloud.Can you hear me?I asked, attempting to reach him through our connection as mates.
No response.
My heart rapped against my ribs. Why hadn’t I been able to break through to him yesterday? I’d tried everything that was suggested but had failed. I was utterly useless.
Before I let panic rise and stifle me with inaction, I unzipped the rest of the sleeping bag and climbed out. When I rolled it up, the underside was damp. Hopefully, sleeping out here was a one-night thing, and Lucas would be himself again soon. I hung the sleeping bag over a fence to let it dry in the sun.
“I know we didn’t have much luck yesterday,” I said, forcing a cheerful tone. “But don’t worry. We’re looking into the best option to free you.”
Since he didn’t respond, I didn’t know if he could hear me. He could have been in a comatose state. If he did hear or see what was going on, he had to be terrified. Who wouldn’t be? His free will had been taken. He couldn’t move. He was forced to live outside, open to the elements. That’s why I had to sleep out here. Not only to watch over him from any intruders, but to comfort him.
After pulling out my phone, I checked to see if anyone had sent updates. Nothing.
I needed to use the bathroom. After searching around to make sure there were no looming threats, I hastened inside. My gaze fixed on Lucas’s record player in the living room. I should find a way to hook it up to a speaker so he could listen to his music. That would be one way to soothe him.
He must be going out of his mind. He could barely sit still. Being forced not to move for an extended period might make him crazy.
That was if he was even conscious in stone.
The record player was low on the list of priorities for today. Number one was freeing him, so it wasn’t necessary.
I pulled a curtain aside in the kitchen to ensure he was safe. Too bad I couldn’t leave it open in case Diego walked in. But leaving it cracked for a minute should be fine. I’d hear Diego approach and close it before he entered.
That gave me some time for a quick bite to eat and some tea.
I brewed some Earl Grey and popped bread in the toaster. If we were going to spend the day outside once more, I needed caffeine and energy.
Once my toast was ready, I spread butter on it. A door opened. I quickly pulled the curtain back in place.
It was Nova. She entered the kitchen from her connected apartment, wearing a pair of pink plaid pajama bottoms and aWhere the Wild Things AreT-shirt. Her auburn hair was pulled into a messy ponytail.
“Any changes?” she asked with a hint of hope.
I slumped my shoulders. “I wish.”
“I’m sorry,” she said with sympathy. “Did you get any sleep last night?”
“I did. Not the best sleeping on the ground, but it had to be better than what Lucas is going through.
Nova squeezed my shoulder. “We’ll figure it out, Zoe. We always do.”
“After some serious mishaps.” I gave her a weak smile. Half the time lately, it seemed we fumbled our way to a fix, often making things worse before better. I hoped it wouldn’t be as difficult this time. Then again,couldwe even fix it? We had three witches here yesterday who’d been stumped. And I didn’t know any more than they did.
The alternative was that Lucas would…
No, there wasn’t an alternative. We had to find a way to free Lucas.
