Honestly, I wasn’t much help, but seeing him use my kitchen and cooking like it was second nature was the sweetest thing, and a bit of a turn on.
I was a bit worried about Malrik; the wards around Velmore were stronger, and I hadn’t seen him. Knowing he was in the same realm as King Draeven terrified me, because I have no way of knowing if he’s okay.
And I had no idea if he would be able to get back into Velmore, or how long it would take to collect all the ingredients we needed.
It was nice having company at Christmas, and Ronan insisted we do everything that you would do on a normal Christmas day.Cooking, opening presents, which, by the way, that man gave me a necklace with a star on it. My heart did literal somersaults.
Then we baked cookies, got to know each other, had a snowball fight, built a snowman and then drank hot chocolate in front of the fire before he headed out to work.
He was making it really hard not to fall for him.
Now, both Ronan and Kieran knew; he had no idea she even had children. Kieran, well, I have no clue, he shows up some days on his bike to keep an eye on Ronan and then others he passes out drunk.
It’s quite sad to see.
I missed Malrik and Ronan.
Ronan did ask me a million questions about my past with Darian, but I shut it down. He clearly hates me, and I don’t understand why. I feel sorry for the boy he once was, and that’s why I want to help get rid of the darkness inside him. Hence, the deal I plan on making with the others is in exchange for help to get the blood I need.
Darian still smelled the same, fresh coffee and caramel. But when I stood in front of him a month ago, I felt the same darkness coming from him as I do the enchanted dagger.
I groaned in pain; I curled up in myself, clutching my blankets.
“The magic is making you weak, Raven, it’s killing you.”
I know. I could feel it. My power, buried deep, thrashing against its cage like a beast desperate to break free. It was dark, pulsing beneath my skin. Magic isn’t meant to be locked away, and because it is, that’s why it was killing my body.
Draining me from the inside out.
I wasn’t afraid of death, well, the dying part, it was what came after.
“I’m going out. Maybe a walk will help.”
I moaned as I pushed myself out of the bed, throwing a jumper on and leggings, my boots, and I made my way downstairs slowly. Hopefully, the cold air would help.
When I stepped outside, the woods seemed quiet, and I couldn’t feel the connection with Xarothar much; it was faint.
“Not to alarm you, but I have left.”
I froze.
“You what?”My pulse spiked as I headed over to his den to find him gone.
How the hell did I miss him leaving? He’s a big arse dragon.
“Are you out of your mind? You could get yourself killed.”
“You were asleep.”His voice was calm and unbothered in my mind, which pissed me off more.“And I am fine, I have just had this feeling I needed to go. I will explain when I can, Raven.”
My nails dug into my palm.“Where are you?”
“I’ll be back soon.”
Then just like that, he shut me out. Oh, that damn stubborn, annoying dragon is being all secretive.
I rubbed my temples to try and soothe the headache, then shoved them into the pockets of my jumper and started walking through the woods.
Maybe I could find a good, quiet spot to watch the fireworks from a distance. Just me, the stars, and the explosion of colours lighting up the sky.
