“Ano, and thanks to your nightmares, we are going to be very loud, scary ghosts.” I blushed and turned away.
My nightmares. I still needed Ilyan every night when I woke up from my tormented dreams. No wonder he hadn’t been worried by the one bed thing. He was turning into an over-protective older brother. I shook my head and turned to Ilyan who had opened the window to pull me inside.
‘We stay in the attic’ had been an exaggeration. Ilyan pulled me into a tiny alcove that was partitioned off from the attic by wood paneled walls. Each wall had a window that looked into the family’s cluttered attic. I could see the windows having been installed for security purposes, but my guess would be that they were actually to prevent someone from going crazy in the eight by eight box I had been led into. The windows mirrored the one we had come from, magic shimmering over the glass to keep the family from knowing we were here.
I plopped down onto the bed that took up the whole room, and a plume of dust filled the air around me. I pulled Ilyan’s hand that was still wrapped firmly around mine and forced him to sit next to me, causing more dust to fly into the air.
“Please tell me this is a nightmare, Ilyan. Tell me I am going to wake up any minute.” I couldn’t keep the whine out of my voice. I had gone from a studio apartment with a kitchen and a bathroom to a room with a bed in the attic of someone else’s house.
“It’s only for a week, Siln?.” He squeezed my hand and I fought the desperate urge to pull away.
“And then where, a Murphy bed in a bowling alley?” I was mad, and Ilyan’s laughter at my comment only made me more upset.
“No, somewhere much better than this. I promise you.”
“Where?” I asked.
“I have a little house in the south of France. It’s right on the beach and has a few bedrooms and bathrooms. It’s mine. It’s not a safe house. No one but Ovailia and Talon know it’s there. After a week here I am going to take you there, until we figure out who has betrayed us and you are ready to kill Edmund with your own hands.”
“A beach house?” My spirits were soaring already. I had never been to a beach in my life, let alone one in France.
“Yes.” Ilyan said. “With your own bed.”
I bounced a bit, sending more dust in the air, as I wrapped my free arm around his neck, bringing his tall torso down to my level.
“Thank you, Ilyan,” I said. “For everything.”
“I am proud to do it, Joclyn.” Ilyan returned the hug, his hand strong against my back. I let him hold me against him, my body leaning heavily into him. His arms were so comforting and the wildflower smell of his hair was so relaxing, I found myself slipping into sleep right then. He must have known it too. I felt his magic pulse against my hand, the heat of his energy growing strong for a moment before receding.
“Don’t fall asleep yet, Joclyn. I have a surprise for you.” I pulled away, his smiling face greeting me. I stifled a yawn, but he only smiled more.
“Look, Siln?.” I looked away from his intense glance and into the rest of the tiny room.
In that one pulse of energy I had felt in Ilyan’s hand he had completely changed the room. The bed was clean and covered with a new comforter. The carpet on the floor was new, and the walls were white instead of the gross brown wood paneling. My mouth dropped as I looked at it. It would take me hours to create such a change, but Ilyan had done it in less time than it took to breathe. There was even a dark blue, black-out curtain over the window.
“I take it you like it then?” Ilyan smiled from beside me. I quickly snapped my jaw shut, worried he had noticed.
“I can’t believe you did this...” I let the sentence trail away, unsure of what else to say. He did it all in a blink of an eye, all while still keeping his powerful shield centered around me.
“I can take it back if you prefer to sleep on dust...” I only laughed at him.
“No, no. This is fine. Thank you, Ilyan.”
“Anything. Now, unless you want to hold my hand for the next week...” Ilyan held our hands up to eye level, and squeezed a bit. I didn’t feel awkward holding his hand or being near him anymore, but being obligated to have him touch my skin for the next week sounded miserable.
“Uh, no. Shield me please.” I sat down on the new squishy bed, expecting Ilyan to place an immovable shield around the house. It would mean I was trapped again, but I knew there was no other option. I steeled my mind against the thought of being trapped here for the next week and allowed myself to dream about being in a beach house.
But instead of shielding us, Ilyan froze for a minute before coming to kneel in front of me.
“I want to try something new if you don’t mind.” His voice was soft, but this unknown suggestion somehow made me uncomfortable. I scooted away from him out of habit.