Frostbite (The Dragonian, #3) - Adrienne Woods Page 0,60
silence.
We bid each other goodnight around eight.
I couldn’t sleep. The last time I’d slept in this bed was with Lucian. I could still see him looking at me when I closed my eyes. This time the memory was clear. His eyes were soft and his kisses were warm, feverishly warm. Another ache jolted inside my heart and I sobbed uncontrollably. I tried to muffle it in the pillow not to wake his parents and when it finally stopped I found myself leaving his room and walking down the stairs to where Cat was still lying on his pillow.
The dog didn’t even look up when I stood right in front of him.
“Cat, if I can eat and carry on with life, you can too.” I went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. I found ham and took it out. Tears lingered in my eyes as I kept looking at the spot where he was sitting the day he asked about Tanya. When I closed my eyes I could still see him and hear his anger.
I cut myself by accident with the knife and clutched my bloody finger. I watched as the cut closed and disappeared. My healing ability was by far the strongest.
I put the ham roll away and took a heaped plate back to the dog.
I put it in front of him and he turned his head away.
“No!” I found myself lying in front of him and turned his head back to me. “I know how you feel. We all miss him, Cat. He would want you to eat.” A tear rolled over my cheek and to my surprise the dog lapped it up. I giggled at him. “Please, just eat.”
He looked at me for a couple of seconds and then at the plate of ham.
His tail started to wiggle slowly and I watched with relief as he started to eat.
I stroked his head softly. “That’s it. One day at a time.”
“I’ve tried everything to make that dog eat.”
I jumped at Queen Margerite’s voice. She giggled and apologized. We both started to laugh.
“Maybe he just needed someone to tell him how things will be from now on.”
She crouched down in her pajamas next to me and stroked the dog’s head too. “Thank you, Elena.”
“It’s nothing.”
She smiled and we watched Cat eat all his food.
We said goodnight again by Lucian’s door, this time with Cat right behind me.
Cat made himself comfortable on Lucian’s bed and I crawled in next to him.
Lucian’s scent that lingered on his bedding filled my nostrils. I was sure if I was human I wouldn’t have been able to smell him anymore, but I wasn’t human. “I miss you.”
HE NEXT DAY was Christmas Eve. The castle was pretty quiet and it was snowing outside. Every fire place was lit and it was toasty warm. Cat followed me everywhere and we ended up inside the library. I found a good book to read. The staff served us lunch inside the library, and around three in the afternoon Queen Margerite entered.
She came to sit on one of the chairs opposite me after she patted Cat.
I put the book down and looked at her.
“There is a Broadway Lucian and I used to go to. Helmut isn’t a huge fan of musicals and I doubt that Lucian was either, but he came with me every Christmas Eve. Would you like to come with me tonight?”
I smiled. “I’d be honored.”
“Thank you, Elena.” She touched my arm softly, got up and went to the door. She turned around right before she exited. “I’ll have the staff bring you up some clothes around five.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
She left and I looked at Cat. “We are going to a show, Cat.” I ruffled his face the way Lucian used to and laughed as blobs of slime spattered everywhere.
At five Brigitte and the two other maids entered Lucian’s room. They laid the most beautiful dresses and two piece suits out on the bed. I set my mind on the turquoise pants and a beautiful matching halter neck with a gorgeous cream coat. It came with a pair of cream boots that had killer heels.
I took a deep sigh and decided to go with the boots. I had to learn how to walk in them without breaking my legs someday, and today was just as good as any other.
Queen Margerite looked beautiful too and she’d also gone with a pant suit, a dark one.