Ruler (Wolves of Royal Paynes #2) - Kiki Burrelli Page 0,22
made and stepped to the side.
Storri stared at the triangle of open space. "This feels like a dream." He bit his lip. I watched, horrified, as his eyes filled with tears. "What if I wake up, and I'm…th-there again? Alone."
"You won't be." I could promise him that much. "I'll be here. And Dog. Jazz will be down the hallway, and Hallie is on the other side of the corridor. This is real. You're here, and you're safe."
Storri wiped his eyes with the heel of his palm, hugging his middle with the other.
He stared at the bed like it had grown teeth. "There are so many blankets. It'll be so hot. Maybe I need fewer blankets."
He was stalling. I knew that, but there was no way in hell I wouldn't indulge him. I pulled the top blanket off and folded it so it draped along the bottom. "That way if you get cold, it's still close."
His expression didn't change. He only backed away from the bed another half foot.
Hallie chose that moment to step out of the bathroom. She silently observed our standoff before seemingly deciding I had it handled. "If you need me, Storri, I'm just across the corridor, okay?"
Storri whipped his face to the door, eager to change the subject. His wet hair slapped his cheeks. "Okay. Thank you. If you end up not being real, I still think you're a very nice person."
Hallie's eyebrows furrowed unevenly. "Good to know. Back at ya."
She left at the same time Dog got tired of waiting. He jumped on the bed, curling once before settling down beside where Storri would lay—if the poor guy could convince himself going to bed wouldn't reveal his rescue to be nothing more than a dream.
I wouldn't force him under the covers, but it was clear he needed some additional motivation. He swayed on his feet, and his eyelids drooped. He was exhausted, and who wouldn't be after the day he'd had? But his fear that this would all disappear kept him awake. I was glad we were his dream and not his nightmare, but the kitten needed rest. "What about this? You get in bed, and I'll read to you. You don't have to go to sleep, but you do need to lay down."
Storri's bottom lip stuck out. It shook, and I thought he might cry, but he sucked in a sharp breath and lifted his gaze to mine. "What books do you have?"
He asked the question in his same timid way, but he couldn't hide the excitement. I'd known my Storri would have a love of literature. I loved to read as well and had been rebuilding a collection of my favorites in my room beneath the towers of evidence boxes. Many weren't appropriate for the moment, but I had some classics stashed away. "I might not have one you haven't read. How about The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?"
Storri wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "Too scary. Do you have The Horse and His Boy?"
I grinned. I should've known he would prefer the tale of a young man who befriended a horse and discovered he was more than his upbringing had led him to believe. I moved aside, and Storri climbed in bed beside Dog. "I think I have a copy. When Jazz gets back, I'll check."
Jazz returned in the next minute with a large mug of bone broth and a bottle of water. "I've got a great breakfast planned, Storri, so don't worry. You won't eat this light all the time. But, if it's been a while, this is for the best." He dragged the chair from the desk beside the bed and sat down, handing Storri the mug.
I ducked out to find the book. Storri hadn't once been wary of Jazz. Not when he'd heard about him on the trip down here, nor when he'd first gotten here and had been terrified of everything else. They had an immediate connection, and Jazz hadn't once doubted what or who he thought Storri was.
When I made it back with the book, Storri had drunk his broth, and Jazz was showing him how he could manipulate perception. He cupped the empty mug, and it became a fennec fox. The small white animal scratched behind his ear before sitting on Jazz's palm.
"That's amazing," Storri said, though his eyes were tight.
I cleared my throat, curious about his reaction and eager to find out what it was about the illusion he didn't like.