Bound to Earth

24: Adorable, Fluffy Lizard

When I woke, I was tucked beneath Valentino's body, on the edge of the bed, with no blankets. My fingers brushed the hard wood floors of my home, along with half of my hair. The only support keeping me from falling was the arm Valentino had wrapped around my waist, and half his weight anchoring my body.

I lifted my head, with more effort needed than necessary, to find a third of my bed unused. Prying Valentino's body off of mine was near impossible. I'd manage to lift his body an inch, with shaky muscles, only for him to pull me closer.

"Valentino." My voice was soft, tired. I used a significant amount of my powers this past week and still haven't been able to feed. Holding the simplest illusion, of appearing human, had never been this difficult.

Valentino sucked in a deep breath and pressed a kiss to my collar bone. "Yes, Beautiful."

"I'm falling off the bed and I can't move, you're crushing me." I never had a problem pushing Valentino off me before when he claimed half the bed and my body.

He lifted his arm, giving me room to move freely. "Well, good morning to you too."

"Yeah, morning." I grunted as the restrictions eased off my body. "When did we get home?"

Valentino reached for his phone, checking the time and groaned. "Shit, jet lag has my sleep schedule ruined. We got home around noon. None of us wanted to wake you up with how tired you were."

"Oh." If he could hear my disappointment, he didn't comment on it. "Is Brynjar here?" I was going to drag the heathen somewhere remote and make him shift for me, like he promised.

"Ouch. You wound my heart, talking about another man in bed with me." He smiled, letting me know he wasn't in the least bit serious. "I don't know if he's here yet. I fell asleep with you as soon as we got here, but I can check for you."

"No, it's fine. I can go myself." I quickly leaned over and pressed a kiss to his jaw line.

Valentino slowly blinked at me before gently touching his jaw. A bright smile stretched from ear to ear. "'Kay. I'll be here." He stretched across the bed, his hands tucked under his head to prop that beautiful smile. 

My own cheeks tightened with a smile.

With new found energy, I quickly pushed myself off the bed, intent on seeing Brynjar shift into a dragon. Only my footing had slipped from under me as the edges of my vision darkened. My stomach twisted until a knot settled.

Valentino had moved faster than I could fall, supporting my weight. "Shit." He kicked my bedroom door open, one of the hinges snapping from the force.

Malachi and Brynjar turned to us startled. Alistar narrowed his eyes on me, as if seeing through the tiny cracks in my illusion. I pulled with all my being at my magic, until my hands shook, keeping that illusion in place.

He quickly set me down at the dinner table and opened my fridge. "There's no food." He brushed his dark blonde locks from his eyes and searched the cabinets.

"I can go run and get some." Malachi started tugging his shoes on.

"She needs to eat something now. She almost passed out, and can barely walk." Valentino slammed one of my cabinets shut and didn't even bother looking in my pantry. "Maybe we should take her to a hospital."

Alistar quickly pulled his golden hair into a ponytail and slid his shoes on. "I got her." Lifting me from the chair, he teleported us in a small, empty alley a few blocks down. Not a hospital or a restaurant like I expected.

"Alistar, why are we here?" This was the last place I thought he'd take me. The thought of him taking me here for murder crossed my mind, but I quickly buried the thought aside. He would never harm me, nor would the others. I only had memories of death in alleys. Death and meals.