He finally realized that it was missing an entire wall.
Where there had been tall windows and French doors, there was now... nothing. There was still a roof above, but the rest of the room was in ruins.
Ruins seemed an apt description for the entire resort, Mal decided. He hauled himself from the bed, which was only an air mattress on a sodden box spring; the original mattress, soaked, was standing on end in a pile of broken glass.
His muscles were reluctant to answer his demands, and he was glad to find a column that had survived the damage to lean against, looking out over the resort.
All that remained of the storm were tatters of dark clouds reflecting sunset colors across the darkening sky.
“It would be nice if we could take care of that before the civil guard got here,” Scarlet said.
The doorway she stood in didn’t hold a door any longer, and the jamb was splintered.
She, of course, looked perfectly put together in the midst of all the chaos: her hair swept back, her expression unruffled. Tyrant twined around her ankles, purring.
“Take care of what, now?” The sight of her drove every thought from his mind but one.
“The giant, frozen, feathered, two-headed beast that is crushing half of my resort. Most of the damage can be attributed to the storm and the earthquakes... but it’s a little hard to explain that part.”
“You know, you aren’t supposed to disturb things until the insurance adjuster has had a chance to see the site,” Mal said lightly. “You can get ugly lawsuits doing that.”
“I’m pretty sure my insurance doesn’t cover attack by angry ancient creatures, anyway,” Scarlet said dryly. “And I’m vastly underinsured for this anyway.”
“Insurance policies are put together by amateurs,” Mal scoffed. He started to step towards her, and decided that holding onto the column was a better choice.
In a blink, Scarlet was at his side, her arm up under his. “It can wait,” she said softly. “You should rest more.”
As she led him back to the bed, giving him no choice in the matter, Mal had to ask, “Everyone? Everyone is okay?”
“Bruised and battered,” Scarlet said gravely. “But no injuries that won’t heal after a few shifts and some good meals.”
“Your tree?” Mal asked reluctantly. Visions of the great rainforest trees being sucked into the raging storm had been firmly placed into his collection of nightmare fodder.
“A few fallen branches,” Scarlet said calmly, helping him settle back into the bed. “But my leaves will grow back. I’ll flower again.”
“What happens now?” Mal asked, not releasing her.
Scarlet gazed at him. “I... don’t know.”
“Do you want to rebuild?”
Scarlet sighed and sat beside him. “I... I want to. But...”
“Money’s no object,” Mal reminded her.
Scarlet regarded him thoughtfully. “It doesn’t feel right,” she admitted.
“Would it feel better if it came through your staff?”
Scarlet smiled faintly. “It might. But they’ve already tapped everything they had just to buy this place.” She looked wryly through the missing wall over the savaged resort. “For all the good it will do them. I bankrupted us all when I asked you to accept the offer.”
“But you saved the world,” Mal pointed out. “Oh, and they haven’t begun to tap their resources.” He had remembered the other thing he needed to tell Scarlet.
She looked at him suspiciously. “What are you on about now?”
Mal didn’t have the energy to bait her further, though his dragon wearily admitted it might have been fun. “Darla’s hoard. It’s not locked.”
Scarlet blinked at him and furrowed her brow. “What?”