“Reheat it,” he tells me, giving me a look. He doesn’t mean to reheat it in the microwave, but to use magic.
“Don’t be mad if I burn it.” I adjust my sweatshirt and open the bag of takeout, pulling out two cheeseburgers and fries. Concentrating hard, I hold my hands over the food and pull in just enough energy to warm the food but not start a fire. Figuring out how much energy to take in—or not to take in—has been a challenge, but I’m getting it.
“Perfect.” I test the temperature of the food and tear my burger in half, sharing with Hunter, who’s outside somewhere. I put his half in his bowl and open the back door, calling him in. He shadows into the house, shifting back into dog-form as soon as he sees the food. “Are you still tired from hunting?”
“If you’re hinting at a nap, the answer is yes.” Ethan and I both sit at the island counter.
“I am. And I’m tired. I didn’t sleep well.”
“Because of the memory that came back?”
Shaking my head, I dip my fries in ketchup. “I don’t know if it was one. I don’t really know what happened at all. I heard noises and then went to the door, and then was back on the couch.”
“You’re sure it wasn’t a dream?”
“I don’t think so.”
“So you’re not sure.”
“It wasn’t a dream,” I insist, and bring my hand to my face, rubbing my temple. “It was just…weird. And then, when I was in bed…” The terror I felt last night comes rushing back. “I had sleep paralysis, but it wasn’t like normal. Someone walked into the room and sat on the bed. I didn’t just see it, I felt it.”
“Okay,” Ethan says slowly. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
“I woke up and couldn’t move, but I knew everything that was going on. I could see the fan spinning above me. I could feel Romeo curled up in my arm. I could hear the sleep sounds playing on my phone.”
“That’s typically reported in mundane cases of sleep paralysis.”
I nervously tear apart a french fry. “I know. I found it disturbingly fascinating when we went over it in my psych class back in college. And I would agree with you, except for one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Whatever I saw…it couldn’t have just been a projection of my dream. Because it opened the bedroom door.”
CHAPTER 6
I set my empty wineglass down on the coffee table harder than I meant to. It’s late, and Ethan fell asleep on the couch with his arm around me. We lounged around the rest of the day, showering together after we took care of our horses and donkeys. Feeling too lazy to cook, we put in a frozen pizza, and Ethan ate most of it. I’m still too on edge to eat much, though being tucked against Ethan is lulling me to sleep. The red wine is helping, of course.
My eyes fall shut for another twenty minutes or so, and I wake because I have to pee. Groaning, I slowly sit up. The couch in the parlor, which functions as our living room, is comfortable but our bed is better.
“Anora?” Ethan grumbles, rolling over on the couch.
“Ethan,” I whisper. “Are you awake?”
“Yeah,” he says but doesn’t open his eyes.
“Let’s go to bed.” Stretching my arms out in front of me, I lazily trudge upstairs, use the bathroom, and brush my teeth. Hunter lets me know that Ethan fell back asleep but will wake him up by licking his face. If I wasn’t half asleep, I’d go back downstairs and watch, but I’m too tired. Crawling into bed, I turn off the light and wait for Ethan to join me.
Only a second later, the mattress sinks down next to me. There’s no way Ethan got upstairs that fast. I shoot up, heart in my throat, and turn.
No one is in bed with me
“Ethan,” I call, voice thin. He doesn’t hear me, but Hunter does and comes running up the stairs. “Something was here.”
My familiar jumps up on the bed, tail wagging. He doesn’t sense anything. Did I imagine it? I’m tired, a little tipsy, and was expecting Ethan to lie down next to me. It would be easy to slip into a dream and have it play out exactly what I’m expecting, right? Only…I just laid down and I’ve never in my life fallen asleep that fast.
I pat the mattress next to me, letting Hunter know I want him closer. He nuzzles his head against me, and I run my hand over his head.
“It happened again,” I tell Ethan as soon as he comes into the room.
“What happened?”
“I’m not really sure.” I bury my fingers in Hunter’s thick fur. “I felt the mattress sink down like you were next to me, but you’re not in bed next to me, obviously.”