Loki's Daughter Book 4

Nightmares

I wake up confused in my bed as the tv blares in the living room. I slide out of bed and stumble to the doorway. I open the door, step out of my room, and somehow manage to walk into the living room. Nat looks up from where she lounges on the couch.

'Get back to bed.'

'I'm fine,' I reply through gritted teeth as I make my way into my kitchen and pour myself a drink.

'You're fine? Says the girl who would normally turn invisible and normally would be armed to the teeth when investigating the noise. Who instead comes stumbling like a buffoon down the hallway and only took a moment to glance around the room while standing in the doorway.'

I lower my glass and glare at her. 'Look up.'

She lifts her head, and her lips twitch into the beginning of a small smile. My two ravens caw at her and then fly down and perch on my shoulders.

'Most people have a dog for protection. I have my birds with who I can spend a second to connect and check my whereabouts before deciding what to do. So yes, I would have once waste energy and time to physically check a room myself, but I no longer have to do that.'

'You still need to rest. You are injured.'

I hunch over as I hit the corner of the bench. I glare at her from under my eyelashes. 'I am aware of that.'

'Well then, rest. You have no one to murder yet. You aren't in danger. Valarie is fine. Why do you continue to insist on continuing to delay your healing process by walking around every time you wake up?'

I straighten up and remove the illusion that covers my face. The moment the drug wore off last night the nightmares came back twice as strong. 

'Oh.' She gets off the couch and comes to my side. She grabs one of my arms and throws it around her neck while she wraps her arm around my waist, forcing me to lean on her, and she walks me back to bed.

She stands at the side of the bed while I sit in the middle of the bed. 'May I sit on the edge here?' she asks, pointing in front of her. I nod warily and move my legs away from her. She sits down and turns slightly to face me.

'What haunts you at night?'

'I've shown you everything.'

'I know this. Talk. What wakes you up and makes you fear sleeping?'

He walks into my old room, waving the crowbar around, laughing. I can barely move away. All I can do is turn my head away and close my eyes.

'My past.' She opens her mouth. 'I don't want to talk about it.' I manage to get out through my racing breath.

'You're going to have to face it one day. Whether it's by yourself, with a friend or with an enemy,, you will have to face it. You can't keep doing this.'

'Trust me. I know this,' I rub my eyes and lie down as my limbs become heavy with sleep. I turn my head away from her and close my eyes. She closes the door, and a moment later, the tv turns down slightly while my birds caw gently in the living room.