Read Online Dolmarehn - Book Two of the Otherworld Trilogy by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson - Free Book Online Page A

place.
    “Meghan, you need to wake up now.”
    I blinked in irritation.  Who kept bugging me and why would they take me from this wonderful world?  Whoever it was put their arms around my shoulders and started lifting me up.  I swatted at them.
    “No,” I mumbled.
    “Meghan, look at me.”
    The voice again, stronger this time.  I opened my eyes.
    “Cade?”  My voice crackled silently.  “What are you doing here?”
    I turned my head to make sure I was still in my room.  Yep.  I’d recognize that messy desk anywhere.  The sudden realization that Cade held me close, in my own bed, made the grogginess vanish with a flash.  I tried to push myself up, but cried out when I put weight on my right hand.
    “Easy now,” Cade murmured.
    He loosened his grip and eased himself away from me, letting me lean back against my pillows.
    Embarrassed, I smiled sheepishly and instantly became aware of the mild throbbing of my hand.  That is when everything from the weekend flooded my mind.  The football game.  The flying faelah, their sharp claws raking at my skin.  The sickness I experienced afterwards.  And then last night . . .  I shook my head and winced at the remains of the pounding headache.  I’d been terribly sick, but Cade had come.
    Taking another deep breath and pushing aside my humiliation at how awful I must’ve looked, I glanced back up at Cade.  He stood only a few feet away from my bed, his hands relaxed at his sides, his gaze focused on me.
    I bit my cheek.  “I’m sorry.”
    Cade’s sigh sounded overly relieved.  Was he afraid I’d be mad at him?  Of course he was.  I had just acted as if he’d been a stranger barging into my room to take advantage of me.
    Putting on a face of bravado, I reached out my good hand and sought his.  He stiffened, but took it gently, his fingers warm and dry.  Mine were still clammy.
    “Really, I’m sorry Cade.  I didn’t mean to act so crazy just now, I-”
    “That is why you are apologizing?  Meghan, you should have contacted me the second the faelah hurt you!”
    His aggressive interruption shocked me.  He had moved in close once more, and before I could so much as apologize, again , he scooped me up into a tight hug.  My nerve ends caught on fire.  No, he wasn’t kissing me, but something about this one action felt suspiciously intimate.  I returned his embrace with the same intensity, being careful of my hand.
    “You might have died.”
    His raw voice suggested withheld emotion and I wondered, with a thrill, if he would kiss me after all.  Oh, wouldn’t it be nice to be conscious this time?
    But when he pulled away he only held me at arms’ length and gazed at me with dark eyes.
    “Promise you’ll not let this happen again.  If something of the Otherworld harms you, you let me know as soon as possible.  Send Fergus or your own spirit guide.  Promise me.”
    His words came off as more of a demand than a question, but I shook my head, my emotions still going haywire.
    The unmistakable sound of my brothers clambering out of their bunk beds upstairs caused me to jump slightly.
    Cade grimaced.  “I must go.”
    He stood and walked away.  I gritted my teeth as severe disappointment slammed into the pit of my stomach.  No kiss after all.
    When he reached the door, Cade gazed back over his shoulder.  “Can you meet me in the swamp next Saturday morning?  At sunrise?”
    I put aside my disappointment and peered up at him, my mouth curved in a grin.  “Of course.”
    “Good,” he said, “bring your bow and arrows.”
    And with one last glance, he slipped from my room and disappeared into the early morning fog, Fergus trotting silently behind him.
    I sighed and fell back into the pillows.  For the first time that morning I glanced at my hand.  I blinked in surprise.  Cade had bandaged it.  Carefully, I pulled away some of the gauze, afraid to find a horrible mess beneath.  To my astonishment, the wound seemed to be much better,