“Daniel?” Sabine cried. She let out a sob as her husband didn’t respond.
Rosie and I swapped concerned glances. “Did you see anything?” my wife asked, and I shook my head.
“Lucian and I found him lying on the floor. There was no sign of trauma,” I replied.
“That’s a concern in itself. Was he attacked like Phoe?” Rosie murmured, sending Phoe a glance. I followed her gaze and noted how pale Phoe still appeared. She was wrapped up warm, and Drake was making their bed up. Phoe smiled weakly at something he said, and Drake dropped a kiss onto her lips.
“Did you spot an escape route?” Rosie asked.
“No. The house is locked up tightly. We can see the storm through the cracks in the shutters, but I didn’t find a single opening,” I replied.
“Guess we’re stuck here,” Rosie stated, trying to be bright.
I wrapped my arms around her. “Babe, I won’t let anything harm you,” I whispered.
“Drake and Daniel, no doubt, thought the same,” Rosie retorted, and I nodded. I couldn’t deny her words.
Daniel groaned as his eyelids fluttered, and Sabine made a noise of excitement. She patted his face gently as Daniel opened his eyes and blinked.
“What the hell happened?” he demanded.
“Good question,” I quipped as I bent closer. “How do you feel?” I checked his pulse.
“Woolly-headed.”
“Did you bang your head?” Rosie questioned.
“No. The last thing I recall is heading upstairs to get more mattresses.”
“Nothing after?” Drake questioned from across the room.
“No.”
“That monster attacked us. You drew it away,” Drake stated, and Sabine gasped. A smile crossed my lips as she smacked Daniel’s chest before cupping his face.
“Stop being the hero,” she whispered and kissed him. Daniel sank into the kiss, holding her close before he released her.
“Need to keep my wife interested somehow,” he quipped, seeming shy at the audience.
“Drink this,” Maggie said, appearing and handing Daniel a cup. He cupped it and appeared grateful for the warmth.
“Hot chocolate.” I sniffed. It was one of my favourite drinks.
“I’ll make you one,” Rosie offered and climbed to her feet.
“We brought in several vats of water to save us running to the kitchen constantly, and we found snacks!” Maggie stated.
“After the attack on Phoe and now Daniel, I don’t think we should be going anywhere in less than a group of four,” James called out.
“It attacked us as a group of four,” Drake retorted.
“He. It’s male,” Daniel interjected and frowned.
“Well, I’m not peeing with you lot watching me,” Nanci spoke, and I choked on a chuckle.
“Nobody wants to see that either,” I commented with a quirk to my lips, and Nanci sent me a dark look.
“Guess we’ll have to go as a group if we need to,” Nanci said grumpily.
