Free Arrival of the Traveler (Waldgrave Book 1) by A.L. Tyler

around and tried to casually walk back over to her stack of books, but a sharp pain in her side as she turned caused her to lose her balance, grab her stomach, and almost fall over. She regained her poise just in time and kept walking; when she turned back around David was smirking, leaning against the door frame.
    “So I see. You’re just fine.” He looked very smug with himself, and Lena wondered if he was somehow proud of putting her in such a state. “How’s the reading?”
    “Slow.” Lena sat back down on the bed.
    “How much have you gotten through?”
    “I don’t know—maybe a quarter of the little one. I checked a little while ago though, and some of the other ones are starting to…develop? Would that be the right word?”
    “Develop is a fine word. Just fine. You’re just great at picking words.”
    “Shove it.”
    David laughed a little.
    “I just wish the process wasn’t so slow. It takes forever…” Lena was suddenly struck by an idea. “You don’t think you could…read  to  me, could you?”
    He frowned. “That’s not a good idea.”
    “Why?”
    “Why can’t you just accept what’s best for you?” David crossed his arms.
    “Why can’t you let me decide what’s best for me?”
    David strode into the room and looked through Lena’s selection of books before picking one.
    “Here you go—this should answer some of your burning questions.” He had an impish expression on his face as he cleared his throat and started to read, “ ‘Of all the creatures most feared…’”
    “Stop!” Lena was already nauseated. She sat down on the edge of her bed and glared at David, who continued to smile.
    “See? I told you.” He tossed the book onto the bed next to her. The title of the book— Unseen Danger —had appeared as David had read. He turned to go, but stopped in the doorway.
    “Oh, I’m supposed to ask if you’re well enough to come down for dinner.”
    “Yes.”  No .
    “I’ll have Mrs. Ralston bring something up, then.”
    Think you’re so clever, don’t you?
    David smirked. He pulled something out of his jacket pocket. It was a small paper bag, which he threw back in Lena’s direction. She dodged it, and it landed deftly on the bed. She picked it up to throw back at him, but quickly realized he’d been throwing it to her, and not at her. There was something in the bag.
    “I’m sorry I hurt you.” The door clicked shut.
    In amazement, Lena opened the bag. There was a small box inside, and inside the box was a bracelet—it was made of a silvery metal, though Lena didn’t know exactly which one. A pattern of leaves and branches made up the band, and a single ruby-red flower hid the clasp. It looked expensive.
    He must’ve spent a year’s worth of salary on this thing!
    Deciding she couldn’t keep it, she gently put it back in the box. While she was touched that David had bothered to get her a get well present, she couldn’t accept something that would have cost him so much. She sat looking at the open box, which she set on the nightstand. She liked the way it looked. It was delicate, and pretty. It reminded her of somewhere she had been before.
    It was mid-June, and she and her father had stopped in Yorkshire to admire the blooming roses. The hostel they’d stayed in had climbing roses; some came right up to their second story window. She remembered the old man who took care of the roses, and the way he whistled lullabies when he watered the flowers. They’d watched the beautiful, deep red blossoms slowly open over the course of a week, remarking everyday how perfect they were. She remembered the look in her father’s eyes as they shared the glory of nature’s wonder—those roses, so delicate, and yet so dangerous. The thorns were sharp, he warned, so they had to watch and not touch. Being only eight at the time, she wanted desperately to take one with her; something to remember the experience by. One particularly warm morning, she had reached out the