Seven
Pat opened his eyes and listened for a moment, wondering what had woken him. When he sat up, he groaned at the aches that had accumulated in his muscles after a few hours of sleep. Then he heard whimpers coming from Aelissm’s room and pushed himself out of bed. He carefully opened the door between the rooms, and even in the near-blackness, he could see that Aelissm was asleep and that her dreams were not pleasant. He slid onto the bed beside her and called her name.
“Come on, sweetheart, wake up.”
“Pat?” she asked.
“It’s me,” he said. “I’m here.”
He gathered her in his arms, and she curled in his lap, clinging to him. She shivered convulsively, so he pulled the blankets around them and let her rest her head on his chest, smoothing a hand over her tangled hair. She seemed so smal
