“What makes you think she’s down here?” I countered as Delano’s gaze darted nervously between us.
“Why would you be here if she’s not?” he challenged.
Fuck. Was the motive behind my presencethatobvious?
The answer was yes.
A muscle began ticking in Malik’s temple, just like our father’s did when he was annoyed. He moved closer. “Cas,” he said, his voice low. “Gods. I know things between us are tense…”
“Understatement of the year,” Emil murmured.
Malik shot him a look of warning. “But some shit has clearly gone down, and I’m concerned.”
“There’s no need.”
“And I’m not the only one. So is our father.” Malik waited for me to respond. When I didn’t, he stiffened even more before stepping back. His gaze moved to the dimly lit corridor, flickering over the closed iron doors. The skin at the corners of his mouth tightened before he masked whatever he was feeling, but the tangy, almost bitter taste of anguish coated my mouth. “Fine. Whatever,” he said. “I have no idea where Millie is.”
My brows raised. “Really?”
Malik’s jaw flexed, and it took a couple of heartbeats for him to answer. “She left.”
I eyed him, frowning. “Then why are you here?”
A dry laugh left him as he looked away, the corners of his mouth tightening more. “The last time I chased after her, she made it abundantly clear that she didn’t want me to do that.”
I had no idea what had gone down between them or why Malik refused to tell Millicent they were heartmates, but I did remember him telling me that she hated him. It wasn’t like that was something I could forget. But now wasn’t the time to figure out the reasons behind that.
The Rev was dead.
Millicent was missing in action.
And Reaver still hadn’t returned.
Fuck.
Without saying another word, Malik turned away—
Fuck. “She’s awake.”
Malik stopped.
I glanced over at Emil and Delano. The latter no longer watched us as nervously. I took another deep breath. “But she doesn’t completely remember who she is.”
My brother spun. “What?”
“It was something Nektas warned us could happen,” I said, my jaw flexing. “I moved her down here so she…” I cleared my throat. “So she wasn’t so close to others.”
Malik stared, appearing as if he were at a loss for what to say. He turned at the waist, then faced me as he brushed the strand of hair back from his face. “Did the draken say how long she would remain this way?”
I shook my head.
He was quiet for a moment. “Damn, I…” Swallowing, he looked down. “I’m sorry, man.”
I tensed. Every part of me wanted to reject his sympathy because it meant there was a reason for it. I managed a curt nod, and Delano rose and came to where I stood. He sat, leaning into my side.
“Why did you want to see Millie?” Malik asked. “You think—?”
We all felt the shift in the atmosphere at the same time. A powerful charge of energy thinned the air, stroking the essence inside me as Delano rose to all fours, his ears flattening.
