Red: Jareth, come home. I have a surprise for you!!
Me: I’d love to, but I’m about to head into a meeting. There are some new designs the Seekers have been working on. Granny wants me to look them over.
Red: Please?! It won’t take very long.
My internal sensors report only five minutes until the meeting. Not enough time.
Me: Tonight. I’ll come home early and you can show me your surprise then, okay?
For a few minutes, there’s no response.
Me: I promise, Red. I’ll leave as soon as I’ve looked over their work, okay?
Red: Just forget it.
Me: Don’t be like that. It’s only two or three hours.
Red: It’ll be too late. Never mind. I guess it’s not that important. To you, at least.
A low growl of frustration rumbles in my throat, and I throw the tool across the room, the clang loud as it strikes against a console.
****
FINALLY FREED FROMthe tedious onslaught of Seekers and engineers trying to prove their designs are superior to each other’s, I port out. Breathing a sigh of relief, I stand under our dome.
For a moment, I inhale the sterile, dry air. It’s eerily quiet under the glass and metal composite. The sun is down and outside the barrier, it’s pitch-black night filled with stars.
Wait, it’s not entirely quiet.I follow the subtle sound of a voice and scan the area.
One humanoid and one canine.
I relax my shoulders and smile, stuffing my peace offering of chocolate behind my back. Feeling lighter, more like myself now that I’m closer to her, I quietly stroll toward Tilly’s voice coming from the skirmisher.
Who’s she talking to?
As I walk around the front of the ship, the side comes into view. The ramp is out and soft light spills from the entrance.
A deep male voice rumbles from inside. It’s a voice I’d know from anywhere.
Rhys.She’s talking to Rhys.
I set the candy on the ground and clench my fists. Closing my eyes, I will myself to remain still, a sick, twisted part of me needing to hear the entire conversation in a dark need to punish myself.
My hand moves to the hidden dagger at my side. I caress the hilt, remembering how easily it sliced through Silarrian’s skin, how the blade had turned that feeling of weakness into strength.
“I know you would, Rhys, but that’s not why I reached out.” Tilly’s sigh is long and breathy. “I’ve just been so alone.” Her voice breaks on the last word.
I open my mouth to deny what she says, but then snap it shut again.I’m right here. I’m here every damn night.Has she been talking to him behind my back? That slow, burning anger eats away at my reason.
“You’re not alone, Tilly.” This voice isn’t Rhys, but her friend, Harper Serrano. “He shouldn’t have taken you against your will. He should’ve calledusto come help you guys. We could’ve sent out an entire scouting party to secure the area and provide anything you needed.”
“I know. I tried to tell him that, but—”
“He took you anyway,” Rhys says, somehow conveying disapproval in his tone. “Why am I not surprised? That bastard ended our war, cheated death, yet he’s back to his old tricks again.”
What is he talking about?Uneasiness slides along my spine. I brought Red here for her own protection. Why does no one understand?
“I don’t think he sees it that way.” There’s a tapping on metal, as if Tilly’s drumming her fingernails against the flight console. “I think he’s been avoiding me by spending as much time away as he can. Earlier today, I tried to get him to come home because I wanted to surprise him with something, but he shot me down and made some pathetic excuse about having a meeting.”
