“It is, Cae, but I’m—”
“Oh, thank God!” Caelan pushed the bedchamber door open and rushed inside, her eyes red as if she’d been crying, as she ran across the floor to the bed. “You’re safe! Thank God. Are you well? Do you need anything? Have you been hurt?” She touched my shoulder and ran a gentle touch down my arm, as if to convince herself I was really there.
“I—no, I’m fine. I mean, I’m very tired, but I wasn’t hurt. I was just caught—”
“Please, my Lady, youmuststay here and rest. Jann is beside himself. He’s out looking for you, and left me here to help you in case you returned. He’s been in a fury—he thought you’d been caught!”
My heart thumped uneasily, and my head began to ring as she rushed on, babbling about how frightened Jann was, convinced that I’d been cornered or discovered. That the Advisors we were hunting had set a trap.
My heart sank as I imagined Jann, panicked—convinced that both his mate and child were in death’s hands. I would have panicked as well, but he knew I was walking the shadows—and if I’d been killed, he’d have known that too, when our bond was severed.
God, my stomach lurched at the thought—and that brought a surge of nausea.
Caelan must have seen me pale, because she suddenly stopped babbling and ran, sweeping up a bowl and towel from the sideboard and bringing it to me, then rushing for a pitcher of water and a cup.
It took time for the nausea to pass. Time to breathe through it, and remind myself that I sat on a lovely, soft bed,nota rocking boat. Time for Caelan to help me drink slowly and lay back. She laid a cool cloth on my head as I breathed, and closed my eyes and drifted…
—to jolt awake when the door to the room flew open so hard it bounced on the wall, then shuddered as it swung closed again, as a furious, frightened, anddevastatingNephilim Halfling, with eyes that promised death, stormed into the room.
“Caelan, get the fuck out. I’ll handle her from here.”
Caelan and I both gaped, as Jann stormed towards the bed, his face red. Caelan froze as I opened my mouth to reassure him.
But Jann roared,“I said, GET OUT!”
I flinched and Caelan squeaked, and ran for the door.
23. The Walls have Ears
~ JANN ~
The door slammed hard behind Caelan as she fled, but I ignored it, rushing to the side of the bed to haul a pale, shaking Diadre out of the blankets, and into my lap. I curled around her, clawing a hand into her hair—startled by her nakedness, but thankful for it because it brought us closer.
“Thank God… thankGod…”
“Jann, I’m fine.”
“I thought you were gone. I thought they had you—”
“I was just late getting back!”
I pulled my head back far enough to meet her tired—and surprisingly angry eyes. “You were backafterdawn. After daylight, and with no word.”
“It’s not like I can send a messenger through theshadows,” she grumbled. Her eyes were hooded with weariness, and she looked very pale.
“Were you sick again?” I asked quietly, my heart pounding so hard my skin thrummed, even in the fingers I used to comb a strand of hair back from her face.
She shook her head. “I was tired, but mostly good while I was out. It was when I got home. I felt sick. Caelan helped me. She was very worried.”
“I wasworse,”I growled.
Her lips thinned, but her eyes flashed a warning. “You shouldn’t have scared her like that. You startledme, and I wasn’t the one you yelled at.”
“I’ll apologize tomorrow.”
“Why would you be so hard on her?”
“She was supposed to send me a message if she found you.”
