“We should rest while we can,” he said as he pulled away.
Reluctantly, I agreed.
He settled down into the pillows, taking me with him so that my head rested against his heartbeat. I wanted to keep pushing, to demand answers, but exhaustion was pulling at me—the kind of bone-deep weariness that came from too many battles fought and too many truths uncovered in too short a time.
His fingers traced slow, thoughtful patterns against my skin, the touch soothing despite my concerns.
“You wouldn’t keep secrets from me, right?” I whispered against his bare chest, my eyes growing heavy.
He just pulled me closer, pressing his lips against the top of my head. Warmth cocooned me, a combination of his strong arms and his magic both wrapping tightly around me.
I waited for his reply, fighting against sleep. But the only sound was his beating heart and the soft whisper of his breathing.
I drifted off before I heard his answer—if he gave one at all.
I wokein the middle of the night to find myself cold and alone, with no sign of Aleks or the warm blanket of magic he’d used to help me fall asleep.
Something didn’t feel right.
I crawled from the bed, pulled on my clothes, and silently made my way through the house, searching.
He was nowhere to be found.
I eventually made my way into the kitchen, where Orin sat nursing a mug of what smelled like peppermint tea. We weren’t in his house, yet it still felt like I was walking into a familiar scene—like one of the countless times I’d woken up, gone to pour myself a glass of water, and found him sitting at the kitchen table lost in the labyrinth of his own mind.
A sweet for your thoughts?I used to ask, and then I would take one from the ample supply he kept in the frog-shaped jaron the counter, give it as an offering, and we’d usually spend the rest of the night talking about anything I had on my mind.
I probably could have benefitted from one of those long, comforting talks now. But my gaze kept sliding toward the door; I was eager to keep searching.
Orin shifted in his seat, the creak of the old chair splitting through the dusty kitchen as he turned to me. “You’re looking for Aleksander.”
“…It’s not like him to leave without telling me where he’s going.”
“Has he been doing a lot of things that arenot like himlately?”
A chill swept down my spine.
“Sit for a moment,” said Orin.
He was using his stern mentor voice, so I sat. But I couldn’t keep my anxious gaze off the door.
“Are you certain it’s safe to go looking for him on your own?”
Something told me he knew the answer was ‘no’. He was just trying to get me to realize it—to admit it to myself.
“I don’t really care aboutsafe,” I said.
He snorted. “Well, nothing has changed there, now has it?”
I drummed my fingers against the worn table. “Can we get to the point of this lesson, please?”
“Earlier, I mentioned other monsters. Other enemies you needed to be wary of, aside from just Lorien.”
An uncomfortable thought slowly snaked its way through my mind, making my scalp crawl, but I didn’t say it out loud.
Orin watched me silently. Expectantly.
“Where is Aleks?” I demanded. “What have you done to him?”
