“Why don’t you ask your husband?” She increases her speed and pushes away from me, looking for someone else to talk to.
I stand there awkwardly at the side of the cave.
It stings.
When Arlet and I first made it to the caves, I was, admittedly, a poor friend. I felt like she left me behind. But Melisa and I had a connection—an understanding.
But now, seeing her clamber away wounds me.
When Teo appears at my side, he’s carrying a sleeping Rila. He looks uncomfortable at seeing my disappointment.
“Did she say something unkind?”
I shake my head. “No. She told me to ask you why she wasn’t getting a Fuegorra.”
He sucks in a sharp breath and looks at Rila’s tiny form against his shoulder.
“We should speak of this later.”
Most of the group was already halfway up the tunnel, but I pin him with a strict stare.
“Why? I think you should tell me now.”
Without thinking, I press into the bond that connects our minds, trying to find the answer he’s so reluctant to share.
He appears surprised, and I stumble back, my hands flying to my mouth.
“I—I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to push like that.”
He takes my hand.
It’s okay. It’s common with bonds. You just need to be careful, my love.
Melisa volunteered to go back to the giants to help us get information about Rholker’s plans. It will take time for us to launch a counterattack against him—we need to make sure we are prepared.
I feel anger rise deep in my belly. First, for my outburst.
Then because he didn’t tell me, and lastly, she finally escaped them and would begoing back.
“No,” I say firmly.
He shakes his head. “Mi amor?1,it was her idea. You can’t tell her what she can and can’t do.”
“Like hell, I can’t,” I grumble and start walking up the tunnel alone.
It isn’t long before my mate catches up with me, but I don’t want to look at him just yet. I need to find a way to convince Melisa to stay.
Chapter 28
Apatite
TEO
The next three days pass in the blink of an eye. With the new humans adjusting to under mountain life, I have little time for much else between meetings. More and more scrolls pile on my desk as we plan to first retrieve the artifact and then march on Zlosa to kill Rholker.
Some days, the pending future doesn’t feel real. It’s just calculations, crystals, and endless hours of talk.
Estela has been subdued. When I presented her with the books that Melisa had given me, she revealed that one contained Rholker’s writings, and the other was something truly awful: a book bound in human skin.
