He tried to gather his scattered thoughts, picking apart every word and every spilled secret.
Whatever the truth was, Sandar coming to Ehlian for the visitor’s real name reeked of desperation.
Chapter 20
It took Ehlian three days to convince Willian not to report Sandar’s visit to the authorities.
Ehlian wouldn’t usually call himself a coward, but even he knew which lines not to cross, and which people you simply didn’t mess with. Sandar Cartivair was one of them. Not to mention, Sandar hadn’t even managed to breach his mental shield and get into his mind, so he had no real case, just a half-hearted attempt. And good luck proving that. A man who openly admitted to bribing prison guards for information wouldn’t blink at persuading anyone to sweep such a trivial case under the rug.
The sky had already darkened by the time he reached Willian’s apartment building after a long walk. It didn’t feel as relaxing as it used to. He couldn’t shake the sense that Sandar’s men were following him everywhere.
He glanced up at the clouded sky, wondering—
No. He didn’t want to go back there. Didn’t want to think about possibilities. Deceits, lies… the truth.
He was over it. Overhim.
He pushed through the door with two bags of food, fully determined to focus on nothing else except making dinner.
“I’m back,” Ehlian called from the hallway as he headed to the living room, raising the bags with a triumphant energy. “I bought food for an army. What do you want to—”
His words cut off. The bags slipped from his hands and hit the floor, containers rolling across the tiles.
Hayce’s figure seemed to fill the entire room, dressed in a dark suit, silver buttons catching the light. Self-assured. Composed.
Someone was saying something, but the words didn’t register. The edges of the room blurred.
A heartbeat later, the room came back into focus. Hayce wasn’t here. He was just a hologram, projected from the HoloTV.
Then the image shifted. Hayce vanished, replaced by another alpha. Sandar Cartivair.
“…the alleged Apex telepath remains at large alongside Sandar Cartivair,”the presenter said.“Their whereabouts are unknown. Leaked messages between the pair reportedly outline a plot to murder his father and coordinate the cover-up. If apprehended, Cartivair could face charges including solicitation of murder, bribery, and facilitating core-signature falsification.”
“I thought you were over him,” Willian said, eyeing the bags on the floor.
“Yeah, sorry.” Ehlian crouched down, gathering the scattered food in a bit of a daze, then headed into the kitchen.
Willian followed him a moment later. “Ehlian?”
“What do you want to eat?” Ehlian asked, pulling out a chopping board and a pan. “Pasta? We haven’t had it in a while after I burned it last time. You really shouldn’t let me in the kitchen, actually.”
“I think you need to sit down for a bit.” Willian tried to steer him toward a chair.
“I’m fine.” Ehlian shrugged him off, his hands shaking slightly as he tried to open a bag of pasta. “But I’m starving, and starving for pasta, so I’m going to do it again even if I burn down this kitchen, which will probably piss you off—”
“Ehlian.” Willian’s voice hardened, almost leaning into an alpha’s command. He took the bag out of Ehlian’s trembling hands. “You need to sit down.”
“I’m fine!” Ehlian raised his voice a little too loud, gesturing toward the living room. “Why are you acting like that means anything to me? It doesn’t. I’m over him.”
“Okay, alright,” Willian said, pulling the chair closer. “You’re over him, fine. Just sit down.”
Ehlian sank into the chair, his weak legs grateful for not having to carry his weight and all the heavy, choking emotions battling inside him.
“Good,” Willian said. “We don’t have to talk about it, but I’ll do the pasta because I value my kitchen and won’t let you burn it down.”
Ehlian smiled faintly, watching his friend busy himself in the kitchen for a moment before he finally spoke. “How was Sandar found out?”
“His sister.”
