“Yes. I didn’t know what it was until he told me, but I felt somethinghere.” He rubbed over his chest where his heart lay. “Even for all those years we were apart. Like an ache I couldn’t quite get rid of.”
“I feel no such ache.” And that was the truth.
Axel hummed. “But you felt something, though, didn’t you? Because I’ve seen you flirt with everyone you meet like it’s your form of a handshake, but it seemed different with Nick.”
I scoffed. “You’re all being ridiculous. He’s tall, dark, hot, and tattooed with magical symbols.” I grinned at Max. “That’s likecatnipfor me. Nothing more.”
Axel looked less than convinced, as did Gabriel, but I was done with this conversation.
And maybe I should reconsider trying to start anything with Nick. I’d thought a little hot distraction might have been just what I needed, but not if it was going to cause this much of a distraction for everyone else.
I had a job to do.
“Anyway, enough of that.” I took a seat at the table and reached for the summary file they’d given me earlier. “We still have a few hours left before the end of your working day, correct?” I looked from Gabriel to Max, avoiding Axel altogether.
If either of them was taken aback by the abrupt change in conversation, they didn’t react.
Max nodded and gestured to the photoboard. “We put in your requests to talk to Callum, Blake, and the others. The approval for the first two came through this afternoon while we were in with Zane.”
“Oh?” I sat back in my chair, focus snapping back in like it had never left me. “When can we see them?”
“Falon agreed to us going there first thing tomorrow morning. Lady Sarhin has requested that you return to the Fae Realm at your earliest convenience, along with Axel and Gabriel.” He paused, gaze flitting between me and Axel. “Now Gabriel, I understand. He’s part-fae. I guess I’m ruled out because, Rys’s dad aside, I understand that the high court like to avoid having non-fae through the gateway if they can help it.”
I snorted. “They’re not keen, no.”
“Why Axel?” Max asked. “No offence,” he added, nodding at Axel, “but you’re not involved in this investigation as anything other than a witness.”
“None taken.”
I had a fair idea why she’d requested Axel’s presence, but I couldn’t share it with Max. Either Gabriel would have to agree to secrecy when we reached the Fae Realm, or Lady Sarhin would find some way to exclude him from the interview with Blake.
“I have other business to discuss with the high court.” Axel shrugged as though it was nothing. “Makes sense to go with Dathal and Gabriel. No point having the gateway open needlessly.”
Backing up his answer, I added, “In light of recent events, the high court are keeping a closer eye on the comings and goings through all gateways connected to the Fae Realm.”
“Fair enough.” Max turned back to Gabriel. “Have you been there before?”
Gabriel nodded. “When I was younger. Not for a long while though.”
“But you’re aware that time passes differently through the gateway?”
“I am. Why?”
Max focused on me. “I just want to get an idea of a time frame if I can. How long do you think it’ll take to question Blake and do whatever Axel needs?”
Talking to Blake, with Axel’s help, could take anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days, depending on how receptive he was to the idea and how much information he had to tell us.
I suspected he’d do anything he could to help catch whoever was behind this, so that should move things along. “I think we should allow for a day, but I doubt it will take that long.”
“And how long will that be for us?”
I scrunched my nose. For all my trips here, I still struggled with the time conversion. We weren’t as rigid with our timekeeping as they were here.
Thankfully, Axel stepped in. “Two days tops,” he said.
I did the calculation in my head. It was Wednesday today. Tomorrow we were meeting with Falon’s pack to talk to Callum. That meant the earliest we could return to the Fae Realm would be Friday.
Would we get back in time to go to Midnight?
