I’D HAVE THOUGHT theidea of him being so close by would keep me up, but the second I crawled under the covers, I fell fast asleep.
I dreamed of a gentle hand stroking my hair sometime in the night. When I rolled over, it stopped, and when I glanced around, I didn’t see anyone. I’d probably been dreaming of Mom, missing her.
Morning came with cheerful sunlight. It woke me slowly, and I stretched in the cozy warmth. Peeking through one eye, I tried to remember where I was, disoriented by the maze of tree roots across the ceiling. The daylight confused me—wasn’t I underground?—until I realized it poured in through dozens of tiny skylights all around the room, tucked in between the roots. They probably looked like little mouse holes from the surface.
Despite the way they had to be letting in cold winter air, the fire below kept the whole space warm.
I pulled my phone out and gasped softly.
7:33 a.m.
Throwing the covers off, I sat up.
My battery blinked red for low. It was only at 18 percent now. I’d been too scared to turn it off last night, on the tiniest chance that my family might try to reach me. They hadn’t, obviously. And now I’d wasted so much battery that after opening the app in an attempt to check for their location—still no signal—I forced myself to power it down.
As the screen went dark, so did my emotions.
I wasn’t like the characters in my books who could just accept their fate and make something of it. I wasn’t strong. I couldn’t handle all the impossibilities thrown my way. I didn’t know what to do, where to go, who to trust. Someone else would step up in a situation like this. Olive would think of a solution in two seconds flat. Rissa for sure was brave enough to find a way. Mom always had the answers.
But not me. I wasn’t the strong female lead and never had been.
No. When put under pressure, I broke.
My face crumpled. I hid it in the pillow to muffle my sobs until my eyes burned. Instead of releasing the emotions, though, the hot tears only amplified them. Defeated thoughts played in my mind over and over:Mom’s trail is going cold. Dad, Rissa, and Olive will be next. I can’t do anything. I’m no one. Nothing. I’m going to lose them forever.Every time I managed to dry my eyes, my mind pushed repeat, and it looped again. I couldn’t seem to stop it.
When I finally forced myself up, it wasn’t because I felt better—I just didn’t have a choice. If anything, I felt numb. Everything in me wanted to crawl back into bed.
But it was officially the tomorrow I’d been waiting for. Soren would have some deal for me, which I’d accept whether I wanted to or not, and then if a miracle happened, I’d find my family and get them out of here.
I sat on the edge of the daybed, spiraling, still wearing the dress from last night. I’d been so tired that I hadn’t even tried to unwind the sandals to take them off. My bangs were probably sticking up at all kinds of odd angles, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. Hopefully the braids that Lore had woven into my hair had kept it mostly contained.
Murmuring came from the first floor.
I crouched down, feeling like an intruder, and crept to the railing to peek over.
Tea and pastries were laid out on the coffee table by the fire. Soren and his four friends lounged on the surrounding couches and chairs, chatting comfortably as they ate.
A few steps to the left and I could take the ladder down and join them.
Or...
My gaze drifted to the right, where Soren had disappeared last night.
His room.
I bit my lip.
If they were all downstairs, no one would know if I snooped. Though Soren had said he’d told me everything he knew, I still wanted a peek at his logbook.
