She crosses her arms and frowns. “Why not? I told you my biggest secret.”
“It’s not my secret to tell. But I have a feeling you’ll learn very soon.”
Her brow softens. I guess my answer mollified her a little. “Why is that?”
Throwing caution to the wind, I step closer, even though she’s tense and prickly. “Because I plan to keep seeing you.” I kiss her on the cheek and lean back. “Unless you tell me to get lost.”
“We’ll see,” she replies, but the corners of her lips twitch upward, making me happy.
“Okay.” I glance around, then fish my phone out of my pocket. “We need to figure out where we are.”
“Can you see our location using your phone?”
“I only have one bar, but it should be enough.”
“One bar? I don’t know what that means.”
I look at her. “The reception on the phone. It’s measured by bars.”
“Oh.” She fidgets from side to side, looking sheepish. “I’m not completely caught up on modern technology yet.”
I smile. “Your lack of current knowledge is adorable.”
She grimaces. “More like pathetic.”
“Not to me, but anyway. I know where we are.” I shake my phone.
“Please tell me we’re not far from civilization.”
“We’re behind Bloodstone Institute. We can probably lie low there—that is, if I can convince the guard to let us through. Without Solomon around?—”
Her eyebrows arch, almost meeting her hairline. “Solomon Corvicus?”
“Yes. Do you know him?”
“I know of him. He’s the first familiar. He’s not well liked in my circle, and I bet he doesn’t like me either.”
I didn’t even consider the possibility that Solomon might know who Sophie is. That creature is a mystery to me. “Like I said, he isn’t around.”
“Oh? Where is he?”
Now it’s my turn to grimace. I can’t tell Sophie he went to Ellnesari without revealing Vivi’s secret. “He’s on a mission for the king.”
“What makes you think the guard at Bloodstone will let you through the gates?”
I thread my fingers through my hair, trying to hide my sudden anxiety. “I’ll tell him it’s an emergency. You can’t go back to your apartment, and I don’t want to deal with the Red Guard.”
“Do you think they know you helped me?”
“If they don’t suspect me, they aren’t very good at their jobs.”
The corners of her mouth tense. “I’m sorry you’re in trouble because of me.”
“It’ll be all right,” I lie.
I’m pretty sure I’m screwed, but I won’t worry about that now.
Twenty-Four
