“Well?”
I set the phone down on the counter and force my body language not to give away the fact that I have more than enough to work out here, and knowing Naia, she’s not going to make it any easier.
“It’s nothing you need to worry about.”
Immediately, her eyes narrow, and it’s clear she isn’t willing to accept such a flimsy response. “It sounded like something I should absolutely be worried about. I heard my brother’s name.”
I resist the urge to close my eyes in an attempt to gather myself all over again. “It’s standard pack talk. It’s handled.”
“By you?”
“Yes.”
She huffs a quiet laugh. “Right. You always know how to handle things.”
I don’t take the bait, regardless of how sarcastic that statement sounded. Rather than finding myself in that same cycle of bickering that gets us nowhere in the end, I don’t explain, and I don’t elaborate. If I do, then this gets more complicated than it already is.
Besides, given her associations, I’m not at liberty to tell her every little detail. Caleb and the others would lose their minds.
“Does this mean you’re going back to the island?” she asks while a tangle of different emotions moves through her eyes at once, too quickly for me to catch.
“Eventually.”
“And when were you planning on running this by me?”
I meet her gaze evenly. “Eventually. When I needed to.”
Naia stares at me, likely wondering if I’m being an idiot on purpose or if there’s more to it than that. Always…there’s always more to it.
“You’re unbelievable,” she mutters after a beat, shaking her head.
“I’ve been called worse,” I return, exhaling deeply as I reach for my laptop.
With a final, unimpressed look in my direction, she paces away again. Even at a distance, I can feel her curiosity, suspicion,and the frustration that seems to constantly build again and again.
For now, I ignore it, since I have bigger problems that need addressing, like how I’m going to deal with a rogue group trafficking islanders with access to magic, what I’m going to do if I have to face the others without answers, and how the hell I’m supposed to bring Naia back to the island without everything blowing up in my face.
It’s a tall order, but one way or another, I’ll handle it. I always do.
Chapter 10 - Naia
In ways, the silence is worse than arguing.
When we’re fighting, there’s something to push against and something to distract me from the fact that I’m essentially on house arrest. It’s somewhere to direct all the tension building under my skin, and to release some of it, even if it never goes anywhere productive.
When it’s quiet and Zane disappears into whatever he’s working on, leaving me alone with my thoughts…that’s when it gets unbearable.
Sitting on the edge of the couch, I stare at nothing while my foot bounces restlessly against the floor. The apartment feels smaller today, almost like the walls are inching closer with every second I stay here, and the longer I’m stuck here, the more I need to do something. Anything.
My fingers flex slowly as traces of magic hum faintly beneath my skin, like a quiet reminder of its presence.
It’s still strange to recognize it and to feel it like it’s always been there, just buried too deep for me to notice. After the small outburst I had the other day, I can’t ignore it anymore. It lingers, quiet and waiting, like something testing the edges of its own existence. Something I’m not at all familiar with.
I glance toward the hallway, where Zane disappeared into the other room not long ago. Hopefully, it buys me enough time.
Pushing myself up slowly, I move to the center of the living room, already noticing how my pulse picks up. It isn’t from fear, exactly, but the kind of anticipation that makes me wonder what it could lead to.
I’ve barely touched this…hardly explored this part of me that could either be a blessing or a curse. Either way, it seems to make me a target. And if I’m stuck here, then I might as well not waste time.
