“Amick, he is telling the truth. He has been here with us for over an hour now. What is going on?”
My head bounces between Verlet and Riven. Those two are the closest but regardless, Verlet would never lie to me. I believe he loves me equally.
“Of course, I—”
I cut Verlet off and focus fully on Riven. “You really didn’t knock that whole row of books over?”
He throws his hands in the air. “For fuck’s sake, no. Not today anyways.”
My chest constricts and I stagger back as panic grips me.
“What’s—”
I starshoot away before he can even finish his question and I immediately walk through Thayla’s bedroom door, only to find her room empty.
No thoughts come across clear as I sprint out her back door to Yemi’s.
No matter how many times I bang, no answer ever comes.
I starshoot back to the Athenaeum and run through the rows like a madman. I ignore the stares, the call of my name, everything as I search the rows for hair the color of a pink sunset.
My shoulders shake as I stand at the threshold of my office and stare at the empty space.
“Verlet, tell all my brothers to get to the house.”
My power wraps around me as realization settles on me like the weight of the realm. This starshoot lasts both forever and not long enough. My vision clouds to a dark and deadly black. The flicker of a torch lamp in my mind is the only reason I can still see.
“He’s losing his mind. I don’t know what the fuck is going on with him.”
I blink repeatedly as my focus shifts away from what’s actually our fireplace.
Not a torch lamp keeping me company.
My body doesn’t want to budge as I command it to turn and face my brothers.
“Shut up, Riven. What’s the matter, Amick?” Creed huffs.
“Thayla’s gone.”
Thayla
14
Gods, this is why I never drink. This shitty-ass feeling right here.
A ghastly groan croaks out of my dry throat as I lift my arm to cover my eyes. Heavy metal collides with my nose, and I screech as I cover my face with my palms.
The throbbing causes my eyes to water, and I wipe under my nose gently to check for any blood. The shackles around my wrist and the white powder dusting my fingers make everything in me go cold.
That blitz of pain mixed with what I’m seeing has my stomach whooshing violently. A small twitch against my back feels more like a kick to my head as clarity rushes through me.
“Shit, I think the only time I’ve ever been to this part of the Athenaeum was on that tour he gave us.”
“Yeah, there’s no doubt he’s about to find out every time we tell him we’re going to look around, we really go sit with Rose and Lambrit.”
“You think he’s going to be mad?”
“I really can’t tell if you enjoy hearing his stern voice or if you really don’t know what makes him tick.”
