Page 138 of UNAwere

‘I miss her, too. Hopefully I can visit in the next few weeks.’

He nods, but he doesn’t say anything to that, his eyes scanning the room. They seem to stop on Jude.

‘How’s your bodyguard?’ he asks. ‘Was the trip okay?’

‘Fine.’

‘I heard you bumped into Lucia.’ He glances back at me, a worried crease between his grey brows.

‘Yeah.’ I wave a hand. ‘But we got out of it okay.’

‘It’ll be over soon,’ he murmurs. ‘This war. With Primrose and Luminaire getting together, the Karvers don’t stand a chance.’

I nod mutely.

‘Here.’ Hannah’s back, pressing a beer into my hand.

I thank her and take a few sips. Nolan and Hannah start chatting, but I’m not listening. The noise of the room seems to conjoin into one continuous drawl. My heart rate picks up. I suck in a small breath and look up, feeling eyes on me.

Jude’s making his way over.

‘Hey,’ he says softly when he gets to me.

I smile at him. ‘Hey.’

‘You okay?’ He reaches out to take my elbow, but I nod quickly, and he must see me panic because he drops his hand.

‘Jude,’ Hannah says, a friendly warning in her tone. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Ah, it’s good to see you again,’ Nolan says, completely oblivious. He reaches out a hand, and Jude takes it, shaking. ‘Thank you for looking after Sybbie.’

‘Always,’ Jude says, and Hannah throws a glare at her brother that he doesn’t see.

I hang my head and take another sip.

Someone sidles up to me and pulls the bottle away from my lips. I’m about to protest when I see Warner’s blue eyes taking me in.

‘Sybil,’ he says. ‘What did I say about you eating cleaner?’

‘Oh, I, um…’ I gesture dumbly between the bottle he’s holding and the table where Hannah had gotten it.

Warner shakes his head, not waiting for me to answer, and downs my beer. When he’s done, he hands Jude the empty bottle and takes Nolan’s shoulder, guiding him away from the small group we’ve formed.

Jude’s lip curls. ‘I’m gonna fucking—’

‘No, you’re not,’ Hannah says, taking the bottle from him. ‘Go back to Lucas.’

He glances at me, and I give him a small, helpless smile.

‘You okay?’ he asks again.

I nod. ‘I’m fine.’

Seemingly satisfied, he goes back to the other side of the room.

I sigh, and Hannah helps me over to the table when we’re ordered to sit down. Dinner’s served and I make sure I eat and act normally. Even with Jude sitting across the table from me, his eyes on my every movement. Even with Warner and Nolan at the head of the table, chatting and laughing like they’re old friends. Hannah distracts me where she can, chatting idly about her kids, about life in Primrose.

‘You should go to the coast one day,’ she says when dinner’s finished and dessert is being served.