Page 64 of Eternal Surrender

“Jadeon’s in Italy.” It was a good enough lie.

There was something about Blake’s pallor, the newer lines etched around his eyes reflecting an added tension that was only beginning to show.

“Gothica?” The mind message meant solely for Blake hit its mark⁠—

Blake coughed and spun away from me. He locked his attention onto Sebastian. “Do you work here?”

“No,” Sebastian answered. “Just visiting.”

“Do you need to sit down?” I asked Blake.

“Touch of food poisoning.” Blake glanced over at Ingrid. “I’m fine, really.”

“How about some water?” I asked him.

“No, thank you,” Blake insisted.

Ingrid shared with him an unspoken moment and turned to face me again. “This castle belongs to Lord Artimas and his brother,” she said. “And yet neither of you can tell me where Alex is?”

My focus shifted to Blake’s necktie.

“Bit of a trek to get here.” Blake looked away nervously. “Do you ever get used to living on an island?” He ambled toward the suit of armor to the left of the stairway, one of the two guarding knights. “Those add a nice touch,” he said. “How old are they?”

“Medieval.” Sebastian peered my way for confirmation and then strolled over toward Blake and added, “The average height of men back then was five foot four.” On Ingrid’s reaction he said, “Bit of a history buff.”

“So we can see,” she said.

Blake examined the helmet’s jaw. It fell slack and stuck, leaving the knight gaping.

I knew just how the knight felt.

Realizing he couldn’t fix it, Blake offered an apologetic grimace and continued to fumble.

Ingrid’s attention fell back on me. “How are you acquainted with Jadeon Artimas?”

I watched Sebastian take over where Blake had failed, easing closed the knight’s jaw, restoring it to his original dignified pose.

“I’m an acquaintance,” I answered.

“Mind if we have a look around?” she said.

“Actually,” I said, “this is a bad time.”

“Really?” Ingrid called over to Sebastian. “How are you acquainted with the Artimas family?”

Sebastian turned to me for guidance. “Just popped in for a cup of tea.”

“What was your last name again?” Blake asked him.

“Price,” Sebastian said.

Blake made a notation in his notepad. “And sir, your surname?” He peered up at me, pen poised.

“Rolfe,” I told him.

“Do you know Daumia Velde?” Blake asked us. “He also goes by the name Orpheus?”

Sebastian went to answer and then hesitated, seemingly remembering the credit card he’d returned to me. He gave a questionable shake of his head.