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Bayla turned her head to look at me. “Are you okay?”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my trembling hands.

“It feels wrong to be here.”

Bayla studied me before lowering her voice.

“Should I tell Larissa we should leave?”

“Nobody’s going anywhere,” Larissa commented and it sounded like she was singing, casually opening a drawer as if it were her own.

I could ask him, of course, but then I would have to tell him everything. And that was out of the question.

What we had right now was all I could ever get. And maybe it was perfect the way it was. It had to be...

This game I was playing with him was the only thing I had left if I wanted to find out his intentions.

Emely paced back and forth in front of the window. She wasn't looking outside anymore. She seemed lost in thought, as if something was wearing her down. Her gaze wasn't intense, empty, her eyes glowing yellow.

“Are we looking for something specific?” Bayla asked, addressing me more than Larissa, but the latter answered.

“No idea,” she shrugged, bending down in front of the next cabinet. “We weren’t looking for anything specific in Alarik’s office either, but we found a lot.”

I didn’t want to find anything. I didn’t want to destroy the image I had of him. And I was confused.

Was I in Erik’s house or in Quentin’s?

Minutes passed as Larissa opened more drawers and I tried to distract myself by browsing the titles on one of his bookshelves.

“It can't be that hard to find something, can it? These shelves are all filled with books and strange collectibles that look like he stole them from a museum.”

Larissa threw open one of the cupboards.

Click.

Suddenly, the door sprang open.

I stared, as did Bayla, who had turned around, and Emely, who had been startled out of her trance and whose eyes now glowed even more intensely.

Make a Deal

Christopher Tyng

Thump. Thump. Thump.

That was my heartbeat the moment I spotted the tall man with the slightly wavy, light-blond curtain haircut and white shirt under his light-colored felt coat standing in the doorway.

His gaze wandered across the ground floor, lingering on Emely, who slowly stepped back. Bayla did the same, drawing his attention to her.

I froze on the spot.

That was the moment Quentin spotted me.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

His gaze fixed on me, and he clenched his hands into fists.

Thump. Thump. Thump.