I frowned at the page. “January thirtieth?”

Nathan snorted. “Hasn’t he told you anything?”

“No. There hasn’t really been time.”

He laughed humorlessly. “I’ll bet.”

“Not because of that.” I couldn’t meet his eyes. “We haven’t. Yet.”

He shrugged. “I really don’t care. Look over those plans. You can find out what you need to from your sire. In the meantime, start thinking of how you can get Ziggy safely out of there. How can I contact you if I need to?”

“I have no idea. Maybe through Clarence. He goes out every day. Food shopping.” I just hoped he’d relay the messages he received. He’d obviously helped me this time, since Nathan had shown up, but we hadn’t exactly become fast friends.

“The guy who delivered your message? The one who lives with and works for Cyrus?” Nathan looked at me with disbelief. “How about if I want to talk to you, I’ll be right here, after sunset. Make it a habit to check every night.”

“If I can get away.” It was sort of an agreement.

He turned then, as if he was going to leave, and I called his name. The sound was desperate, almost pathetic as it passed my lips. I wanted to tell him why I stood on this side of the fence. I wanted him to know that the only reason he lived was because of the choice I’d made.

Instead, I just stared, my mouth frozen open in shock at my sudden exclamation. He stared back, his expression hard as some indiscernible war raged behind his eyes.

“Keep him safe, Carrie,” he said. Then he turned and walked quickly away.

I went back to the house, numb from the temperature outside and the mood of our chilly encounter. Telling him what I’d done wouldn’t have accomplished anything. Nathan would have rushed into battle as if I were some princess trapped in a tower by an evil magician. Then I’d be in the awkward position of explaining that this damsel hadn’t exactly decided to be rescued.

As for the evil magician, he stormed past the princess without a word when they crossed paths in the hallway outside their chambers.

“Good morning, sunshine,” I called after him, greeted only by the sound of his slamming door.

Ziggy was already awake when I entered my quarters. Clothed in the pants he arrived in the night before, he leaned greedily over a bowl of cereal as Clarence looked on.

“Hey. Did you see Nate?” Ziggy’s voice was light, though I could sense the desperate hope there.

I cast a wary glance at Clarence. It seemed awfully imprudent of Ziggy to speak so freely in front of a guy we barely knew. “Y-yes.”

With a frown, Ziggy jerked his thumb toward Clarence. “Don’t worry about him. He knows how to keep a secret, don’t you, Clarence?”

“Like a dead man,” Clarence confirmed, but I still felt a little uneasy about what he knew.

“What did he say?” Ziggy lifted the bowl from the marble-topped end table, and Clarence used the opportunity to wipe a condensation ring from the spot where it had rested.